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Fairy Cave Quarry
Fairy Cave Quarry () is between Stoke St Michael and Oakhill in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. Quarrying was first started on the site in the early 1920s. In 1963 the quarry was acquired by Hobbs (Quarries) Ltd., and production on a much larger scale began. Excavations cut back into the hillside above St Dunstan's Well Rising, a Bristol Water abstraction point (long since abandoned); various caves were intercepted. The quarry ceased production in 1977. The caves in Fairy Cave Quarry include: *Balch Cave * Conning Tower Cave * Fairy Cave * Fernhill Cave *Hillier's Cave * Hillwithy Cave *Shatter Cave *W/L Cave * Withyhill Cave The caves in the quarry were formed by water from an unknown source. Withybrook Slocker is an active swallet to the south of the quarry and although the water sinking here presently flows through the quarry caves the stream is misfit. Withybrook Slocker, however, gives access to the upstream continuation of the quarry caves and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quarries Of The Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills, (Mendips) in northern Somerset, are the most southerly Carboniferous Limestone uplands in Britain. The Mendips comprise three major anticlinal structures, each with a core of older Devonian sandstone and Silurian volcanic rocks. The latter, after crushing, is use in road construction and concrete. Devonian Sandstone is visible around Black Down and Downhead. Carboniferous Limestone, dominates the hills and surround the older rock formations. An outcrop of basalt is also quarried at Moon's Hill. For centuries the stone of the Mendips, and the Cotswolds to the north, have been used to build the cities of Bristol and Bath, and many Somerset towns. As stone transportation is expensive, the Mendips, and Leicestershire, are important as the nearest sources of hard stone for London and the South East. The Mendip quarries produce twelve million tonnes of stone a year, employ two thousand people, and have an annual turnover of £150m. Five million tonnes of s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caves Of The Mendip Hills
The caves of the Mendip Hills are formed by the particular geology of the Mendip Hills: large areas of limestone worn away by water makes it a national centre for caving. The hills conceal the largest underground river system in Britain. Geology The hills consist of anticlines of Carboniferous Limestone lying over Devonian Old Red Sandstone, with the sandstone exposed on the summits. When a surface stream running off the sandstone reaches the limestone it sinks below ground through a " swallet", (also known locally as a "slocker"), continuing on its way down towards sea level by enlarging existing cracks in the rock to form caves, and reappearing at the base of the limestone outcrop. As the water changes route within the hill some caves (or parts of caves) are left dry. There is a characteristic type of Mendip cave, in which there is an initially steep descent, and then a more level stretch ending in a "sump" as the cave reaches and descends below the prevailing water table. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Mountaineering Council
The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the national representative body for England and Wales that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers, including ski-mountaineers. The BMC are also recognised by government as the national governing body for competition climbing. History The organisation was originally formed in 1944, following a proposal from the president of the Alpine Club, Geoffrey Winthrop Young. It aimed to represent the interests of climbing clubs and primarily maintain access for climbers to climb on a mountain, a crag, or even a sea cliff in England and Wales. As of 2017 its headquarters are on Burton Road in West Didsbury, an area of Manchester, England. In 2018, members voted for the first female president of the organisation, Lynn Robinson. Founding members The BMC began with 25 member climbing and outdoor organisations *Alpine Club *The Rucksack Club *The Wayfarers' Club *Ladies' Alpine Club ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done for locomotion, sporting recreation, and for competition, and is also done in trades that rely on ascension; such as emergency rescue and military operations. Climbing is done indoors and outdoors and on natural (e.g. rock and ice) and artificial surfaces. Professional mountain guides or rock climbing guides (e.g. the UIAGM), were a significant element in developing the popularity of the sport in the natural environment, and remain so today. Since the 1980s, the development of competition climbing and the availability of artificial climbing walls have dramatically increased the popularity of rock climbing as a sport and led to the emergence of professional rock climbers, such as Wolfgang Güllich, Chris Sharma, Lynn Hill and Catherine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cerberus Spelaeological Society
