Oliver Bowerman was only five years old when he found out that his family would be leaving their home to live in a cave. However, this was not a real Neanderthal experience happening but rather an opportunity for his family to purchase their own tourist attraction in the Yorkshire Dales. The Bowermans responded to an ad in the newspaper looking for a new owner of Stump Cross Caverns near Pateley Bridge, and after buying it, they began managing the cave system for tourism. Oliver, who is now 22 years old, will take over the management of the caves on his own.
When he first saw the cavern system, Oliver was scared and believed that he was going back in time to the Stone Age. However, he soon warmed up to the place and, by the age of seven, had visited it over a hundred times. He and his band even filmed a music video in the caves, and his friends loved visiting him there. After obtaining a psychology degree, Oliver began assisting his mother, Lisa Bowerman, in running the business.
Stump Cross Caverns were first discovered by default in the 19th century by lead miners. During this time, the miners discovered the land’s beauty, and further inspection led to the finding of a complete reindeer fossil. The land was sold to Septimus Wray, a pleasure garden businessman, in 1926, and the descendants he left behind owned the site until 2003, when the Bowerman family took over.
Oliver intends to open up an area of the cave that potholers have previously explored exclusively. He intends to do this over the following two years, starting in January, and will be required to remove rocks and dirt for this project, which is made possible by taking on a lot of engineering work. Lisa Bowerman, who is excited about the prospect but apprehensive about the amount of work involved, will still be managed and responsible for the creative and educational aspects of the business
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