This is an incomplete list of caves in the United Kingdom, including information on the largest and deepest caves in the UK.

Longest, deepest and largest

The longest cave system in the UK is the

Three Counties System The Three Counties System is a set of inter-connected limestone solutional cave systems spanning the borders of Cumbria, Lancashire and North Yorkshire in the north of England. The possibility of connecting a number of discrete cave systems in ...

in the Yorkshire Dales, with of passageways. It includes the Ease Gill system, the

Notts Pot Notts Pot is cave system on Leck Fell, Lancashire, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Se ...

Ireby Fell Cavern Ireby Fell Cavern is a cave system on Ireby Fell, Lancashire, England, near the border with North Yorkshire. It is a segment of the Three Counties System, linking the Rift Pot system to the south with Notts Pot to the north. This popular cave ...

system, the

Lost John's Cave Lost Johns' Cave is an extensive cave system on Leck Fell, Lancashire, England. With its three major vertical routes (''Dome Route'', ''Centipede Route'' and ''Monastery Route'') it is a popular place to practise single-rope technique (SRT) bec ...

system, and the Pippikin Pot system, all of which are connected. *The deepest cave in Wales and the UK is

Ogof Ffynnon Ddu Ogof Ffynnon Ddu ( Welsh for ''cave of the black spring''), also known informally as OFD, is a cave under a hillside in the area surrounding Penwyllt in the Upper Swansea Valley in South Wales. It is the second longest cave in Wales and the d ...

, deep and containing around of passageways. *The deepest cave in England is the Three Counties System which is deep between the entrance of Large Pot, and the deepest point reached by diving in Gavel Pot. *The deepest cave in Scotland is Cnoc nan Uamh ('hill of the caves') in Assynt, deep. *The deepest cave in Northern Ireland is

Reyfad Pot Reyfad () is a townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It lies in the land division of Old Barr, in the civil parish of Boho. The townland has previously been called Rayfadd - 1659, Raffada (Magheryboy) - 1672 and Ráith Fada "long fo ...

in County Fermanagh, deep. A sea cave on the north side of

Calder's Geo Calders Geo is an inlet in the western cliffs of Esha Ness in Northmavine on the Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. A cave on the north side of the geo has been measured at more than one and a half times the size of "The Frozen Deep", a chamber in ...

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

was measured in 2014 at over high and with a floor area of around . This makes it the largest known cave chamber in the United Kingdom. A chamber in

Reservoir Hole Reservoir Hole is a cave in Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, southwest England. It contains what is believed to be the largest chamber yet found under the Mendip Hills. The cave was first dug out in 1951 by members of Wessex Cave Club, and further p ...

Cheddar Gorge Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Cheddar, Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar show caves, where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years ...

called “The Frozen Deep” was discovered in 2012 and found to be high and long.

England

By English caving region.

Devon

Mendip Hills

The following are all within Somerset unless otherwise stated. See also Caves of the Mendip Hills. *

Aveline's Hole Aveline's Hole is a cave at Burrington Combe in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. The earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Britain, 10,200 and 10,400 years old, was found at Aveline's Hole, constituting the largest a ...

Charterhouse Cave Charterhouse Cave, on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, is the deepest cave in southern England. History Charterhouse Cave was first excavated in 1972. By 1977 the Sidcot School Speleological Society had reached Bat Chamber, although the first m ...

Cox's cave Cox's Cave is in Cheddar Gorge on the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It is open to the public as a show cave. The cave is named after mill owner George Cox who discovered it in 1837, while quarrying limestone for a new building. Cox immed ...

Eastwater Cavern Eastwater Cavern 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 excavated in April 1902 by a team led by Herbert E. Balch composed of paid labourers and v ...

GB Cave GB Cave is a cave between Charterhouse and Shipham in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. The cave was first entered on 19 November 1939, after ten months of digging, by the University of Bristol Spelæological Society, and ...

