Cave Access Withdrawn After Triple Booking Incident

The CNCC has suspended access to a popular cave following an incident in which three clubs independently claimed to have booked the same weekend.

Earlier this week, the landowner for the Pint Fell entrances was shocked to receive a letter from an irate local caver. The letter alleged that the sender had seen more than one group of cavers heading towards one of the Pint Fell entrances at the same time. Confused by the letter, the landowner contacted the CNCC who had also received the same letter and had spoken with the groups involved.

The landowner was informed that when queried by the CNCC, two of the groups insisted they had the correct date - although neither did, and one produced a spreadsheet showing an unknown booking that was last updated in 2011.

The landowner, who had previously been perfectly content with open access and had not insisted on limits to the number of cavers on their land, is understood to have been alarmed by the discovery that access arrangements involved a level of administrative complexity normally associated with international border negotiations.

After the meeting, the CNCC suggested that the whole situation should be referred to a subcommittee and the cave be closed until the situation resolved.

The access body has urged everyone to remain calm, avoid contacting the landowner independently and refrain from going caving. The cave entrances on Pint Fell remain closed while representatives investigate whether the incident constitutes an opportunity to rewrite the access policy.

The landowner has meanwhile discovered that filling in the entrances would be easier.