I was wondering if it was something to do with when it was a showcave?That's a great image alanw, shows them perfectly. The 'ditches', 'trackways', whatever they are do not look natural one bit.
What with the dams above they sort of look like an attempt to divert water away from the cave. Could it have been something those Victorians got up to?
Unlikely. Yordas show cave was a very low-key enterprise, with only the occasional visitor (although it did have some very eminent ones including Wordsworth and Turner).I was wondering if it was something to do with when it was a showcave?
Are the metal rods sticking up from the dam identifiably rebar (spiral or chevron patterns on the surface) or plain? Reinforced concrete was developed during Victorian times but what we now think of as rebar didn't appear until the 1930s. I can't think what the purpose of those rods would be.Could it have been something those Victorians got up to?