Mike Laycock and family dodged foot and mouth and wind and rain by heading underground...

We couldn't go for a proper ramble, thanks to that disease. And even without the foot and mouth restrictions, the terrible spring weather made a visit to the countryside a somewhat dubious pleasure...

So we escaped both problems by going under the countryside, heading west past Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge to visit Stump Cross Caverns.

I last visited these show caves only a few years ago, but had heard that there was now even more to see after additional areas had been opened up to public access last year.

The caves have been a tourist attraction for well over a century, following their discovery by lead miners in 1858.

It was cool and damp as we descended down a long flight of steep steps into the caverns, but it still felt warmer than outside in the bleak, windswept car park. Not that we fancied doing what cave researcher Geoffrey Workman managed in 1963 - he spent 105 days in complete isolation underground at Stump Cross to see what it would do to his body clock.

We had all put on the compulsory safety helmets before descending, despite protests from my daughter. They were pretty essential, because the path at one stage is only about four feet high and we banged our heads on the rocky roof.

We soon saw the first of umpteen sparkling stalactites (they're the ones hanging from the ceiling) and stalagmites on the ground, some of which are known to be at least 170,000 years old. They were a myriad of different formations, shapes, sizes and colours.

There was the Butchers Shop, where the stalactites look like great sides of meat hanging from the roof, with the reddish colours created by iron minerals enhanced by appropriate lighting. Then there were stalagmites resembling a frozen waterfall, and The Twins - two stalactites which form a double column down to one stalagmite, The Sandcastles, The Organ and the Sleeping Cat.

The protective grills around many of the 'tites spoiled the displays somewhat, but are apparently needed to prevent stupid souvenir hunters.

The best display, I felt, was in the Reindeer Cavern - in the part of the cave which only opened to the public last summer. There are fine straw stalactites, tall and graceful columns and numerous stalagmites sprouting up from the floor, with the splendid scene all carefully illuminated.

By now, my daughter was getting scared, and we returned to the surface to see a 20-minute video about the history of the cavern, enjoy a drink and chips in the tearoom, and buy some little coloured stones from the shop before returning outside into the icy blast of spring 2001.

Fact file

Stump Cross Caverns, Greenhow, Pateley Bridge. Tel 01756 752780.

Open daily from 10am, start your visit no later than 4pm.

Admission: Adults: £4.50. Children (under 13): £2.30.

Not suitable for disabled visitors.

To get there: Suggest take A59 to Knaresborough, then B6165 to Pateley Bridge, then B6265 to caverns.