Shute Shelve Cavern
Encyclopedia
Shute Shelve Cavern is a natural cave system located in Shute Shelve Hill, Somerset
, England above Axbridge
in the Mendip Hills
not far from Cheddar
.
It was mined for its yellow ochre which was used as a dye in paint making, until the 1920s, which gave it its alternative name of Axbridge Ochre Mine.
Access is controlled by the Axbridge Caving Group via a locked gate and completely closed during the bats' roosting season.
Chamber 1 has taped areas shows scallops to the right and miners supports and a large geode
up to the left. Chamber 2 is a large rift with taped off areas for conservation. Further areas are known as Box Tunnel and Elm Street.
Carcass Cave dig is virtually feet away which used a monorail system, ladders and platforms.
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England above Axbridge
Axbridge
Axbridge is a town in Somerset, England, situated in the Sedgemoor district on the River Axe, near the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The town population according to the 2001 census was 2,024.-History:...
in the Mendip Hills
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north...
not far from Cheddar
Cheddar
Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, north-west of Wells. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross...
.
It was mined for its yellow ochre which was used as a dye in paint making, until the 1920s, which gave it its alternative name of Axbridge Ochre Mine.
Access is controlled by the Axbridge Caving Group via a locked gate and completely closed during the bats' roosting season.
Chamber 1 has taped areas shows scallops to the right and miners supports and a large geode
Geode
Geodes are geological secondary sedimentary structures which occur in sedimentary and certain volcanic rocks. Geodes are essentially spherical masses of mineral matter that were deposited sygenetically within the rock formations they are found in. Geodes have a Chalcedony shell containing...
up to the left. Chamber 2 is a large rift with taped off areas for conservation. Further areas are known as Box Tunnel and Elm Street.
Carcass Cave dig is virtually feet away which used a monorail system, ladders and platforms.