The owners of a Yorkshire tourist attraction, Stump Cross Caverns, are inviting people for a ‘sleepover’ 50 feet underground to raise awareness of their Crowdfunding campaign to help illuminate the caverns.
Owner, Lisa Bowerman (aka the Cavewoman) will be joined by 10 people on Friday 25 November 2022 as they wrap up warm and don their sleeping bags for a night in the 7-degree caves.
The sleepover celebrates the 105-day challenge by Geoffrey Workman who slept down the caves to much fanfare in 1963, and set a world record for the longest stay underground. Pathe News covered the story at the time, and Geffrey enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame.
Lisa and her partner, Nick Markham, slept down the caves for a total of 105 hours in 2021, enduring the cold and damp, and constant dripping in the vast cave system. This was all to raise awareness about their Crowdfunder campaign to win a Pateley Bridge apartment to help install specialist lighting to preserve the caves for generations to come.
Stump Cross Cavern is a family-owned business and has had to dig deep to stay afloat through the Covid pandemic. Owner Lisa Bowerman says:
We’re really excited to be able to offer 10 people the experience of a lifetime by joining us as we sleep overnight in the caves. Our 105-hour sleepover back in 2021 was challenging, but we are more determined than ever to do all we can to preserve the caves for generations to come.
Several people had asked us if they could sleep overnight to experience the underground caves in a unique way, so we decided to do one night underground – it really is a fantastic experience.
They are also currently running a ‘105 Day Bike Challenge’ right up to the Christmas Day deadline, where a live draw will see one lucky person win a £130,000 apartment.