Goatchurch Cavern Goatchurch Cavern is a cave on the edge of Burrington Combe in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. Description Due to early attempts to turn it into a show cave, there are remains of iron handrails inside the cave and a ...

Gough's Cave Gough's Cave ( ) is located in Cheddar Gorge on the Mendip Hills, in Cheddar, Somerset, England. The cave is deep and is long, and contains a variety of large chambers and rock formations. It contains the Cheddar Yeo, the largest underground ...

Lamb Leer Lamb Leer () is a 14.59 hectare (36.04 acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest between East Harptree and Priddy in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1983. The cavern is a fragment of a very ancient major cave system which now ...

Longwood Swallet The Longwood Swallet is a cave near Charterhouse, in the Carboniferous Limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. The cave is part of the Cheddar Complex SSSI and is connected to August Hole. It is 1.65 km in length and reaches a ...

Manor Farm Swallet Manor Farm Swallet is a cave in the limestone of the Mendip Hills The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the ...

* Pierre's Pot *

* Rhino Rift * Shatter Cave *

St Cuthbert's Swallet St Cuthbert's Swallet is the second longest, and most complex, cave on the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It forms a major part of the Priddy Caves system and water entering this swallet re-emerges at Wookey Hole. – which also con ...

Stoke Lane Slocker Stoke Lane Slocker () is a cave near Stoke St Michael, in the Carboniferous Limestone of the Mendip Hills, in the English county of Somerset. It is 2.18 km in length and reaches a depth of 30m. – which also contains a detailed descri ...

Swildon's Hole Swildon's Hole is an extensive cave in Priddy, Somerset. At in length, it is the longest cave on the Mendip Hills. It has been found to be connected to Priddy Green Sink and forms part of the Priddy Caves Site of Special Scientific Interest ( ...

Thrupe Lane Swallet Thrupe Lane Swallet () is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, SSSI notification, notified in 1992. It is also a Geological Conservation Review site. The name Thrupe Lane comes from the nearby hamlet (place), hamlet of ...

* Wookey Hole Caves

Peak District

The following are all within Derbyshire unless otherwise stated. See also List of caves in the Peak District and List of caves in Derbyshire. *

Blue John Cavern The Blue John Cavern is one of the four show caves in Castleton, Derbyshire, England. Description The cavern takes its name from the semi-precious mineral Blue John, which is still mined in small amounts outside the tourist season and mad ...

* Great Masson Cavern * Great Rutland Cavern * Oxlow Cavern *

Peak Cavern The Peak Cavern, also known as the Devil's Arse, is one of the four show caves in Castleton, Derbyshire, England. Peakshole Water flows through and out of the cave, which has the largest cave entrance in Britain. Overview Unlike the other ...

Poole's Cavern Poole's Cavern or Poole's Hole is a two-million-year-old natural limestone cave on the edge of Buxton in the Peak District, in the county of Derbyshire, England. Poole's Cavern forms part of the Wye system, and has been designated a Site of Spe ...

Speedwell Cavern Speedwell Cavern is one of the four show caves in Castleton, Derbyshire, England. The cave system consists of a horizontal lead miners' adit (a level passageway driven horizontally into the hillside) 200 metres below ground leading to the cave ...

* Thor's Cave,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

Treak Cliff Cavern Treak Cliff Cavern is a show cave near Castleton in Derbyshire, England. It is part of the Castleton Site of Special Scientific Interest and one of only two sites where the ornamental mineral Blue John is still excavated (the other is the n ...

Yorkshire Dales

Alum Pot Alum Pot is a pothole with a large open shaft at a surface elevation of on the eastern flanks of Simon Fell, North Yorkshire, England. It connects with nearby Long Churn Cave and Diccan Pot. The pot is accessed via a 1-km private track on p ...

* Aquamole Pot * Bar Pot, Gaping Gill *

Boxhead Pot Boxhead Pot is a cave on Leck Fell, in Lancashire, England. It leads into the top end of Lost Johns' Cave, and is part of the Three Counties System, an cave system which spans the borders of Cumbria, Lancashire, and North Yorkshire. Descripti ...

* Big Meanie (See Death's Head Hole) * The Buttertubs * Crackpot Cave * Coal Hole Entrance (See Short Drop Cave) *

Death's Head Hole Death's Head Hole is a cave on Leck Fell, in Lancashire, England. Its entrance is a deep shaft. It leads into Lost Johns' Cave and is part of the Three Counties System, an cave system which spans the borders of Cumbria, Lancashire, and North ...

* Disappointment Pot, Gaping Gill *

Ease Gill Caverns The Ease Gill Cave System is the longest, and most complex cave system in Britain as of 2011, with around of passages, including connections only passable by cave diving. It spans the valley between Leck Fell and Casterton Fell. The water re ...

* Eden Sike Cave, Mallerstang * Flood Entrance Pot, Gaping Gill * Gaping Gill * Gavel Pot *

Great Douk Cave Great Douk Cave is a shallow cave system lying beneath the limestone bench of Ingleborough in Chapel-le-Dale, North Yorkshire, England. It is popular with beginners and escorted groups, as it offers straightforward caving, and it is possible to ...

* Goyden Pot *

Ingleborough Cave Ingleborough Cave (formerly known as Clapham Caves) is a show cave close to the village of Clapham in North Yorkshire, England adjacent to where the water from Gaping Gill resurges. That part of the cave which is open to the public follows a fo ...

* It's a Cracker (See Lost Pot) * Jib Tunnel * Jingling Caves (See Jingling Pot) *

Jingling Pot Jingling Pot is a limestone cave in West Kingsdale, North Yorkshire, England. Located adjacent to Jingling Beck, it is a lenticular-shaped deep shaft that descends straight from the surface. At the bottom the rift extends to the north and desc ...

Juniper Gulf Juniper Gulf is a pit cave in on the side of Ingleborough in Yorkshire, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwe ...

Langcliffe Pot Langcliffe Pot is a cave system on the slopes of Great Whernside in Upper Wharfedale, about SSE of Kettlewell in North Yorkshire. It is part of the Black Keld Site of Special Scientific Interest where the "underground drainage system which ...

Long Churn Cave Long Churn Cave is a cave in the Ingleborough area of the Yorkshire Dales. First explored in 1870, it has become a popular location for beginner cavers and it contains the most famous squeeze in the Dales, the "Cheesepress". It is near Selside, ab ...

s *

* Long Drop Cave * Long Kin East Cave *

Lost Pot Lost Pot is a cave on Leck Fell, in Lancashire, England. It leads into the top end of Lost Johns' Cave, and is part of the Three Counties System, an cave system which spans the borders of Cumbria, Lancashire, and North Yorkshire. Description ...

* Manchester Hole * Marilyn, Gaping Gill (See Disappointment Pot) *

Mossdale Caverns Mossdale Caverns is a cave system in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is about north of Grassington, and east of Conistone, where Mossdale Beck sinks at the base of Mossdale Scar. It lies at an altitude of on the eastern flank of Wharfedale, ...

* Motley Pot, Gaping Gill (See Disappointment Pot) * New Goyden Pot * OBJ Pot, Gaping Gill (See Flood Entrance Pot) * Oddmire Pot (See Langcliffe Pot) *

Rat Hole, Gaping Gill Rat Hole is one of the entrances to the Gaping Gill cave system, located in the north bank of Fell Beck upstream of Gaping Gill Main Shaft. A small, awkward, tube-like passage descends into a stream passage, and hence to a shaft into Gaping G ...

* Rat Hole Sink, Gaping Gill (See Rat Hole) * Rift Pot (see Long Kin East Cave) * Rift Entrance (See Short Drop Cave) *

Rowten Pot Rowten Pot is one of several entrances into the long cave system that drains Kingsdale in North Yorkshire, England. Its entrance is a shaft some long, wide, and at the southern end deep. Description A stream enters from just below the surfa ...

* Rumbling Beck Cave (See Rumbling Hole) * Rumbling Hole * Short Long Drop Cave (see Long Drop Cave) *

Simpson Pot Named after Eli Simpson, Simpson Pot is a limestone cave in West Kingsdale, North Yorkshire, England. It leads into Swinsto Cave and thence into Kingsdale Master Cave, and it is popular with cavers as it is possible to descend it by abseiling d ...

* Short Drop Cave * Skirwith Cave * Small Mammal Pot, Gaping Gill (See Bar Pot) * Stile Pot, Gaping Gill (See Bar Pot) * Stream Passage Pot, Gaping Gill *

Stump Cross Caverns Stump Cross Caverns is a limestone cave system between Wharfedale and Nidderdale in North Yorkshire, England. Geography The caverns at Stump Cross are located beneath Greenhow hill, above sea level. Their name was taken from Stump Cross, which ...

Swinsto Cave Swinsto Cave is a limestone cave in West Kingsdale, North Yorkshire, England. It leads into Kingsdale Master Cave and it is popular with cavers as it is possible to descend by abseiling down the pitches, retrieving the rope each time, and exiti ...

* Wades Entrance, Gaping Gill (See Flood Entrance Pot) *

Weathercote Cave Weathercote Cave is a natural solutional cave in Chapel-le-Dale, North Yorkshire, England. It has been renowned as a natural curiosity since the eighteenth century, and was accessible to paying visitors until 1971. The entrance is a large shaft ...

* White Scar Caves *

Yordas Cave Yordas Cave is a solutional cave in Kingsdale, North Yorkshire, England. It has been renowned since the eighteenth century as a natural curiosity, and was a show cave during the nineteenth century. It is now a popular destination for cavers, wa ...

* Yordas Pot (See Yordas Cave)

Other areas

* Alloa Lea Quarry Cave, Northumberland * Creswell Crags * Excalibur Pot,

North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...

* Kirkdale Cave,

Miss Grace's Lane Miss Grace's Lane (also known as Miss Grace's Lane Swallett), near Tidenham in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, is a natural cave system, the entrance to which was excavated between 1994 and 1997 by members of the Royal Forest ...

, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire * Mother Ludlam's Cave, Moor Park, Farnham,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

* Dog Hole Cave, Cumbria *

Pate Hole Pate Hole is a solutional cave located adjacent to Asby Gill south of Great Asby in Cumbria, England. It is long and has a vertical range of . The entrance is normally dry, but in flood it becomes an impressive resurgence. Its name derives fro ...

, Cumbria *

Slaughter Stream Cave Slaughter Stream Cave, also known as Wet Sink, is a cave system in the Wye Valley, Forest of Dean. A series of fixed ladders and two pitches lead to sporting streamways, sandy crawls and fossil passages. The cave also contains some interesti ...

, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire *

Heathery Burn Cave Heathery Burn Cave is a cave near Stanhope, County Durham, England, in which a large collection of Late Bronze Age weapons and tools was discovered and excavated between 1859 and 1872. Location The cave was in a ravine formed by Stanhope Burn ...

, Stanhope,

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

* Pen Park Hole, Bristol *

Clearwell Caves Clearwell Caves, at Clearwell in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, is a natural cave system which has been extensively mined for iron ore. It now operates primarily as a mining museum. The caves are part of a Natural England desi ...

, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire

Northern Ireland

The following are all within County Fermanagh unless otherwise stated. See also Caves of the Tullybrack and Belmore hills. *

Badger Pot Badger Pot and Pigeon Pot are two caves found in the Karst topography on the eastern slopes of Cuilcagh Mountain, south of Florencecourt Forest Park, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. They are sourced from small rivers which, at each pot, si ...

* Boho Caves *

Marble Arch Caves The Marble Arch Caves are a series of natural limestone caves located near the village of Florencecourt in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The caves are named after the nearby Marble Arch, a natural limestone arch at the upstream end of Cl ...

Noon's Hole Noon's Hole ( Irish grid ref H12684431) lies about 5 km northwest of the centre of Boho, in the townland of Old Barr in the parish of Devenish, County Fermanagh, close to the border with Boho parish. The cave is under part of the escarpme ...

* Portbraddon Cave, County Antrim *

Shannon Cave Shannon Cave is an active stream passage cave which straddles the border of County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. At vertical depth, it stands joint sixth with Poulnagree in County Clare in the deepes ...

, County Fermanagh and

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

, Republic of Ireland)

Scotland

Cleeves Cove Cave Cleeves Cove or Blair Cove is a solutional cave system on the Dusk Water in North Ayrshire, Scotland, close to the town of Dalry. Cave system The Cleeves, or Cleaves Cove (Scots) cave system is situated in the lower beds of Carboniferous limes ...

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and so ...

* Fingal's Cave,

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...

Smoo Cave Smoo Cave is a large combined sea cave and freshwater cave in Durness in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. The cave name is thought to originate from the Norse '' or '', meaning a hole or hiding-place. Geology Smoo Cave was formed within Earl ...

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

Uamh An Claonaite Uamh an Claonaite (Scottish Gaelic: Cave of the sloping rock) is the longest cave in Scotland. It consists of a series of dry passages and a series of at least six sumps which have been dived over the years. The attempt by members of the Gram ...

Wales

Cathole Cave Cathole Cave, Cat Hole Cave or Cathole Rock Cave, is a cave near Parc Cwm long cairn at Parc le Breos, on the Gower Peninsula, Wales. It is a steep limestone outcrop, about north of the cromlech along the Parc le Breos Cwm valley and near the ...

Dan yr Ogof Dan yr Ogof (), at the National Showcaves Centre for Wales, is a long cave system in south Wales, about north of Ystradgynlais and southwest of Brecon, in the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is the main feature of a show cave complex, which i ...

Ogof Agen Allwedd Ogof Agen Allwedd or Agen Allwedd, is, at , one of the longest cave systems in Wales, and the longest cave system on the Llangattock escarpment. History The cave was first investigated by Brian Price and party in 1949 and 1950, but it was not un ...

* Ogof Craig a Ffynnon *

Ogof Draenen Ogof Draenen (Welsh for "hawthorn cave") is, at 66 km (official figure; the true length of passage is still being revised upward, with a modern estimate of approximately 70 km), the longest cave system in Wales and the second longest in ...

Ogof Hen Ffynhonnau Ogof Hen Ffynhonnau (sometimes known in English as Poacher's Cave) lies in the Alyn Gorge in Flintshire, Wales close to Ogof Hesp Alyn. It was discovered in 1978 after excavation allowed access to Dyer's Adit. Being below a dry river bed, the ...

Ogof Hesp Alyn Ogof Hesp Alyn (Welsh for: ''Dry Alyn Cave'') was discovered by North Wales Caving Club in 1973 in the Alyn Gorge near Cilcain, Flintshire, Wales. Reaching the end of the cave is a serious commitment involving 24 pitches and the draining of tw ...

* Ogof Llyn Parc * Ogof Nadolig * Ogof y Daren Cilau *

Otter Hole Otter Hole is perhaps one of the best decorated caves in Britain. Located on the Wales–England border just north of Chepstow, the cave runs from the banks of the tidal River Wye under the Chepstow Racecourse and onwards through various cha ...

Porth yr Ogof Porth yr Ogof is a cave located near the village of Ystradfellte, near the southern boundary of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. It lies on the course of the Afon Mellte, a river whose name translates as ‘lightning’, commonly exp ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

UK Caves
United Kingdom Caves