The owner of the Stump Cross Caverns tourist attraction has confirmed that one lucky supporter will win a flat in Pateley Bridge on Christmas Day.
The news came after a £130,000 crowdfunding target, which had to be reached by December 25, was achieved yesterday with just a few days to spare.
Lisa Bowerman and fiancé Nick Markham launched their Crowdfunder campaign in autumn 2021, offering their one-bedroom flat on Pateley Bridge High Street as a raffle prize and asking supporters to buy tickets for £10 each.
It took 20 months for the campaign to break through the £100,000 barrier, but just a week to raise the final £30,000.
In a Facebook post, Lisa said:
“This is going to happen now! We will definitely be giving this apartment away on Christmas Day!”
Read more:
- Stump Cross Caverns owners live underground for 105 hours
- Stump Cross owners in last push to raise £130,000 target by Christmas Day
The couple are raising funds to pay for a much-needed specialist lighting system at Stump Cross, whose limestone caves stretch for miles under Greenhow Hill. The new German-made illuminations can resist the cold and damp conditions underground, and cost around £200,000.
Lisa said:
“The profits that we have made as a business would normally be used to reinvest in the business, however they are being reabsorbed due to the rising cost of living/bills.
“It almost seems even more appropriate now than before to give the flat away on Christmas Day and make at least one person’s life easier whilst going through these tough times. £10 could turn into £130,000 for someone.
“Monies raised will in turn help to protect and preserve a little bit of history for our future.”
Tickets for the draw will still be on sale right up until midday on Christmas Day, unless the next target, of £200,000, is reached first. The draw will be held in the afternoon of December 25.
Lisa Bowerman in Stump Cross Caverns, whose strange formations were created by dissolved limestone in dripping water over thousands of years.
Stump Cross Caverns were formed around 500,000 years ago, but only discovered by lead miners in the mid-1800s. Ancient animal bones have been recovered from the caves, some of them from the last Ice Age, including wolves, reindeer, bison, and wolverines.
