Access
build Derbyshire Key required.
Authorised Entrances
Main Entrance: over wall a short distance up steep Bonsall footpath off Upperwood Road. Spanner required for door which must NOT be left open.
Upper Entrance: This does not require permission to use. A combination lock may be present, if so the code will be 4311. There are plans to convert this gate to a Derbyshire Key in future. The shaft from surface above the main chamber and just inside from the Upper Entrance is also approved for access. From the main entrance follow the path about 100m further up the hill, where the path divides in two, take the right-hand branch then head into the deep cutting.
Kirkland Shaft: 13m deep, is within the landowner's garden just downhill from the main entrance, at SK 29067 58379, and connects to the workings downdip from the entrance. Access by prior email arrangement through the DCA Access Officer at (reveal).
Visits and numbers expected to be kept to sensible minimum or access could be lost. Avoid upsetting residents by parking in vicinity - best to use one of public car parks in Matlock Bath. Holy Trinity Church don't mind small numbers using their car park, but have requested that cavers do not use the car park before midday on Sundays - please respect this request to maintain good relations. Part of Masson Hill SSSI.
Landowner Update 20/2/21: "I wanted to let you know we’ve put a couple of signs up saying ‘please keep out, private garden’ by the wall near the cavern. Would you mind just letting the caving community know that this doesn’t apply to them, I don’t want them to think we’re stopping people using the cavern. It’s just that this last year has been really awful in terms of people using the area around the cavern as a toilet, and groups of people drinking etc. there and going into the Devonshire when they really shouldn’t be. We had one group who went down there in white track suits with no equipment and just a phone torch – they’d come over on the bus from Chesterfield!"
See the DCA website for competition details.