A man who spent his childhood playing in a series of underground caves owned by his parents, who bought the prehistoric caves when he was aged just five after seeing a newspaper advert
A man who spent his childhood exploring the prehistoric caves owned by his parents, is now managing them as a tourist attraction.
The Stump Cross Caverns in the Yorkshire Dales, filled with awe-inspiring stalagmites and stalactites, served as his personal playground. Oliver Bowerman, 26, was bought up in caves after his parents purchased them when he was just five years old after spotting an advertisement in a newspaper. Now, the university graduate has taken over the management of the caves, which were first discovered in 1860.
“I remember it vividly – I was five years old when they decided to buy the caverns,” Oliver recalled. “They actually had no tourism experience at all – my mum was a paediatric nurse and my dad was a brewer.
“We lived in Northumberland, but they had family back in Yorkshire and wanted to have a business and move back, and get out of the corporate world. They saw the advert in the newspaper – ‘cave for sale for the first time in generations’ – and my dad said as a joke almost, that he wanted to go and buy it. My mum said, ‘go on then,’ and they actually went and bought it.
“I remember being told we were moving to a cave, and at that age, I had no concept of what a cave was other than the book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. I remember the first day I came to visit it was after we bought it. We went down to the caves, and I saw a big picture of a wolverine at the entrance – and within five minutes, I thought the wolverine was going to eat us and had to go back up.”
Growing up with his siblings in such a fascinating landscape, he reflected: “You almost take it for granted when it’s on your doorstep, but it’s amazing to have this strange garden, right beneath your feet.” The Smith family’s bond with the site runs deep as Oliver recounts, “We’ve always lived on-site – it’s been a really beautiful place to grow up, and it’s pretty unique.
But the family faced a downturn, “In 2019, visitor numbers began to decline, with mum Lisa fearing she may have to sell.”
The intrepid young man didn’t just stand by when trouble hit; he took control of the situation. Fresh out of university, Oliver stepped up as business director in 2022 to save the heritage site, admitting: “The business was going through a bit of a rough patch. Our visiting numbers had dropped significantly since the early 2000s – we were down to around 20,000 visitors per year, which is difficult to sustain.
“My mum and her partner Nick were working every hour of the day, and doing everything because they couldn’t afford to have many staff. There was a good chance they were going to put it on the market.”
But showing wisdom beyond his years, Oliver affirms his long-time involvement and dedication: “I officially took over this year, but I’ve been involved with the business since I was much younger.”
Oliver, who started working at the tender age of 13, reminisced about his early days: “I was 13 when I could officially start working, from playing the easter bunny to washing pots – doing a lot of those jobs to start with. As soon as I finished university, I wanted to come back and help the family and take the business forward.
“The main motivation was because I knew the potential was there for the business, so I thought that if I could come and help with the marketing and the operations, I could help to give my mum a good retirement.”
Looking ahead, Oliver is buzzing with excitement for the future — he said: “We’ve opened up a new section of caves – work will begin on that in January,” he revealed. The project is set to be a milestone, “We believe it will take two to three years, but it will be the first cave in 25 years that we’ll have been able to open.
“Some of the formations in there are absolutely spectacular, so that will be really exciting. And Mum loves the fact that I’ve come and taken it on.”
With Oliver at the helm of the business, Lisa is looking forward to focusing on her passion: “Mum can now take a step back and get more involved with the education side of things, which is what she loves doing. I saw the potential, I wanted to help my family – and I do love it, it’s a brilliant job.”
