Potholers discover UK's biggest cave

Times Online:
Potholers have discovered the UK's biggest known cave - which is almost as high from floor to ceiling as the London Eye - after following clues left by a Cambridge student in the 18th century.

The cave in Derbyshire's Peak District, known as Titan, is estimated to be a massive 459ft (140m) from floor to ceiling, beating the previous record holder, Gaping Gyhll in the Yorkshire Dales, by almost 200ft (60m).

It was discovered by Dave Nixon and a group of Peak cavers near another huge cavern, Leviathan, after he found an old account in a university library.

The paper, written in 1793 by James Plumtree, described a network of caves which went beyond the well-known Speedwell cave system near Castleton.

Plumtree's account took him down the Speedwell Canal and deep into a nearby lead mine, but his journal described a cave system that went far beyond what had since been explored.

Mr Nixon, a leading underground explorer, realised the entrance must have been blocked by a rockfall and after removing the rocks, eventually discovered a long system of caves leading them to Titan.