Earth:Longwood Swallet

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Short description: Cave in Somerset, England
Longwood Swallet
LongwoodSwallet.jpg
Map showing the location of Longwood Swallet
Map showing the location of Longwood Swallet
LocationCharterhouse, Somerset, UK
OS gridST48615571
Coordinates [ ⚑ ] : 51°17′54″N 2°44′18″W / 51.298229°N 2.7384°W / 51.298229; -2.7384
Depth175 metres (574 ft)
Length1.65 kilometres (1.03 mi)
Elevation213 metres (699 ft)
Discovery1944
GeologyLimestone
Entrances1
HazardsFrequent flooding
AccessRestricted
Cave surveyGeological Conservation Review/UBSS
RegistryMendip Cave Registry[1]

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 depth of 175m.[2]

The cave was discovered in September 1944 by boys from Sidcot School.[3]

The picture shown is not the Longwood Swallet, it is Longwood Valley Sink. Longwood Swallet's entrance is lidded concrete block construction. A (non-free) picture of Longwood Swallet entrance is available here

The cave is locked and access is controlled by the Charterhouse Caving Company. There is a warning sign posted at the entrance to the cave about flooding. This has always been a problem, but is more pronounced due to the extraction of water from the spring at Charterhouse. When the pumps owned by Bristol Water stop this can cause a flood wave to travel down the stream and into the cave.[4]

See also

References

  1. "Longwood Swallet". Mendip Cave Registry & Archive. http://www.mcra.org.uk/registry/sitedetails.php?id=179. Retrieved 2012-03-30. 
  2. "Mendip". UK and Ireland Cave Lengths and Depths. http://www.ukcaves.co.uk/tables.php?region=2&length_depth=length. 
  3. Johnson, Peter (1967). The History of Mendip Caving. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. 
  4. "Charterhouse Area". Council of Southern Caving Clubs. http://www.cscc.org.uk/Charterhouse.htm.