Devon contains some
limestone areas mainly on the eastern side of
Dartmoor. The
River Dart has created several
caves along its fringes. There are few caves with active streamways in Devon,
[The Complete Caving Manual, Andy Sparrow. Published 1996. .] excluding the Bakers Pit streamway. Devon also has its own species of cave
shrimp
Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
.
Caving clubsDevon Speleological Society
(DevonSS), established in 1947, is the oldest caving club in Devon. Club members meet weekly for both caving and social activities. The club owns th
South Dartmoor Bunkhouse
in
Buckfastleigh
Buckfastleigh is a market town and civil parish in Devon, England situated beside the Devon Expressway ( A38) at the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. It is part of Teignbridge and, for ecclesiastical purposes, lies within the Totnes Deanery. ...
, the bunkhouse is used by caving and other activity groups.
Exeter University Speleological Society(EUSS) is a younger club that engages in recreational caving across the country, and whose members participate in international expeditions across the world.
Show caves
*
Kents Cavern – A
show cave
A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits.
Definition
A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to ...
near
Torquay where several
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
finds were made. Open to the public.
*
Chudleigh Cavern
Chudleigh Cavern is a limestone cave outside the town of Chudleigh in Devon, England. The cave is deep and contains stalactites. A small part is open to the public as a show cave. The rest is open only to experienced cavers.
Description
The ent ...
– The first passage is open to the public. The cave continues beyond, and is open to the experienced
caver. The entrance is in an open
garden, which contains several other caves, parts of some of which are open to the public. This is outside the
town of
Chudleigh
Chudleigh () is an ancient wool town located within the Teignbridge District Council area of Devon, England between Newton Abbot and Exeter. The electoral ward with the same name had a population of 6,125 at the 2011 census.
Geography
Chudl ...
, between Dartmoor and the
South Coast of England.
*
Beer Quarry Caves
Beer Quarry Caves is a man-made limestone underground complex located about a mile west of the village of Beer, Devon, and the main source in England for beer stone. The tunnels resulted from 2,000 years of quarrying beer stone, which was part ...
– A set of mines near the village of
Beer in east Devon. The source of Beer stone which was used for building and carving.
Buckfastleigh
*The
Bakers Pit cave is in the area. A previous connection to
Reed's cave has been blocked up to protect
cave formations
A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depending o ...
.
*Higher Kiln Quarry, below Buckfast church and graveyard, contains several caves, including
**
Reed's Cave – an extensive system containing cave formations so beautiful public access is rarely allowed.
**
Joint Mitnor Cave
Joint Mitnor Cave, also known as Bone Cave, is a limestone cave situated in the now disused Higher Kiln Quarry near Buckfastleigh, in Devon, England. The cave is one of a number at the quarry and in the surrounding area, and is managed by the Pe ...
– which contained several archeological finds.
Other caves
*Afton Red Rift – another Devon cave, containing some tricky
traversing
*
Ash Hole Cavern
Ash Hole Cavern is a limestone cave system in Brixham, Devon, England. There is evidence of human habitation since Neolithic times, and archaeological excavations have been conducted, with several artefacts found. It has been a scheduled monum ...
– in
Brixham
Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish, the smallest and southernmost of the three main population centres (the others being Paignton and Torquay) on the coast of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Commercial fish ...
. A
scheduled monument, it has produced evidence of inhabitation since the Bronze Age.
*
Cow Cave
Cow Cave is a limestone cave system which is situated on the south side of the Chudleigh Rocks, close to the town of Chudleigh, Devon, England. It is listed as a Scheduled Monument by Historic England and was first listed in 1992.
Description ...
– a small cave system in the Chudleigh Gorge, of palaeontological significance.
[A Pleistocene Chronology for Cow Cave, England http://faculty.jsd.claremont.edu/dmcfarlane/CowCave/index.htm]
*
Pridhamsleigh Cavern - an extensive cave system on the edge of Dartmoor, containing a large lake.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caves In Devon