Going underground!

Photo: Anthony Miller

STALACTITES... Cameron Heap and Maddison Smith join, from left, Oldham Mayor Councillor Richard Knowles, Youth Mayor Chantel Birtwistle, centre manager Dave Falconridge and Mayoress Valerie Knowles in the caves.

Castleshaw caves proving a big hit
SCHOOLCHILDREN went underground during the official launch of a realistic caving system in Delph.

The Mayor of Oldham, Councillor Richard Knowles, officially opened the Castleshaw Centre artificial caving system.

And youngsters from St Thomas’s Primary School, Moorside, were quick to don their hard hats and head underground for a fascinating tour.

Over 70 metres of realistic rock tunnels and chambers, made of textured concrete and costing £90,000 to build, have been created at the education centre.

The tunnels and passages weave underground before emerging into a realistic stone outcrop, and boast stalactites and stalagmites, and fossils embedded into their sides.

The new facility, which has been open since June, has received rave reviews from adults and children alike who have crawled through its chambers and discovered the underground world.

Dave Falconridge, centre manager, said: “It’s such a different activity to anything else we offer and its the first realistic caving system of its type in the North-West.

“It’s a unique experience and the response from people of all ages is that it is really good.

“The nearest caving system available is quite a way off in either Derbyshire or the Yorkshire Dales.

“Having this facility here means saving time and fuel and we can cater for any ages and abilities.”