Caves Dubbed 'The Road To Hell' Gives The Brave The Chance To Visit After Dark

Earlier this year a cave system on the border of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire made headlines after ancient 'witches marks' were discovered on a cave wall there. Now those who are brave enough can visit the caves after dark.

The public are being given the chance to visit Creswell Crags caves during five rare evening openings between September 3rd and 7th, with two session taking place each evening at 8:45 and 10pm.

In February heritage experts found hundreds of examples of apotropaic marks in a cave at the limestone gorge. These markings were made to ward off evil, misfortune, or even witches or demons.

The markings are believed to mainly have been made between the 16th and early 19th century by local residents and are believed to be Christian in origin. However experts have advised that the Christian nature of the markings shouldn't be seen as having some kind of official sanction by the church. They are more likely to be as a result of people harbouring their own superstitions.

The sheer number and scale of the anti-witch markings means this site is of particular significance. How terrified must the locals have been that they spent time and effort carving over a thousand of these marks into the walls of the cave?

This summer's late openings are to give visitors the chance to experience an immersive art installation in the caves, but you best not be scared of the dark.

The audio artwork, 'Entirely Hollow Aside From The Dark', was designed by artist Alan James Burns to heighten the sense of hearing while surrounded by darkness. Visitors will enter a subterranean soundscape that personifies the voice of Mother Earth and her struggle against mankind.

The presentation lasts for around 20 minutes, but you'll get around 40 minutes in the caves. This means you'll get the chance to see the famous witches marks too, which are more commonly found on churches or homes, and served to protect that location from evil forces, in whatever form that might be.

Does the number of markings in one particular location actually mean something significant happened here, forcing the locals to take this kind of action? You might be able to work that out yourself with a visit to the caves. Tickets for the over-16s event cost £8 and can be bought at entirelyhollowasidefromthedark.com.