Call at Eastwater farm (ST 537 508), £1 goodwill fee. Changing facilities in barn.[1]
Cave survey
Upper Series Plan and Lower Series Plan
Registry
Mendip Cave Registry[2]
Eastwater Cavern is a cave near Priddy in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It is also known as Eastwater Swallet.[3] It was first excavated in April 1902 by a team led by Herbert E. Balch composed of paid labourers and volunteers from the Wells Natural History Society. Progress was initially slow, but by February 1903 Balch and Willcox had discovered substantial passage, following the streamway down to the bottom of the cave. Dolphin Pot was dug in 1940 by the Wessex Cave Club, with Primrose Pot following in 1950. West End series was the most recent significant discovery, in 1983.[4]
On 28 August 1910 severe flooding rendered the boulder ruckles unstable, and the bottom of the cave was not reached again for another three years. The cavern was the site of a fatal accident in 1960,[5] when Alan Hartnell was hit by rock-fall. Several areas of the boulder chokes remain unstable.[6]
Dolphin ladder pitch also suffered a rock fall and was blocked by a sofa-sized boulder in 1959,[7] but the route was re-opened in 1966.[8]
The water resurges at Wookey Hole Caves 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the south, and 180 metres (590 ft) below the cave entrance.[1]
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EastwaterCavern is a cave near Priddy in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It is also known as Eastwater Swallet. It was first...
at the limestone boundary into cave systems such as Swildon's Hole, EastwaterCavern and St Cuthbert's Swallet; the rest is rain that percolates directly...
been recovered. The worst incident in UK caving history was the Mossdale Caverns incident in 1967 when six cavers drowned following an unexpected cloudburst...
Ogof Death's Head Hole Disappointment Pot Dog Hole Cave Ease Gill CavernsEastwaterCavern Eden Sike Cave Excalibur Pot Father Foote's Cave Fingal's Cave...
rocks are Carboniferous Limestone containing phreatic caves at Shute Shelve Cavern and Picken's Hole from which fossils dating from the Middle Devensian have...
Burrington caves. Further afield and equally accessible is Read's Cavern. Goatchurch Cavern is 1,500 m (4,900 ft) long and has a surveyed depth of 61.5 m...
formerly known as: Cheddar Gorge SSSI; August Hole/Longwood Swallet SSSI; GB Cavern Charterhouse SSSI; and Charterhouse on-Mendip SSSI. It is part owned by...
The other caves of the Mendip Hills in and around Priddy include: EastwaterCavern, Hunter's Hole, St Cuthbert's Swallet, and Wigmore Swallet. The Church...
three largest networks, Swildon's Hole, St Cuthbert's Swallet and EastwaterCavern exceed 100 metres in depth. Swildon's Hole is a world-famous example...
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