Upper Flood Swallet
Map showing the location of Upper Flood Swallet
Map showing the location of Upper Flood Swallet
LocationCharterhouse, Somerset, UK
OS gridST 50570 55765
Coordinates51°17′56″N 2°42′37″W / 51.29885°N 2.71037°W / 51.29885; -2.71037
Depth110m
Length4.1km
Discovery3 October 1968[1]
GeologyLimestone
Entrances1
DifficultyExtensive system with tight strenuous sections
AccessLeader controlled by Mendip Caving Group; experienced cavers only
Cave surveyMCG Upper Flood Survey 2012
RegistryMendip Cave Registry[2]

Upper Flood Swallet which was originally known as Blackmoor Flood Swallet, is an exceptionally well-decorated cave near Charterhouse, in the carboniferous limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. The cave is part of the Cheddar Complex SSSI.

The entrance was revealed in the Great Flood of 1968,[3] giving the cave its name.[4] It was dug consistently since then with breakthroughs occurring in 1971, 1972, 1985 and 2006.[1]

As of September 2008 it is over 3.5 km in length and around 125 m deep.[5]

The 2006 breakthrough

In September 2006 cavers squeezed through an excavated boulder choke into new passage. In a series of three digging trips they discovered 1.2 km of well decorated cave.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Mendip Caving Group
  2. ^ "Upper Flood Swallet". Mendip Cave Registry & Archive. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Upper Flood Entrance Swallet". Mendip Caving Group. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  4. ^ Witcombe, Richard (2009). Who was Aveline anyway?: Mendip's Cave Names Explained (2nd ed.). Priddy: Wessex Cave Club. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-9500433-6-4.
  5. ^ "Mendip". UK and Ireland Cave Lengths and Depths. Retrieved 18 February 2007.
  6. ^ Mendip Caving Group

External links

Mendip Hills
Categories