Access

Giant’s Hole, Maskhill Mine and Oxlow Mine form a combined system of 5,184 metres in length with a total depth of 242 metres. Oxlow Mine was rediscovered in 1869 and explored, but it was subsequently lost until forty years later, when Derbyshire Pennine Club re-found the shaft and explored it, but a trip then was a major undertaking. In the 1950s, the BSA began exploring the site, discovering that Maskhill Mine connected in 1951, whilst in 1964, New Oxlow Series was entered. Prior to 1966, Giant’s Hole was a stand-alone system until a group from Eldon Pothole Club made the connection to the New Oxlow Series of Oxlow Mine, following a period of surveying, then digging, to open up a combined system.

See individual sections of the system for specific access information.

More information regarding the history of these systems can be found in Iain Barker, Classic Caves of the Peak District, 1997, Redwood Books.

Giant’s Hole, p.70-76. Maskhill Mine, p.118-120. Oxlow Mine, p.134-139.