Caves of the Mendip Hills

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The Caves of the Mendip Hills are formed by the particular geology of the Mendip Hills, with large areas of limestone worn away by water makes it a national centre for caving. The Hills conceal the largest underground river system in Britain.^[1]

Contents 1 Geology 2 History 3 Access 4 Cave Diving 5 Sites of Special Scientific Interest 6 List of caves 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External links

[edit] Geology

The hills consist of a layer of Carboniferous Limestone lying over an anticline of Old Red Sandstone. When a surface stream running down one of the Sandstone peaks reaches the layer of Limestone it sinks below ground through a "swallet", continuing on its way down towards sea level by enlarging existing cracks in the rock to form caves. The catchment area of the Cheddar Yeo, which rises in Gough's Cave, measures 54 sq km. Die marking shows that some of the water travels underground for up to 10 miles, taking up to 14 days to reach Cheddar.

[edit] History

The earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Britain was found at Aveline's Hole, near Burrington Combe. The human bone fragments it contained, from about 21 different individuals, are thought to be between roughly 10,200 and 10,400 years old. ^{[2] [3]}

Archeological evidence including Pottery, Flints, Hearths, Coins, Burials and Metalwork from the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman eras have been found in many of the caves.^[4]

[edit] Access

The caves which are easily accessible to the public are at Cheddar Gorge and Caves and Wookey Hole, but the vast majority of the caves require specialist equipment and knowledge. Many of the caves are gated and operate leader systems in an attempt to reduce the damage caused when the caves are visited. Local caving groups organise trips and continue to discover new caverns.

[edit] Cave Diving

Attempts to move from one cave to another through the underground rivers led to the development of cave diving, with Swildon's Hole being the site of the first cave dive attempt in Britain, in 1934 and the first successful cave dive in Britain, being achieved the following year at Wookey Hole where the last sump is currently the deepest sump in Britain at 76 m.

[edit] Sites of Special Scientific Interest

The cave complexes at St. Dunstan's Well Catchment, Thrupe Lane Swallet, Lamb Leer and Priddy Caves have been identified as geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. There are also caves within the Cheddar Complex SSSI.

[edit] List of caves

A selection of the better known caves are listed below

Name	Location	Map	Length (km)	Depth (m)	Notes
Aveline's Hole	Burrington Combe	ST47615867	0.067	16	Site of early cemetery & cave markings
Axbridge Ochre Mine	Axbridge	ST429552	0.132	33
Banwell Caves	Banwell	ST38225881	0.097	21	geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
Banwell Ochre Caves	Banwell	ST40605904			geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
Compton Martin Ochre Mine	Compton Martin	ST543566	0.4	21	geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
Cox's cave	Cheddar	ST46465390			Open to the general public as a show cave
Fairy Cave Quarry *Balch Cave *Conning Tower Cave *Fairy Cave *Fernhill Cave *Hillier's Cave *Hillwithy Cave *Shatter Cave *W/L Cave *Withyhill Cave	Stoke St Michael	ST65654775	1.17[5]	<60[5]	Many highly decorated.
GB Cave	Nr Shipham	ST47595623	1.95[5]	134[5]	Named after Goddard and Baker who first discovered it. Part of the Cheddar Complex SSSI.
Goatchurch Cavern	Burrington	ST47585823	0.75	55
Gough's Cave	Cheddar	ST46705391	2.135[5]	90[5]	Open to the general public as a show cave
Lamb Leer	East Harptree	ST54325505	0.64	67	geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
Longwood Swallet	Cheddar Complex	ST48615571	1.65	175	Part of the Cheddar Complex SSSI.
Manor Farm Swallet	Charterhouse	ST49825566	1.06[5]	156[5]
Priddy Caves *Eastwater Cavern *Hunter`s Hole *St Cuthberts Swallet *Swildon's Hole *Wigmore Swallet	Priddy	ST53885062
Sidcot Swallet	Burrington	ST47545828	0.2	28
Stoke Lane Slocker	Stoke St Michael	ST66874745	2.18[5]	<60[5]	A low, wet cave containing sumps early on and decorated chambers later. The cave is well known for producing cases of Weils Disease.
Thrupe Lane Swallet	Shepton Mallet	ST60384580	1.147[5]	120[5]	geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
Tyning`s Barrow Swallet	Cheddar	ST47135638	1.28[5]	<60[5]
Upper Flood Swallet	Charterhouse	ST50575576	2[5]	<60[5]	A very well decorated cave with plenty of walking passage, and some tight sections to reach some recent extensions.
Wookey Hole Caves	Wookey Hole	ST53184802	3.66[5]	152[5]	There are 25 sumps on the main route through this resurgence cave, several of which are deep, some of which have nearly claimed lives. The first sump was the site of the first successful cave dive in Britain, in 1935, and the last sump is currently the deepest sump in Britain at 76 m. Open to the general public as a show cave

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Barrington, Nicholas; Stanton, William (1977). Mendip: The Complete Caves and a View of the Hills. Cheddar Valley P. ISBN 0950145920. 

• Irwin, David John; Knibbs Anthony J. (1999). Mendip Undergound: A Cavers Guide. Bat Products. ISBN 0953610306. 

[edit] External links

• Active Mendip
• Google Map of Mendip Caves from Bracknell District Caving Club
• Wiki about Mendip Caves from UK Caving