Can anyone give me a descent description of how to find Radford cave and where to park? Or a accurate grid reference?  Hoping to visit this coming weekend and other than being near Hooe lake I have no idea where to find it.
Cheers
Tim

You will need a key.  I can sell you one.

In the quarry , at the western end of Hexton Woods  NGR SX 503 527

Ask Les W. I'm sure I have been down there with him

PM sent 

Any further problems contact me as well. DCUC control access for Plymouth Council. The gate and lock get regularly vandalised. It's a fine little trip with some excellent formations still to be seen. http://www.darkanddeep.co.uk/caving_devon.asp

The Right Honorable Mr O. Doc Fumbling about with the Radford Cave entrance.




The aged and infirm Mr Old Ruminator wondering how on earth he gets down from there.

Sadly Mr Old Ruminator ( as is his custom ) had already fallen head first down a two metre drop and was nursing a sprained shoulder at that time.

Good grief, O.R.!  You should take up a nice quite, safe hobby like photography...

Thanks to all for info / PM's / Entrance photos.  All very helpful and hopefully we'll spend the time underground rather than fumbling / faffing around above ground as often happens when going to new places.  If I take the camera I might have a few photos to add myself.
Cheers
Tim

Tim, the entrance is very obvious, you needn't worry about not finding it. If you haven't seen it it is because you haven't walked far enough...

Wonder what the Doc is doing in that first picture, rather an enigmatic smile?

Cheers Les.  It's good to know this one is easy to find.
I know its all part of the fun but (for everyone else's amusement) finding entrances can get tedious at times....

I'll never forget one of our trips to Wales where we didn't ask how to find the hole, left the car in what was apparently the closest bit of road (lesson learnt, use a map rather than sat nav), wading up a river for an hour to find we were still a hundred yards away from the entrance and at the bottom of a waterfall which didn't look friendly enough to climb. Other things may have happened whilst working out how to get up the waterfall (phone destroyed, camera requiring much airing cupboard, bum gravy and hence improvised bog roll required).  Sometime later we were please to find the car still had 4 wheels and no additional ventilation.  Yes the river was entertaining, and we got wet & dirty (one person more dirty than the rest), but there was way too much daylight for my liking.

And then there was our 'first' trip to Mangle, a fine 2hr walk around Sandford hill in the middle of the summer, dressed in lots of caving kit (whilst everyone else seemed to be in shorts and teeshirt) carrying a fine selection of ladders & rope.  We got wet and smelly but our lights seemed much brighter than usual that day and the cavern was so vast there even seemed to be trees growing.  I'm sure several of the dog walkers we passed more than once were suitably amused.

Have learnt the lesson the hard way several times - ask for directions rather than relying on GR's / descriptions in the guide books.

tim.rose2 said:

bum gravy and hence improvised bog roll required).

Click to expand...

:yucky: :yucky: :yucky:--- Too much information!!!-- :yucky: :yucky: :yucky:

Hi Tim,

Due to bats roosting i do believe that Radford is not accessible untill the warmer months, i may of course be wrong, it is locked and you will need a Key, one cam very easily be obtained via DCUC if you want to have a look at a survey i have one and can give you any tips or info you want just PM me.

Re Les's comment that Radford is easy to find. Twas not always like that. Back in the 70's there was virtually no path and we had to orientate ourselves by peering through the trees at the tower in the water treatment works.

Watch out for this fellow lurking near the cave.

Hmm, serious hernia, but, then again, carrying that tree I'm not surprised!