Into Titan
This lesson is about the largest vertical cave in the UK. Students will explore where this place is and what it is like
Key questions
What and where is Titan?
What would it be like to explore the largest vertical cave in the UK?
What/Where is Titan?
Titan is the UK's largest vertical cave. It is located at Hurdlow, Castleton, Derbyshire.
What would it be like to explore the largest vertical cave in the UK?
The vertical cavern, named Titan, measures a vertical drop of approximately 140m from top of the main shaft, some 60m higher than the previous record at Gaping Ghyll in the Yorkshire Dales. Water has passed down joints and along bedding planes for thousands, possibly millions of year dissolving the limestone as it flowed generating tunnels and caverns beneath the surface.
Links
Starter
What to wear
It is essential you know what to wear before venturing on a caving expedition - even a virtual one.
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What are the key features of a cave environment
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What would it be appropriate to wear going into this environment
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What would you need to take into a cave to explore safely
Main Activity
Welcome to Titan.
This picture is looking down from the top of Titan. Caver Dave Clucas is in the 130m Passage that connects with the surface shaft (top-middle of the photo). Dave Nixon is at The Event Horizon, which is only half way down. See if you can spot him HINT: follow the rope on the right hand side down into the cave, he is wearing red and blue. Photo: © Robbie Shone
Locate Titan on a map. Zoom out from the cave’s entrance to see that Titan is located near Castleton, Derbyshire.
Then visit Titan on Google Earth using the Google Earth placemark - Titan/Castleton or locate it on an OS map.
Make a list of the equipment needed to explore the cave.