Shute Shelve Cavern

Razzerip1

New member
20 September 2008

Shute Shelve Cavern brings back many a fond memory; it was my first caving/digging trip combined, with Axbridge Caver and Cap n' Chris, when I first joined Axbridge Caving Group.
This was to be my Daughters (the youngest member of ACG), first trip. Shute Shelve offers no sporting caving trip but a wealth of History and some impressive large water worn chambers.

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We parked up and made our way up through the woods to the cave entrance, the entrance is a small depression on the hillside, we started our decent turned our lights on and were set upon by the local midges.

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Once through the entrance crawl the coast was clear and we were met by a couple of curious bats. The first main chamber is Reynard Chamber offering some good flow formations, our next stop was Pit Prop Passage which has a few props, hence the name, left by the miners.

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Toni enjoyed looking at all the different types of rock

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We slid down the corkscrew boulder choke into the The Flat Room; there are lots of places to explore here. The roof is low in places but the chamber is extremely wide, the whole cave is on a steep incline, our final stop was the 30m long and 12m wide Box Room, an impressive site in Mendip standards, beyond this point a final 5m drop marks the current end of the cave.

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Shute Shelve is still holding on to its secrets and there is a good chance of more passages beyond this point.

More Photo's at - http://www.flickr.com/photos/steve-sharp/sets/72157607409193700/
 
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Tree Monkey

Guest
I'm going at the weekend with Axbridge caver and my 2 nephews. (y)
 
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Tree Monkey

Guest
I've been loads of times before Peter and I was a member of the Axbridge and spent many a happy evening digging!!
 

Elaine

Active member
Shute Shelve was your first night out with ACG wasn't it? You had discovered us ferreting around somewhere Whitelackington had discovered and that we were probably not meant to be there! We told you that we would have to kill you to keep you quiet, or else you could join ACG and become a cave digger too. You chose cave digging, and now look where you are!!
 
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Tree Monkey

Guest
One of the discoverers of the new passages of Upperflood!! And a leader for this wonderful discovery! (y)
 

Razzerip1

New member
Here you go -

27th July 2005
Alan and Doug and Later Chris took a reporter from the Western Daily Press taking photos inside the cave. The feature should be published on Friday the 29th July 2005.

 
19th June 2005
Digging started again in Shute Shelve Cavern. This weekend 'Rock Crusher' Doug and 'Stone Lobber' Alan hammered large boulders and opened up the hole down into elm street while 'Knackered' Chris meandered building up the precarious wall of rubble and stones above them. The difference is stunning leading the way to more digging later.

 

 
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Tree Monkey

Guest
The dig needs a good team of dedicated diggers, down elm street. (y)
 

Elaine

Active member
I had a look down Elm Street last month, I was impressed at the enlarging work that you did. Makes it much more digger friendly!
 
Elaine said:
I had a look down Elm Street last month, I was impressed at the enlarging work that you did. Makes it much more digger friendly!
Elm Street is probably the best bit to dig in the cave; however about six are required to move the spoil to a dumping area.

Still ony four days left until it is closed down for the seven month long bat season.
 
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Tree Monkey

Guest
May be next year, we can get a team together? I'll be up for it. (y)
 
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