Where am I? DCC > CAVING AND MINING > CAVES > CAVING AREAS > MENDIP
The Mendip Hills and caves under them seem very different from elsewhere in England and Wales, partly because of the geology (the Hills are a ridge of sandstone with limestone on either side so the caves tend to slow down to the north or the south) and partly because there are only a handful of active clubs but that have been very long-established. These clubs are the Wessex Cave Club, the Bristol Exploration Club, The Shepton Mallet Caving Club, the Chelsea Speleological Society and the Mendip Caving Group
The map shows how the best known caves are clustered around Priddy and Burrington with a separate group further east at Stoke St Michael. This selection is only for the largest caves, there are many other smaller caves in between.
area map show caves albums and reports links
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There is a small collection of showcaves in Cheddar at the bottom of the gorge and Wookey Hole Cave at Wookey.
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Albums
Reports
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Books and Journals
There are plenty of books and journals and a search on the internet will give access to some. The main reference books are Mendip Underground by Dave Irwin and Tony Jarratt and the recent but weighty Mendip Underground, A Caver's Guide by Alan Gray and others. For technical information, the BCRA's Limestones and Caves of of the Mendip Hills is of course the main point of reference. There are also a number of interesting historical books about the area. Some of these are in the DCC library which members can see by visiting the Records pages in the members' area.
Websites
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