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Andrew Palmer
Group Editor
7:09 AM 30th May 2022
business

Stump Cross Caverns Perfect For Everything, Including Business Meetings

 
Business tourism is a huge part of the UK economy, worth over £31.2bn annually according to the Government’s Tourism Recovery Plan report. The pandemic hit tourism hard,but Group Editor Andrew Palmer caught up with one attraction bucking the trend with a new venture for the business sector to complement its thriving family and education offering.

Lisa Bowerman
Lisa Bowerman
The story behind Stump Cross Caverns’ survival is inspiring.

Driving up through Pateley Bridge to hear more about a new venture, I arrived at Stump Cross Caverns as it was blowing a hooley outside. I could hardly open my car door, let alone put my jacket on. As I made my way across the car park to the entrance my spirits lifted as the magic of the Yorkshire Dales pervaded across the landscape. The light was stunning, set against the brightening sky, all very striking but something more spectacular was waiting inside.

Mention of the weather is a red herring; whatever the elements decide, Stump Cross Caverns is perfectly suitable for a visit in all seasons and, coupled with the warmth of welcome, a wonderful place to visit.

Having arrived early I settled down with a coffee and a humongous sized scone, working away on my laptop. For an isolated spot the Wi-Fi signal was excellent, and the Caverns are easily accessible from the East Coast or the other side of the Pennines. The Stump Cross Caverns’ team were entertaining young children holding them in awe and wonder as they told cave associated stories about dinosaur eggs and how the limestone caverns were formed around half a million years ago. It lives up to its name as a site of special scientific interest.
For the business conference
What does Stump Cross Caverns Offer for the small business conference?

Team Building Activities
55 seater cinemas with full audio visual equipment
Tour of the Site
Lunches/dinners with a menu designed specifically by our resident chef. There are two amazing chefs in the kitchen with lots of experience in the industry at high end hotels and restaurants in Yorkshire. They serve locally sourced produce fresh to the table.
Time Out Pod
Ample Parking
Time Café
Ideal for: Presentations & Workshops; Lectures & Seminars; Product Launches; Business Network Events.


Although I was to hear about the new corporate offering, I became so engrossed in this gem of a place I ended up spending more time than I had planned.
I was meeting the owner Lisa Bowerman who, I was informed, is enthusiastic and passionate about the tourist spot. That was an understatement. Lisa lived up to all expectations and it is her drive and passion that has seen Stump Cross endure through tough times.
Lisa, aka The Cavewoman, is not one to give up easily.

She was forced to close for 10 months during the pandemic which wrecked plans and left the Caverns struggling financially, but along with partner Nick Markham, and her son and Co-Director Oliver Bowerman, the team has gone above and beyond to keep the fabulous limestone caves open.

Cavewoman at Stump Cross Caverns
Cavewoman at Stump Cross Caverns
Along with other visitor attractions, which have been through a tough few years, Lisa and her team have found alternative ways to survive. Visit England’s Annual Visitor Attractions Survey for 2020 showed a ‘severe’ impact on the sector, with a 65% drop in visitors overall, compared to 2019, and a 55% decline in revenue. The difference at Stump Cross is Lisa. Her quirkiness and innovation and ability to get things done are to be admired. She is not a quitter.
There is a fully equipped, 55 seat cinema, the team have invested in a Time Pod where teams can have breakfast, lunch or dinner whilst looking across the Dales and Lisa has also thought about dining and invested in a chef that can meet any requirements.

She explains about falling visitor numbers and coping with numerous lockdowns. But through arduous work and determination, it is now a thriving attraction once again, with families and educational visitors helping the site get back on track.

To spearhead the rejuvenation, a crowdfunding project was launched, plus there was government funding and getting turnover back on track by enticing visitors to the walkway of caves under the North Yorkshire landscape with a series of innovative projects, one of which is how Lisa is reaching out to the business community.

