Yorkshire - Fell Beck and Gaping Gill, Ingleborough, Yorkshire Dales

High up on Ingleborough peak in the Yorkshire Dales, non-cavers chance a vertiginous trip into Gaping Gill at an annual winch meet. Dropped like a spider into the darkness of a vast natural cavern that could comfortably hold York Minster, a rookie potholer is then led through the maze of caves and passages carved out by water beneath the mountain. A turbulent Fell Beck adds a touch of drama to the underground adventure.

Snappy editing and superimposed images create an edge to this amateur documentary by Sunderland filmmaker Ronald Pringle, which records one of the two annual winch meets, organised by Bradford Pothole Club at Whitsuntide and Craven Pothole Club in August. The first successful descent to the bottom of Gaping Gill was made by Frenchman Eduard Martel in 1895, and spectacular journeys into the cavern for fearless Edwardians began the next year. Long a mystery, Fell Beck spills into the caves creating Britain’s highest unbroken waterfall, which is re-routed during the annual winch meets. It disappears once it hits the floor, emerging at Ingleborough Cave. The lost river became an obsession for cavers.