Peakshill Farm

Pete K

Well-known member
Some new signage will be going up at the turn off into Peakshill Farm and probably down in the parking area. The DCA have been in discussion with the landowner who has approved some 'Private Land - No Public Right of Way' signs. These will hopefully dissuade some of the 'non-caver' type visitors that Giant's had last year. There were several reports of cars being driven right to the cave entrance, drinkers & drug users in the cave and mineral hackers down there in 2018.

Also of note is that the Google Maps pin for the cave as a 'tourist attraction' had come back again. This has now been removed by Google. Please report it if it returns by right-clicking on the pin and selecting 'report a data problem'. Best option is to select 'Remove this place' and whatever option is closest to 'private land'. If it is you reading this who keeps adding the map pin - STOP. The land is private and the owner does not consent to the map showing the cave. We should all be careful how much info about the locations of these sites we put out on social media where it could be seen by anyone. Forums require searching and reading, Facebook or Insta etc.. are universally visible in most cases.

There has been no change to Giant's access and this does not affect legitimate cavers and instructed parties who are still permitted on the land between the car park and Giant's Hole. Please inform anyone else seen on the site (who are clearly not cavers) that they are on private land and they have no right to be there. Photos of car number plates can be sent to the DCA to pass on to the landowner or local police.

Hopefully none of this will reoccur this year anyway. Happy caving.
Pete Knight
DCA Projects Officer
 

pwhole

Well-known member
Playing devil's advocate here, but does the trespass fee specifically only apply to cavers? As in, if I bumped into someone who said they weren't a caver but they had paid the fee, assuming it then gave them access to the land, what the situation actually would be? I've no idea what the actual access arrangement details are, but as the fee is left in a deposit box, rather than via a personal visit to the farmer, it does allow a certain amount of leeway to occur, and someone could possibly argue they had a right to access. It's not as though they can get their money back either.
 

2xw

Active member
Re the map pin, it's written on OS maps which is why it might keep being readded. Not much can really be done about that.
 

Pete K

Well-known member
You're probably right Phil, but as there are no rights of way on the land and the only thing that has ever occurred is caving (AFAIK), it would be a fair assumption that it is only cavers that have the arrangement, not the general public. That said, as long as they are not being prats, who cares. The owner was fine with the signs, so may not want 'other users' on the farm though.

2xw - good point. Although I don't know why it was tagged as a tourist attraction and not just a natural feature. I suppose the Google minion may not have a clue what else to mark it as.

It's not really our problem in the scheme of things, but there have been complaints by cavers and so we're at least trying something.
 

pwhole

Well-known member
I mainly asked as I have paid a trespass fee before to walk around farm land, rather than go caving - looking for new entrances! The farmer didn't seem to mind as he still got his money, but he did know me, and that I was 'OK'. As Giants is 'unsupervised', at least in terms of direct contact with the farmer, it would be difficult to know who's really doing what from a distance - but I guess there's not a lot else to see around there other than the known caves, and most normal folks would probably struggle to justify a prolonged study of the shale/limestone interface as a good reason for being there ;)
 

Pete K

Well-known member
I think that is fair use, and like you say, you're a 'known' person with an interest and clearly not there to be a hassle.
 
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