Priddy Caves

Priddy Caves
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Shown within Somerset
Area of Search	Somerset
Grid reference	ST540505
Coordinates	51°15′06″N 2°39′38″W / 51.2518°N 2.6605°W / 51.2518; -2.6605Coordinates: 51°15′06″N 2°39′38″W / 51.2518°N 2.6605°W / 51.2518; -2.6605
Interest	Geological
Area	67.6 hectares (0.676 km²; 0.261 sq mi)
Notification	1965 (1965)
Natural England website

Priddy Caves (grid reference ST540505) is an Area: 67.6 hectare (167.0 acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Priddy in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1965.

The entrance to St Cuthbert's Swallet is incorporated in the adjacent Priddy Pools SSSI. The Priddy Caves System contains about 16km of surveyed cave passages divided between a number of major and minor networks. All the caves are sink hole systems, fed by sink holes at the ground surface. In all the caves the detailed disposition and form of the passages can be seen clearly to have followed marked lines of natural weakness in the rocks.

The three largest networks, Swildon's Hole, St Cuthbert's Swallet and Eastwater Cavern exceed 100 metres in depth. Swildon's Hole is a world famous example of a shallow depth phreatic cave, which shows a very well developed dendritic pattern of drainage and contains extensive clastic and stalagmite fills. Hunter's Hole is an excellent example of a shaft complex draining a closed depression. This cave differs from the others at Priddy in apparently not having formed as a stream swallet. Cave sediments found within the systems, together with the information which can be deduced from the physical form of the caves, provide geologists with the means to obtain a better understanding of the geological evolution of southern Britain during the Ice Ages.^[1]

References

↑ "Priddy Caves" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 2006-07-17.

External links

Mendip Hills

Settlements	Ashwick Axbridge Banwell Bishop Sutton Blagdon Bleadon Burrington Charterhouse Cheddar Chewton Mendip Compton Bishop Compton Martin Cross Draycott East Harptree Easton Hinton Blewett Hutton Leigh-on-Mendip Litton Oakhill Priddy Rodney Stoke Rowberrow Sandford Shepton Mallet Shipham Ubley Webbington Wells West Harptree Westbury-sub-Mendip Winscombe Wookey Hole

Rivers and lakes	River Axe Cheddar Yeo River Chew River Yeo Lox Yeo River Blagdon Lake Cheddar Reservoir Chew Valley Lake Litton Reservoirs

Hills	Axbridge Hill Black Down Bleadon Hill Burledge Hill Crook Peak Fry's Hill Pen Hill Purn Hill Shute Shelve Hill Wavering Down

Caves and gorges	Attborough Swallet Aveline's Hole Axbridge Ochre Mine Banwell Caves Banwell Ochre Caves Burrington Combe Charterhouse Cave Cheddar Gorge Compton Martin Ochre Mine Cox's Cave Eastwater Cavern Ebbor Gorge Fairy Cave Quarry GB Cave Goatchurch Cavern Gough's Cave Hunter's Hole Lamb Leer Longwood Swallet Manor Farm Swallet Picken's Hole Pierre's Pot Priddy Caves Read's Cavern Reservoir Hole Rhino Rift Rod's Pot Shatter Cave Shute Shelve Cavern Sidcot Swallet St Cuthbert's Swallet St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Stoke Lane Slocker Swildon's Hole Thrupe Lane Swallet Tyning's Barrow Swallet Upper Flood Swallet W/L Cave Wookey Hole Caves

Quarries	Batts Combe Callow Rock Cloford Cloud Colemans Cook's Wood Doulting Stone Dulcote Emborough Fairy Cave Gurney Slade Halecombe Hobbs Holwell Moon's Hill Torr Works Viaduct Whatley Windsor Hill

SSSIs	Asham Wood Axbridge Hill and Fry's Hill Banwell Caves Banwell Ochre Caves Barns Batch Spinney Blagdon Lake Bleadon Hill Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet Basins Burledge Hill Burrington Combe Chancellor's Farm Cheddar Complex Cheddar Reservoir Cheddar Wood Chew Valley Lake Cloford Quarry Compton Martin Ochre Mine Cook's Wood Quarry Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill Dolebury Warren Draycott Sleights Ebbor Gorge Emborough Quarries Harptree Combe Hobbs Quarry Holwell Quarries Kingdown and Middledown Lamb Leer Priddy Caves Priddy Pools Perch Rodney Stoke St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Sandpit Hole and Bishop's Lot Shiplate Slait Viaduct Quarry Windsor Hill Quarry Wurt Pit and Devil's Punchbowl

History	Priddy Circles Cheddar Man Drove Cottage Henge Dolebury Warren Charterhouse Roman Town Fosse Way King John's Hunting Lodge, Axbridge Priddy Mineries Somerset Coalfield Somerset Coal Canal Cheddar Valley line East Somerset Railway

Transport	Mendip Rail Mendip Way Monarch's Way National Cycle Route 24 A37 road A39 road A368 road A371 road

Councils	Bath and North East Somerset Mendip North Somerset Sedgemoor

Surrounding areas	Chew Valley Somerset Levels North Somerset Levels

Geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset

Summary	Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)

SSSIs	Ben Knowle Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast Brean Down Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet Basins Bruton Railway Cutting Cheddar Complex Cloford Quarry Cook's Wood Quarry Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill Doulting Railway Cutting Emborough Quarries Glenthorne Godminster Lane Quarry and Railway Cutting Greylake Ham Hill Hobbs Quarry Holwell Quarries Hurcott Farm Hurcott Lane Cutting Lamb Leer Langport Railway Cutting Laycock Railway Cutting Leighton Road Cutting Low Ham Maes Down Maesbury Railway Cutting Miller's Hill, Milborne Wick Moon's Hill Quarry Priddy Caves Priddy Pools Rodney Stoke SSSI Sandpit Hole and Bishop's Lot Seavington St Mary Shepton Montague Railway Cutting Snowdon Hill Quarry St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Thrupe Lane Swallet Vallis Vale Viaduct Quarry Windsor Hill Quarry Wookey Hole Wookey Station Wurt Pit and Devil's Punchbowl

Neighbouring areas	Avon Devon Dorset Wiltshire

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