Caves of the peak district book update?

benshannon

Active member
im after a caving book for christmas and noticed the caves of the peak district book was last published in 2010. are there plans for a new up to date one?
 

alastairgott

Well-known member
As far as I know (which isn’t a lot o_O)

The drafts are all being kept upto date in the background so that when the time is right a new edition can be made. But I think there is a difference between upto date for draft readiness and a finished publication.

And I’m sure the eldon have more up their sleeve for stoney.
 

pwhole

Well-known member
The DCA Cave Registry essentially forms the 'bones' of the next edition of COPD, and all the descriptions in the current book are there too, just hidden from public view. This makes it much easier for us to update the descriptions (there have been many!) so that when the next book is deemed ready to go into production the content will be ready. And we can still sell the current stock in the meantime. We made an exception for Odin Mine recently as it has been closed for so long, and the COPD description wasn't really sufficient any longer to notify visitors of the changes, so that was updated and is public. There are also several entries in the registry that aren't public at all yet, due to the total lack (or likelihood) of access agreements and (usually) some sensitivity over unauthorised access that we can't be seen to be 'encouraging', if that's the right word. But if such sites do become accessible at some later date, then the entry will be ready to switch on immediately, which will be handy for all. Don't ask me which ones they are ;)

And yes, as Al pointed out, having the content ready is not the same as having it laid out and ready to go to the printers - someone will have to do that work, and it is a lot of work. DCA paid for the last one to be laid out professionally.

To mitigate the amount of work required (and reduce any layout costs), we are endeavouring to maintain the registry in such a way that entries are templated already when output for subsequent book layout - easier said than done, but a standard format will make it easier for sure. We have discussed releasing some recent updates as downloadable PDFs, but we also have to balance that against the need to actually sell physical copies as it's a decent fundraiser for the association - and people do generally seem to want a hard copy of the book, despite being in the digital age.
As Ian Faith stated in Spinal Tap, 'having a good solid piece of wood in your hand is quite often useful' ;)
 
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benshannon

Active member
thanks for the update. yes i would love a mendip underground style CoPD book :D

i look forward to whenever the next one is released
 

Brains

Well-known member
I would love to see a lot more of the mines and soughs included in order to make it more definitive of underground in general. Surely this would stimulate exploration, there must be a lot of natural broken into by the old man waiting to be found, never mind new bits of mine!
 

pwhole

Well-known member
It would be ideal, certainly - only problem is it would probably double the size of the book, especially with the detail some would need - so it could become too expensive to be attractive to most cavers. I'd hate to lower the quality to keep the price down. It would probably prove most cost-effective to increase the page size to A4, but we'd have to run some calculations on that.
 

Brains

Well-known member
It would be ideal, certainly - only problem is it would probably double the size of the book, especially with the detail some would need - so it could become too expensive to be attractive to most cavers. I'd hate to lower the quality to keep the price down. It would probably prove most cost-effective to increase the page size to A4, but we'd have to run some calculations on that.
Get some decent surveys in as well 😍
 

benshannon

Active member
It would be ideal, certainly - only problem is it would probably double the size of the book, especially with the detail some would need - so it could become too expensive to be attractive to most cavers. I'd hate to lower the quality to keep the price down. It would probably prove most cost-effective to increase the page size to A4, but we'd have to run some calculations on that.
if it was to the quality of mendip underground im sure people would buy it as its not just a guide book, but a lovely coffee table book. i love my mendip underground and barely cave there. just really wish there was a complete peak district one with mines and caves :) but yes i appreciate your concerns
 

Pete K

Well-known member
If the demand is there then I'm sure it can contain more mine sites. This is also something I'd like to see in the next edition, but someone needs to volunteer to write them up for a new book.
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
The problem with including mines which aren't associated with natural caves is where do you stop? (There are so many in the Peak District.) It would make for a very big volume - especially if the number of images was also to be increased. This would then put the book beyond the scope of a field guide.

Not all cavers are interested in mines and not all mine enthusiasts are especially interested in natural caves.In order then to solve all the above possible problems, would it not be better to produce two separate field guides, as follows?

Caves of the Peak District

Mines of the Peak District


There would have to be some overlap, obviously - but each interest group would then be able to obtain a volume which specifically focuses on their area of interest.

Given the vast collective wealth of information on mines assembled since the 1960s by members of the PDMHS, perhaps they would be in the best position to produce a comprehensive field guide to the mining heritage of the Peak District? (It wouldn't be the first they've done, incidentally.)
 

AR

Well-known member
PDMHS are long overdue a new edition of "Lead Mining in the Peak District", especially since the last one is out of print and only available second hand, but that was primarily intended as a surface guide. There's also the problem that both of the original editors are no longer with us so it needs people with the time to put into creating a new one - that rules out Richard Shaw, pwhole and myself!

As and when a new CoPD edition comes out, it potentially could include some more mines but it could also do with revision of a lot of the existing entries. For example, I had a look at the Derwent South section today and noted that the entry for Bondog Hole Mine stated that the natural chamber that the engine shaft dropped into has been destroyed by the workings of Middleton Stone Mine - since we're almost into December, "Oh, no it hasn't!"
 

pwhole

Well-known member
Indeed, it will be quite a job. Though a couple of those hidden sites are mines, so let's get working on access and we can add them! On Bondog Hole, send me an alternative sentence and the destroyed chamber shall be restored ;)
 
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