An account by an obscure 18th-century student has led a team of cavers to discover what appears to be the deepest known cave in the UK. Dubbed Titan, the cave, which is located near Castleton in the Peak District, is thought to be almost 140 metres deep – 60 metres deeper than the previous record holder, Gaping Ghyll in
the Yorkshire Dales.

Local potholer and underground explorer Dave Nixon led the team that discovered the cave, using clues he uncovered in a journal written more than 200 years ago by a Cambridge student by the name of James Plumtree. “It wasn’t a matter of stumbling, it was a lot of research and a lot of hard work,” Nixon said.