Sidcot Swallet
Encyclopedia
Sidcot Swallet is a cave near Burrington Combe
, in the carboniferous limestone of the Mendip Hills
, in Somerset
, England
.
It was named after the Sidcot School Speleological Society who explored it in 1925.
A swallet, also known as a sinkhole
, sink, shakehole, swallow hole or doline, is a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water flowing beneath the water-table at considerable depth.
After Goatchurch Cavern
, Sidcot Swallet is probably the most popular cave on Mendip for novice parties. What it lacks in length or depth is adequately compensated for by its sporty squeezes and narrow crawls. Despite its popularity, many calcite formations still remain intact in the farthest reaches of the cave.
Burrington Combe
Burrington Combe is a carboniferous limestone gorge near the village of Burrington, on the north side of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in North Somerset, England....
, in the carboniferous limestone of 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...
, in Somerset
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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It was named after the Sidcot School Speleological Society who explored it in 1925.
A swallet, also known as a sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
, sink, shakehole, swallow hole or doline, is a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water flowing beneath the water-table at considerable depth.
After Goatchurch Cavern
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 the remains of iron handrails inside the cave. There is a large amount of decoration throughout the cave...
, Sidcot Swallet is probably the most popular cave on Mendip for novice parties. What it lacks in length or depth is adequately compensated for by its sporty squeezes and narrow crawls. Despite its popularity, many calcite formations still remain intact in the farthest reaches of the cave.