Caving in Cornwall

rhychydwr1

Active member
Caving in Cornwall

The Cwmparc Underground Nautical Training Section are planning a trip to the caves of Cornwall.  I have compiled a list.  Can anyone add to this list?

Beach Cave - St Agnes  Cornwall

Cathedral Cave, Newquay

Cape Cornwall Caves at Land?s End

Cavern Millbay near Lands End

Cave at Trebarwith Tintagel Cornwall

Cave near Falmouth

Cavern at Nanjizal Bay, Cornwall

Dan'l Gumb man made cave posted from Liskard

Devil's Frying Pan Cadgewith Cornwall

Drawing Room see Kynance Cove

Great Bathing Cave, Newquay [same Cathedral Cave, Newquay?]

Holywell Bay Cave

Kynance Cave The Drawing Room, Cornwall.

Kynance Cove numerous caves

Ladies? Bathing Pool see Kynance Cove.

Land?s End Caves  see  Cavern Millbay The Lizard, Dolor Hugo - showing rowing boat in cave  Cape Cornwall Caves, Parlour Cave, Kynance Cove, The Lizard

Lion?s Den see Kynance Cove

Merlin's Cave, Tintagel

Mermaid's Cave Hayle Cornwall

Mouse Hole, Cornwall

Mullion Caverns Cornwall

Parlour see Kynance Cove

Parlour Cave see Kynance Cove

Perranporth - The Caves

Polperro through the Cave

Porth Cave, Newquay [same Cathedral Cave, Newquay]

Porthpyg Cave Mullyon Cove

Ship-My-Pumps Cave Padstow

Tea Cavern, Newquay [same Cathedral Cave, Newquay?]

The Cavern Mawgan Porth Cornwell

The Drawing Room see Kynance Cove

The Grotto Whitesand Bay Cornwall

The Lizard, Dolor Hugo

The Parlour see Kynance Cove

Tintagel Cave see Merlin?s Cave, Tintagel.

Whitesand Bay Cornwall. Two sea caves see Holywell Cave





Zawn.  A deep and narrow sea-inlet in the British Isles, especially Cornwall and the south-west, cut by erosion into sea-cliffs, and with steep or vertical side-walls.

 

twiglet

New member
Towanroath Vugga, Chapel Porth, St Agnes.
Vuagh-en-Plunder (Cathederal Caverns) Droskyn, Perranporth.
 

gus horsley

New member
Apart from the plethora of sea caves that Tony has mentioned and the sea caves with adits that Twiglet added, there's nothing apart from mines and Daniel Gumbs Cave near the Cheesewring Quarry, complete with mathematical symbols carved into the granite, but it's merely a chamber in boulders which is probably man-made anyway.  No limestone caves I'm afraid, or at least nothing more than maybe a couple of feet in the very far SE of the county where a bit of Devonian Limestone occurs.  However, I have been into a nameless sea cave which was difficult to access near Padstow which had a nice calcite flow in it.

And that's surely not a bona-fide caving club with a name like that is it Tony?
 

mrodoc

Well-known member
Naughty Tony!  I see a book looming ;) I am surprised you have left out the cave dive in Seal Hole at Prussia Cove covered in Martyn Farr's new book (plug plug).
 

glyders

Member
Maenporth Cave and Tunnel
SW 79017 29712
A nice natural sea cave with two entrances than intersects with a tunnel that goes back into the cliff. The natural cave runs parallel to the beach and involves a crawl. If heading east there is a step across a drop before reaching the crawl.
The tunnel forms the bottom of the step across and has a good stream that flows out a third entrance.
 

gus horsley

New member
Seal Hole Cave, St Agnes, SW713512:  Entered via a short adit in the corner of the demolished harbour at Trevaunance Cove.  After a few feet step over a shallow hole in floor with short mine and part natural passages to right.  Over hole soon opens into impressive sea cave with two entrances about 200ft long where the tide hammers through.  Mine workings in cliff above are Seal Hole Mine, part of the Polberro group, accessible only by abseil and consisting of dangerous old stopes partly eroded by the sea.

Tea Cavern isn't the same as Cathedral Cave, they're adjacent to each other with a large colony of kittiwakes in the immediate vicinity so please keep clear during the breeding season to avoid disturbance.  Cathedral Cave is the one which was mostly destroyed by blasting as it was deemed to be a hazard to the tourists.

