Paulaner said:
I enquired at the Cncc meeting about this cave and permission can be sought from a Mrs Lund .The details are on the Cncc website. I am going to enquire and let you know how I get on!
Good luck. Here's a couple of points that might be significant -
A couple of years ago, much of the land immediately downstream of Litton village was parcelled into lots of a few acres and sold for 'leisure and sporting activities' by one of the local land agents. The details of the sales are now lost but I noticed that one of the plots included the very pleasant Stonelands Cave. No plots were sold that included Spittle Croft otherwise I might now be proud owner of one of the most extensive caves in the Dales.
The parcels of land downstream of Litton resemble the Gobi Desert in Summer; there is not a drop of water until the Skirfare Main Rising is reached. As some of the rifts in the bed of the Skirfare near to Litton village have been concreted over recently, I wonder whether this is to increase the amount of water that flows through those parcels of land for the 'sporting activities' as per Lathkill? This is pure speculation but if true, the hopes of getting access the Spittle Croft might be increased if cavers were to help with this. The Stainforth Bridge Sink alone for example, takes much of the Skirfare's flow in wet weather (and sucks vast amounts of air when it's dry). Digging this sink and protecting it would keep a lot of water on the surface.
Also of note is the sale of Hesleden Farm. Their land includes parts of Penyghent Gill, the moors above Litton Fosse and the valley floor upstream the the Penyghent Gill/Skirfare confluence.
During our diggings and proddlings in the area 40 years ago
we were on good terms with the farmers thanks to the occasional sheep rescue and the odd bottle of Scotch. Hope this can be restored.