Banwell Ochre Caves (grid reference ST407593) are a 12.46-hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Banwell, North Somerset, notified in 1983.
There are five caves in total which contain the most extensive and accessible yellow ochre workings in the Mendip Hills. A wide variety of ochre types and iron hydroxides (limonites) can be examined in situ, and the evidence of their accumulation as residual ore-bodies associated with Ice Age (Pleistocene) sediments is clearly visible.[1] The caves are also a nesting site for the Horseshoe bat a protected species.[2]
The caves were first exploited for ochre mining in the 1930s and worked until 1948.[2]
Cave one is 62 metres (203 ft) long,[3] Cave two 154 metres (505 ft),[4] cave three 92 metres (302 ft)[5] cave four 62 metres (203 ft)[6] and cave five 31 metres (102 ft) long.[7] A small additional cave is choked with rocks at a depth of 4 metres (13 ft).[8]
^"SSSI citation sheet" (PDF). English Nature. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
^ ab"Ochre mining in Banwell". Banwell History. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
BanwellOchreCaves (grid reference ST407593) are a 12.46-hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Banwell, North Somerset...
public in 1996. It is a Grade II listed building. BanwellOchreCavesCaves of the Mendip Hills "BanwellCaves" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 9 July 2006...
two main commercial show caves and the visitor centre, which is operated by Longleat-owned company Cheddar Gorge and Caves Ltd under director Hugh Cornwell[citation...
Banwell is a village and civil parish on the River Banwell in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. Its population was 3,251 according to the...
of the caves. A number of Mendip caves were found by miners, for example the BanwellCaves which were opened by ochre miners in 1757. Many caves in the...
for caving and cave diving, as well as being popular with climbers, hillwalkers and natural historians. Wookey Hole Caves and some of the caves in Cheddar...
directly through the limestone. The temperature in the caves is a constant 11 °C (52 °F). The caves have been used by humans for around 45,000 years, demonstrated...
the Mendips) and earlier still, prehistoric man, who lived in the local caves, and whose flint tools have been found on the slopes of the local hills...
Catchment, a cave system with a series of spectacularly-decorated caves totalling about 4 miles (6.4 km) of mapped passage. The caves at Fairy Cave Quarry were...
The complete caves. Cheddar: Cheddar Valley Press. ISBN 978-0-9501459-1-4. Irwin, David; Anthony Knibbs (1977). Mendip Underground: A Cavers Guide. Somerset:...
since neolithic times. There are remains of lead mining activities and caves in the limestone beneath the village. It is the venue for the annual Priddy...
diffuse flow characteristics of its hydrology. Charterhouse Caves include four major swallet caves that provide an indisputable record of Pleistocene landform...
became diverted underground and now emerges at Wookey Hole Caves to form the River Axe. Various caves within the gorge were inhabited by neolithic people from...
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