CAVING enthusiasts embarked on a journey into the abyss this weekend as they experienced a breathtaking descent into one of Britain's largest cave systems.

Deep in the Earth's crust beneath the Yorkshire Dales, the enormous Gaping Gill chamber opens out into a geological wonder, which is so vast it can house the dome of St Paul's Cathedral and is comparable in size with York Minster.

The main chamber is 145 metres long, 25 metres wide and 35 metres to the height of the roof.

Once a year, Bradford Potholing Club assemble a specialised winching system to enable members of the public to be lowered into the cave system - at a cost of a £15 return trip - which would otherwise only be accessible to experienced

cavers and potholers.

Sitting on a small chair, the cavers are winched into the dark, gigantic pothole from high on the southern slopes of Ingleborough fell, where Fell Beck plunges 110m to create Britain's tallest unbroken waterfall into the limestone cathedral, some 300 million years in the making and measuring twice the height of Niagara Falls.

It takes one minute to reach the floor of the cave, a journey which has been enjoyed by hundreds of people this weekend.