Whopper Cave, Batts Combe Quarry, Somerset, 1980

 On 15 May 1980 we went to Batts Combe Quarry near Cheddar in Somerset to look at a large hole that had appeared after blasting and had swallowed up many tons of rock. We were quite staggered when we saw the size of it. The quarry itself was absolutely immense, built on 5 levels and we drove up there in a dust storm. The hole was on the top level and proved to be a really massive entrance with a vast chamber below it. However it was about 70' below the quarry top, and a fair way down on the other 3 sides, being funnel shaped.

We put 100' of ladders down but decided it wasn't at all safe -

We kicked some stones down on the shortest side and started up a landslide. So we had to wait until the surrounding rocks could be removed. The amount of stone already fallen down the hole was incredible and we still couldn't see the bottom. The quarrymen had not seen anything like it either.

On 21 May 1980 we returned and found it somewhat changed. The rubble on the 3 sides had all been removed down to the floor level, about 20' lower than before. One person tied onto a rope and kicked rubble down the hole to clear a way for the ladder. The ladder was belayed to a machine using a long belay and we put down 75', but only 50' was necessary.

We went down, it was only free hanging for about 7'. It was estimated that 2000-3000 tons of rock had fallen down the cave, landing as a cone  on the bottom, some 25' high at the highest point. The main chamber was incredible, really massive, about 100' long, 90' high and 25' wide. It obviously continued down the bottom, south end, but the way on was blocked with rubble. 

We looked at the other end and one person went down and noticed a way on at the north end, on the left, which led into a chamber, with another chamber off it. There was quite a bit of mud there. We cleared out a drop of about 6' down to a small section of old streamway. Unfortunately there was no way on. 

We managed to survey the cave. There was a climb up to an upper passage, with a passage going off that for about 40'. The cave was assumed to continue under the quarry itself. Photo 21 May -

We went back to the cave on 29 May and had a good look around , knowing it was going to be filled in.

Whopper Cave on the Mendip Cave Registry -

Triple Hole, Sandford Hill, Mendip

 Triple Hole Cave is in Sandford Wood at Sandford Hill on Mendip. I visited on 23 Feb 1985. This is the description from the Mendip Cave Registry :

My diary :

Andy looking down the entrances -

Andy at the bottom -

My turn -

Coarse geodes and calcite crystals 

The quarry

Aggtelek National Park 40th Anniversary, Hungary

 The Aggtelek National Park was established on January 1, 1985, as the fourth national park in Hungary and the first to be created specifically for the conservation of geological and karst natural values, surface formations, and underground caves.

The national park celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and will have special events. Read more on Hungary Today, 20 Jan 2025.

I went to Aggletek in 1983 for the cave rescue conference. I wrote a blog in 2015 as part of my travels through Hungary, but am reposting photos here. Unfortunately I only took a couple of photos inside the cave, at the Baradla end.

Aggletek mountain lake

Hotel Cseppko

Baradla Cave

These photos show a cave rescue demonstation outside Baradla -

Underground London - Marble Hill ice house

 After visiting Marble Hill grotto, I went to see the ice house. I mentioned it in my blog in 2021 when I wrote "On the north-west edge of the Marble Hill shrubberies, within the wooden fencing, is the brick-built icehouse (listed grade II). I will have to go back once all the renovations are finished."

There is not much to see, just the door

The restored garden seat, mentioned on the noticeboard -

Marble Hill grotto

 Marble Hill is a heritage house and park near East Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond. The park extends down to the Thames. There is a man made grotto in the park.

I first went to look at the grotto in March 2021 and found it was under renovation. Marble Hill House and the gardens were also going through extensive renovation. There was very little to see at the grotto, see photos on my blog.

My next visit was at the end of Feb 2022, and found there was an archaeological dig in progress at the grotto. The whole area was being excavated. Over the following months, I checked the Marble Hill website but there was no mention of the grotto.

I didn't get around to going back until Oct 2024 and was surprised at the transformation. It looked so different. The first two photos are March 2021, then Feb 2022 and finally Oct 2024 -

The notice board says -

Grotto & 'Rustic Grot'

Henrietta Howard probably started building the grotto at Marble Hill in the 1730s. In 1739, while decorating the grotto, Henrietta wrote "I am at this time over head and ears in Shells". The poet Alexander Pope advised Henrietta on her garden, and this grotto may have been influenced by the one he created at his house nearby.

Grottoes were a popular addition to 18th-century gardens as part of the fashion for recreating the gardens of ancient Rome. The grotto would have been a secluded spot, and may have been used for dining, entertaining and contemplation. 

While Henrietta lived here there were two grottoes, both featured in a poem of 1764 by her neice Anna Chamber. The one you see today was described as a 'charming scene' and surrounded by flowering plants, the other, located to the south, was called a 'rustic grot', enclosed by huge trees and rocks.

The sketch shows Alexander Pope in his grotto in Twickenham, and is attributed to William Kent, 1730s. I still want to visit Pope's grotto, but it has very limited opening times.

I was surprised at how small the grotto is, just a small room. Very different to Scott's grotto I recently visited. It is gated so people can't go in.

Both Scott's and Henrietta's grottoes were decorated with shells. Some of the shells in Henrietta's grotto came from the Caribbean. Traces of the shell imprints -

Research is being carried out in the grotto -

See more on Marble Hill on English Heritage

See also Grotto Directory , and The Londonphile .

Greenland caves

 In Aug 2024 I was on a cruise to Greenland. After we left Narsarsuaq in Southern Greenland, we headed out through the fjord, passing the town of Narsaq.

Angakkok Cave was marked on my phone map -

I couldn't find anything about Angakkok Cave except "Angakkok Cave is a cave in Narsaq Municipality, Kujalleq. Angakkok Cave is situated close to the community centre Forsamlingshus and the town hall".  Latitude 60.91403° or 60° 54' 51" N , Longitude 46.0367° or 46° 2' 12" W.               

The Inuit angakkuq is an intellectual and spiritual figure in Inuit culture who corresponds to a medicine man.

The town of Narsaq is on the right of this photo -

Gina Moseley, a British cave scientist and paleoclimatologist has been doing research in Northern Greenland caves. From Wired : "In Partnership with Rolex | Paleoclimatologist and Rolex Awards for Enterprise Laureate Gina Moseley is delving into remote caves in search of traces of earth’s atmosphere—in the hope to better understand the changes to come."

See also the Greenland Caves Project .

And my blog on Narsarsuaq in Southern Greenland.