The entrance to Goatchurch Cavern with the recent rockfall on the left. Photo: Wayne Starsmore The wet winter of 2023/24 is probably the cause of a couple of rockfalls that Mendip cavers should be aware of. A small not insignificant landslide has occurred in the car park at Fairy Cave Quarry. On the South East…
This is the second volume of a planned four volume set covering the caves, mines and associated features of the county of Somerset. Volume 1 was published earlier in 2020 and features Bristol, Broadfield Down, the Bristol Channel and West Somerset. Volume 3 will cover Central and South Mendip, and Volume 4 will complete the…
If you’re anticipating having a lot of time on your hands and wondering what on earth you are going to do with your time during what could be a protracted period of social distancing, then look no further! Here we review a book, full of interest to any caver, longer than a good few classic…
Sammy Field, from the University of Southampton, visited the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society’s collections as a PhD researcher to collect data for her thesis, ‘Re-evaluating the use of dental wear to estimate age at death of British archaeological remains.’ Sammy has kindly written a guest blog about her work in the UBSS collection. Age…
The Mendip Cave Registry and Archive (MCRA) are pleased to announce the launch of Volume 1 of ‘Somerset Underground’, at the Hunters’ Lodge Inn at 8 p.m. on Saturday 7th March. Costing a rock-bottom bargain price of just £10, Volume 1 comprises 275 pages and contains details of more than 750 natural caves, sea…
Accounts of an archaeological dig on Mendip have appeared in print – 50 years after initial discoveries took place. Picken’s Hole is a small, partially unroofed cave on Crook Peak, Somerset. It was excavated during the 1960s when significant Palaeolithic faunal assemblages, a small collection of Mousterian stone implements and some human teeth were found….
Conservation work in 2003 in Goatchurch Cavern on the Mendips revealed some fine inscribed marks on calcite flowstone next to the Giant’s Steps. The marks resembled the letter W and aroused interest as the patina was considerably darker than the lighter exposed calcite nearby in graffiti dated 1704. We filed them in the mental compartment…
Cheddar Gorge has now reopened to traffic – just days after the road was badly damaged by severe weather and flooding. The B3135 through the Gorge was first closed on Sunday afternoon when water, mud and rock began to pour off neighbouring land, turning the road into a river and making it unsafe for vehicles….
Back in the winter of 2012/13 Cheddar Gorge flooded, damaging the road, and had to be closed for several months, until it dried out and the road could be repaired. In order to help prevent further events like that, cavers from the Charterhouse Caving Company Ltd worked in conjunction with the landowners, Somerset Wildlife Trust…
High carbon dioxide levels are currently reported in some Mendip caves. Manor Farm Swallet, Swildons Hole and G.B. Cavern are three popular examples. Other caves where this is a regular problem are White Pit, Cuckoo Cleaves and Tynings Barrow Swallet. On a visit to Swildons Hole and G.B. Cavern on the weekend of 24th and…
Darkness Below has received a report on the recent Southern CHECC 2016, held in the Mendips on the 4th-6th of March. Firstly, a massive thank you to everyone involved in the organisation of this event. A special thank you to Hellie for providing the food, to the training and workshop coordinator Stu Alldred, and to…
Last call for anyone interested in signing up for training at the Council of Higher Education Caving Clubs’ Southern event taking place on Mendip this weekend! If you’re already registered for the event, please note that some places are still available on some of the training sessions, including one for underground photography, so if you’re…
Special calcite crystals that form when water freezes to ice in a cave have been discovered in Wookey Hole. Now the researchers would like your help to know if they exist elsewhere in the UK. During September, 2015, Tom Chapman, Robbie Shone and Gina Moseley visited both the new show cave extensions in Wookey Hole…
