Skullcap Cave, Chudleigh. aka Skull Cap Cave
NGR SX 8668 7867 A 150 feet L 300 feet
A through cave running through a limestone bluff, south of Palace Quarry, with a side passage. It is 40 feet above Clifford?s Cave and at the same level as Tramp's Hole which is further along the cliff going downstream. A bit tight in places and dug out for most of its length, the last 60 feet are quite nicely decorated. The extension, known as Size Means Nothing, is 65 feet long. The extension contains archaeologically significant bone deposits (small mammals) and there are areas of undisturbed sediment along the sides of the main passage. The extension is quite well decorated and ends in a boulder choke which has not been excavated due to lack of spoil stacking space. Photos can be seen on a Devon Speleological Society (DSS) website (not the official one). There remains potential for further excavation nearer the entrance and there may well be a lower series as yet un-entered. A survey and photos were published in Descent. The entrance was located in 1985 by Brian Johnson and excavation commenced by a group of cavers mainly from DSS including Chris Proctor, Peter Glanvill and Pete Rose. It became clear that excavations were in an abandoned stream cave with phreatic sections. After 4 years of digging a breakthrough into open cave was achieved. Although gated, the gate was removed by persons unknown.
Gated, key from: Pete Glanvill tel 04606 4262 or Pete Rose 03632 2284.
http://ukcaving.com/wiki/index.php/Skullcap_Cave
accessed 081116 NGR description etc.