Levant Zawn SW368345:  An impressive rift sea cave 150ft high formed on the Main Lode of Levant Mine.  Access is possible via an engine shaft on the cliffs at the complex of buildings and leads down into the adit at the back of the zawn.  The sea cave is very difficult to enter otherwise; do not attempt to descend the old miners' path which zigzags down the cliffs as it has been eroded away partway down.  A huge pinnacle of rock detached itself from the main face at the cave mouth in about 2009.
 

alasdair neill

New member
There are literally thousands of sea caves, some very difficult of access but some suprisingly large. Many sites are shown on recent 1:2500 OS maps. Have surveyed quite a few. Cornwall Wildlife Trust may be worth contacting as someone probably through them has been surveying many which are used by seals.
A few to add to the list as a starter include Boatyard Hole (limestone), Empacombe Caves, SealHole Cavern (St Agnes), Towanroath Cavern (St Agnes) hessenford Cave (limestone) Pipers Hole (Tresco)
 

Hunter

Member
There's an interesting blow hole in the cliff at sea level just outside Boscastle harbour.
Not sure how far back or if there is a second entrance but it 'blows' on the rising waves entering the harbour & looks quite spectacular from the opposit cliff.
 

rhychydwr1

Active member
First many thanks to all the contributors.  The draft MSS is now 11 pages long.  If anybody wants a copy just email me and I can send it to you as an attachment.  I have yet to scan all the Explorer OS maps.  The ones I have looked at show numerous caves and ogos.
 

alasdair neill

New member
Fairly recent OS 1:2500 & 1:10000 maps which show sea caves available online on Oldmaps. Probably show much more than the Explorer series.
 

rhychydwr1

Active member
alasdair neill said:
There are literally thousands of sea caves, some very difficult of access but some suprisingly large. Many sites are shown on recent 1:2500 OS maps. Have surveyed quite a few. Cornwall Wildlife Trust may be worth contacting as someone probably through them has been surveying many which are used by seals.
A few to add to the list as a starter include Boatyard Hole (limestone), Empacombe Caves, SealHole Cavern (St Agnes), Towanroath Cavern (St Agnes) hessenford Cave (limestone) Pipers Hole (Tresco)

Hi Alasdair

Do you have NGRs for Boatyard Hole, Empacombe Caves and Hessenford Cave?

Regards - Tony
 

alasdair neill

New member
Hessenford Cave SX  3018 5658 this was explored by PCG & extended through a tight squeeze by a Craven PC member. Empacombe & Boatyard hole were fully described in PCG publications, the former I understand has been lost due to rubbish tipping.
Been trying to relocate a partial list of sea caves largely taken from OS maps but no success so far.
 

mrodoc

Well-known member
I had forgotten about Piper's Hole on Tresco and it was only 3 or 4 years ago that I visited it. Must be at least 50 metres long and is unusual in being an abandoned sea cave. An steep slippery boulder pile leads to a cold and noisome lake with a horrible squish mud floor (I did the trip in bare feet and bathing trunks!) that one can just about wade through along the left wall leading to a wide sandy beach then a low arch into another chamber then a continuing rift that gradually closes down. Well worth a visit. Very photogenic as well.
 

rhychydwr1

Active member
mrodoc said:
I had forgotten about Piper's Hole on Tresco and it was only 3 or 4 years ago that I visited it. Must be at least 50 metres long and is unusual in being an abandoned sea cave. An steep slippery boulder pile leads to a cold and noisome lake with a horrible squish mud floor (I did the trip in bare feet and bathing trunks!) that one can just about wade through along the left wall leading to a wide sandy beach then a low arch into another chamber then a continuing rift that gradually closes down. Well worth a visit. Very photogenic as well.

What an education.  I did not know that Tresco was in Cornwal.  Will add these coments to my e-book.

Despite what may have been said in the past, pETER g WILL BE CREDITED WITH HIS REMARkS.

iF ANYONE WANTS A COPY OF MY E-NBOOK. UST [shit I have hit caps lcl] just email me.

 

rhychydwr1

Active member
Caves of Cornwall is now 19 pages long and that is without photos and surveys.  If anybody wants a copy as an attachment, just email me.

 
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