In Greek mythology, Cerberus (; grc-gre, Κέρβερος ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring of the monsters Echidna and Typhon, and was usually described as having three heads, a serpent for a tail, and snakes protruding from multiple parts of his body. Cerberus is primarily known for his capture by Heracles, the last of Heracles' twelve labours. Descriptions Descriptions of Cerberus vary, including the number of his heads. Cerberus was usually three-headed, though not always. Cerberus had several multi-headed relatives. His father was the multi snake-headed Typhon, and Cerberus was the brother of three other multi-headed monsters, the multi-snake-headed Lernaean Hydra; Orthrus, the two-headed dog who guarded the Cattle of Geryon; and the Chimera, who had three heads: that of a lion, a goat, and a snake. And, like these close relatives, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
W/L Cave
W/L Cave is part of the Fairy Cave Quarry group of caves between Stoke St Michael and Oakhill in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It is named after the initials of its discoverers, Bob Whitaker and Jerry Lavis, was first entered in the summer of 1967. It was the first significant cave to be discovered after the destruction of Balch Cave in the same (Fairy Cave) quarry. Although short it was extremely well decorated with calcite formations and ended in a large chamber with a magnificent side grotto dubbed Pink Pool Chamber. It is almost certainly part of the Balch Cave system and is the link between Balch Cave and the other systems in Fairy Cave Quarry namely Shatter Cave Shatter Cave is a cave in Fairy Cave Quarry, near Stoke St Michael in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It falls within the St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Site of Special Scientific Interest. The name commemorates the damag ... and Withyhill Cave. The link was p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shatter Cave
Shatter Cave is a cave in Fairy Cave Quarry, near Stoke St Michael in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It falls within the St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Site of Special Scientific Interest. The name commemorates the damage, done by blasting in the quarry, to some of the decoration within the cave. Description Shatter Cave has been described as being one of the finest decorated caves in Britain in terms of their sheer abundance of pure white and translucent calcite deposits.Moseley, Gina (2005), ''A Study into the Microclimatology of Shatter Cave, southwest England with comparison to Uamh an Tartair, northwest Scotland'', presented to the British Cave Research Association. The floor of Diesel Chamber includes some fine gours, Helicite Rift contains heligmites and a stalactite curtain, and Pillar Chamber contains a high white pillar as well as one of the finest crystalline gour floors in Great Britain. Tor Chamber, Portcullis Grottoes and Pisa Passage a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hillier's Cave
Hillier's Cave () is a cave in Fairy Cave Quarry, near Stoke St Michael in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It falls within the St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Site of Special Scientific Interest. The cave was discovered on 13 February 1954, when blasting at one of the working faces opened up a cave passage, and is now choked with sludge waste from the quarry. It was first explored by John Anthony Quinn and boys from Midsomer Norton Grammar School (now Norton Hill School) who named it in honour of Gordon Hillier who was headmaster of the school from 1926 to 1958. The Fairy Caves Management Committee administers the access to this cave on behalf of the quarry owners. References See also * Caves of the Mendip Hills The caves of the Mendip Hills are formed by the particular geology of the Mendip Hills: large areas of limestone worn away by water makes it a national centre for caving. The hills conceal the largest underground river system in Britain. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoke St Michael
Stoke St Michael is a village and civil parish on the Mendip Hills north east of Shepton Mallet, and west of Frome, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. History Since the 14th century the village has also been known as Stoke Lane, although the origin of the alternative name is unclear, but may be connected to John de Lison who gave lands in the village to Glastonbury Abbey in 1253. The parish of Stoke Lane was part of the Whitstone Hundred. The village became a centre for cloth manufacture with fulling mills being established on the River Frome to the north of the village. Henry Fussell established paper mills in 1803, and his family, who came from the village, including James Fussell established their iron works and edge-tool business in Mells. The Knatchbull Arms was built in the late 17th century, and is named after the Knatchbulls of Babington who held the manor in the late 18th century. The manor house on Tower Hill, which was previously known as the old ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