“Local businesses were using the Caves and so it made sense to create something for them and our latest venture aims to make full use of the on-site cinema room, restaurant and ‘Pod’ conservatory as a place to hold meetings, presentations, product launches and workshops for businesses wishing to give their employees a taste of something different,” she says.

Lisa’s enthusiasm is hard to ignore, and she hopes to attract inward investment into the area by increasing corporate traffic to help other businesses, including accommodation, shops, and small businesses to boost the local market.

“It’s been a real struggle for the whole team to keep the caves open as a viable business, but we are confident that the future is bright. Our corporate offer was an idea that sprung out of local businesses wanting to use the caves, and our other facilities, to hold corporate events. Feedback has been excellent so far, with teams relishing getting away from their desks, and home-working, to somewhere unique.

Time Out Pod
Time Out Pod
There is a fully equipped, 55 seat cinema, the team have invested in a Time Pod where teams can have breakfast, lunch or dinner whilst looking across the Dales and Lisa has also thought about dining and invested in a chef that can meet any requirements.

When I was CBI director for Yorkshire & the Humber, we often used venues like Stump Cross for small dinners. It’s perfect for that or a product launch.

“We are starting to see the results of our plan to expand our offering to the corporate market, and believe we are in a unique position to give businesses an experience they will never forget, whist bolstering our bottom line.”

As part of the rejuvenation story Lisa raffled off her camper van to raise funds and decided to put their one-bedroom flat in Pateley Bridge in a prize draw. The draw has now been replaced by a property auction and bids are due to open on the attractive ground floor apartment, which is valued at £180,000.

“The only thing I can do now to raise the remainder of the money we need is to auction off my flat. It’s not been an easy decision, but this business means so much to our family and to the local community. Saving the business also saves people’s jobs. The caverns are in a rural area so it’s important that we keep our people in work.”

Lisa tells me that she is writing a book for educational visits and even considering the tourist attraction as a wedding venue! As long as, I suggest, the happy couple don’t have to spend the night in there, a reference to Lisa and Nick’s 105 hours spent in the caves to raise £200,000 for new lighting.

“Don’t go there” Nick quickly adds.
“It was torture listening to water constantly dripping in the cave each night. The first night was really hard. The drips were constant, and the cave acoustics amplified every sound. To be honest it was getting used to the cold and the dampness. Never again!"

“Go and see what I mean,” he said.

Before I can say anything, I am given a hard hat and Dr John, as he is affectionately known, the resident scientist/geologist, who has been at Stump Cross for 3 years, takes me on a tour; we process down to the subterranean level with a UV light which highlights some of the features that might get missed.

It’s fascinating and as I climb back up Lisa et al meets me in the fantastic cinema room. It’s then I realise how ideal the venue is for a corporate and/or a team building event. I jest that it would be a superb task for Alan Sugar’s potential apprentices in promoting the new corporate offering to the business sector.

I’ve set off a light bulb moment as Cavewoman says: “Yes it would. We have all the ingredients to make an entertaining episode. Let’s hope the production team read the article!”

Cavewoman is such a character that I ask if she has thought about doing a duo act with the Yorkshire Shepherdess; there’s a lot of similarities.

By the time I am leaving, the evening sun has come out, the wind speed dropped, calm has been restored across the beautiful backdrop of the Yorkshire Dales.
Reflecting on the passion, grit and determination that has kept Lisa Bowerman and her team in business I realise it’s a remarkable story and if anyone can tell it, then Lisa Bowerman is your speaker.

For more information visit: https://www.stumpcrosscaverns.co.uk/


Stump Cross Caverns
The limestone caves that make up Stump Cross Caverns were formed around half a million years ago and were discovered by lead miners in the 1860s. They have been privately owned and open as a visitor attraction ever since.
Now a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the cave system extends well beyond the show caves open to the public and continues underground for almost four miles. Along with the incredible natural phenomenon, the site also has a visitor centre featuring bones of Ice Age creatures, such as bison, wolverines, and reindeer. Stump Cross Caverns also has a cafe, a cinema and motorhome pitches and hosts children’s parties.