| Swildon's Hole | |
|---|---|
 Entrance structure |
|
| Location | Priddy |
| Depth | 167 metres |
| Length | 9144 metres |
| Coordinates | grid reference ST540505 |
| Discovery | 1901 |
| Geology | Limestone |
| Difficulty | Grade 4 |
| Access | Manor Farm |
Swildon's Hole (grid reference ST540505) is an extensive cave in Priddy, Somerset. Priddy is a village in Somerset, England in the Mendip Hills, close to East Harptree and north west of Wells. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude A cave is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter Priddy is a village in Somerset, England in the Mendip Hills, close to East Harptree and north west of Wells. Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county The first recorded exploration occurred in 1901, and new sections have frequently been discovered since then. The cave contains an active streamway, which has caused a highly varied cave system. Areas of the system range from low passages, through which cavers must crawl, to impressive chambers with sheer drops, and from dry fossil passages to thundering waterfalls and its infamous sumps. Caving or spelunking is the recreational Sport of exploring Caves In contrast Speleology is the scientific study of caves and the cave A sump is a term used in Caving to describe a submerged passage in a cave [1] Indeed, sump 1 was first bypassed in the 1930's, and only a handful of the 11 sumps thus far bypassed can be dived without dedicated equipment.
The entrance is just outside the village of Priddy, in a small tree filled hollow, via a small stone building and then through a triangular hole in the ground. Priddy is a village in Somerset, England in the Mendip Hills, close to East Harptree and north west of Wells.
The upper series of the cave compresses many of these features into a relatively short space, making Swildon's a very popular trip for novice cavers. The cave goes far beyond this, however, and the lower reaches of the cave continue to provide challenges for even the most experienced of cave divers. Cave diving is a type of Technical diving in which specialized SCUBA equipment is used to enable the exploration of natural or artificial Caves which are
There is some evidence of copper mining at some point in the past. [2]
The water in the cave resurges in Wookey Hole Caves. Wookey Hole Caves is a show cave and tourist attraction in the village of Wookey Hole on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills near Wells in Somerset This was first demonstrated (by pouring dye into the water) by Graham Balcombe and Jack Sheppard of the Cave Diving Group, pioneers of cave diving in the late 1930s. Jack Sheppard ( 31 March 1909 &ndash 14 July 2001) born John Arthur Sheppard in Lewisham, Kent (south east London The Cave Diving Group (CDG is a United Kingdom -based diver training organization specialising in Cave diving.
It forms part of the Priddy Caves Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
Contents |
References
- ^ Johnson, Peter (1967). Priddy Caves ( is an Area 676 Hectare (1670 acre Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Priddy in the Mendip Hills, Somerset A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a Conservation designation denoting a Protected area in the United Kingdom. The History of Mendip Caving. Newton Abbot: David & Charles.
- ^ Gough, J. W. (1967). The mines of Mendip. Newton Abbot: David & Charles.
Bibliography
- Irwin, David; Alison Moody, Andy Farrant, Jim Hanwell(Ed), Richard Witcombe(Ed) (2007). Swildon's Hole - 100 Years of Exploration. Wessex Cave Club. ISBN 978-0-9500433-5-7.
- Farr, Martyn. The Darkness Beckons. ISBN 0-939748-32-0.
See also
External links
- Forty years in Swildon's Hole, a Laurie & Maurice film, Wessex Cave Club [1]
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic