Mendip Hills; Wookey Hole Caves

Wookey Hole is a village one mile to the west of the city of Wells and is dominated by the Wookey Hall Caves, a series of limestone caverns, a show cave (for visits) and various tourist attractions.

The show cave is of major interest; the River Axe flows through the cave system and it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for both biological and geological reasons.  The caves have been used by humans for around 45,000 years and the emerging waters have been used for a corn-grinding mill and a handmade paper mill.  The show cave is notable for the Witch of Wookey Hole, a roughly human-shaped stalagmite that legend says is a witch turned to stone by a monk from Glastonbury; there is a legend associated with this....  There are many chambers and  the first successful cave dives in Britain were made here in 1946.  The caves have been used and/or referred to in many TV programmes.

The rest of the site is popular with families as there are attractions such a dinosaur valley and a small museum about the cave and cave diving, a theatre with circus shows, a house of mirrors and penny arcades housed in the old mills there.

A good morning out for us and something for everybody is here.Read more