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Explorers discover largest cave system found in over ten years

two cavers in helmets standing in a big orange caveBartek Biela

Part of Redhouse Lane Swallet was first found in the 1990s

Have you ever gone off on an adventure and found something spectacular?

Well, one team of cavers from Gloucester has done exactly that - an "exploratory urge" led them to one of the biggest discoveries in over a decade.

They found a 10km (6 mile) long network of narrow passages and gaping caverns near English Bicknor in the Forest of Dean.

The team was led by conservation officer and retired physicist Dr Tim Nichols, and he said all their dreams came true when they stepped into it for the first time.

Uncovering more caves

Cavers unearth largest UK system found in a decade

The start of the network, called Redhouse Lane Swallet, was actually found first by a man called Paul Taylor in the 1990s.

But Dr Tim explained that while exploring this mile-long original system, he felt a strong breeze coming from a passage filled with boulders at one end of it and simply had to investigate further.

"That exploratory urge to go and find where no person has ever been before is really special.

"With each trip it just kept getting better and better."

a man in a red boiler suit, blue gloves and a red helmet crawls through a caveBartek Biela

A team of cavers dug into the new network and explored it in August last year

It took a lot of hard work, but eventually his team of explorers successfully dug past the boulders in August last year.

Dr Tim said: "You have to pinch yourself, it is a once in a lifetime [find].

"Every trip's just been like another birthday present and every trip we've been finding something different.

"Caves remain one of those things on the planet that are largely undiscovered.

"True genuine exploration - that's what's exciting about it," Dr Nichols added.

Cool cave facts

a deep cave with a person sitting on a device that is lowering them into itPA Media

This is part of Gaping Gill, which was opened to the public twice a year

  • The largest network of caves in the UK is the Three Counties System in the Yorkshire Dales

  • Gaping Gill has the largest unbroken waterfall of any cave in the UK, and its main cavern is about 365ft (111m) deep, which is the same height as St Paul's Cathedral in London

  • The deepest known cave in the UK is in Derbyshire - it's called Titan, and is 141.5 meters (464 ft) deep