Oxlow

[martinm]

OK, thanx for that Moose. Wow. Some facts finally.    Anyone any idea what might happen now then?

I'm only Conservation Officer for DCA, access isn't officially my problem, but just want the best result out of this for all Peak cavers.

Suggestions, etc. most welcome please and I will feed them to the other DCA officers who I suspect are busy on other things, atm. It  has been recommended to me that we all just stay away for now, but I don't know enough about this to comment.

Thinking  about this more, could anyone send me a list  of caves / mines on their property? That would be much appreciated.

Regards, Mel. DCA Conservation Officer. (Not wanting to to step on anyone's toes on this, lol. )

(PS:- let's all agree on how we should proceed with this, without wanting to bother the landowners at this time. Just want to preserve access for everyone.)

 

[bograt]

I know a lot about the history of caving on Oxlow land, as do most Peak cavers of my era, for instance most people are overlooking the fact that access arrangements were agreed between the DCA and the previous farmer and only carried on by the current owners who took over around 20(?) years ago.

As the spouse of a hill farm livestock keeper I also concur fully with the comments posted by Moose, above. It has been the local opinion for some time that the stock was kept as a hobby and not as a commercial venture.

Since the status of cavers and cave access has only been brought up on this forum and not in any official capacity (only conjecture), I would suggest that we carry on with the status quo. and avoid initiating and escalating a problem that doe's not exist at the moment.

 

[martinm]

Thanx Terry. 

 

[david3392]

Interesting to see how the discussion has changed due to a few more pertinent facts emerging. It was getting to be a bit like Live Aid, wasn't it?  I admit being previously sympathetic to the idea of some sort of a gesture, financial or otherwise, as I personally know the folks concerned, but I can now see how this could be sticking up 2 fingers to their colleagues who manage livestock more effectvely. Maybe the best thing is to let individuals make their own gesture if they want to, but heed what the original poster said about being generally aware of the situation and just to continue the status quo re' fees etc.

 

[martinm]

Maybe the best thing is to let individuals make their own gesture if they want to, but heed what the original poster said about being generally aware of the situation and just to continue the status quo re' fees etc.

Agreed. Just pay the fee asked, don't moan about it, keep the status quo, be grateful for continued access, etc. 

 

[adep]

Sad news indeed, as a few others have mentioned he has always been very accommodating to cavers, i remember one time we were doing some work in Oxlow, he gave me permission to drive upto the entrance but my crap tyres wouldnt cut it through the mud, so he immediately let me use his 4 track for as long as i needed.

Everytime i went round to pay him, you could see the state and conditions he was living in were getting gradually worse all the time, we should definitely have whip round for him and sooner the better