Wookey Hole trip 12/02/2022
Unless otherwise stated, camera, setups, edits and gallery effects by Tarquin, and lighting by the showcave. Modelling and lighting at various points will be Jonathan Lester, Andrew Atkinson, Wookey (the person, not the cave), Footleg, Henry Bennett and Rich Smith.
This was a Cave Surveying Group trip around Wookey Hole, which allowed us to see the showcave after the tourists had gone. The purpose was to test some new LiDAR and photogrammetry techniques for mapping caves. It also ended with three of us being accidentally locked into the cave, and having to be freed by the staff. The tourist exit from Ninth Chamber, the Land Of Hope And Glory extension and Wookey 24 are all covered in a previous gallery.
Entrance to the showcave.
Modelling by Footleg, lighting by Wookey Hole (the cave), Footleg and Wookey (the person)
Band of crystals near the entrance. These appear to be hydrothermal in origin. The surrounding rock is also highly conglomerated, much like that seen in the Land Of Hope And Glory extension.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
The passage leading into the cave passes through Goatsherd Chamber, where the 1000 year old skeleton of a goatherder was found, along with goat bones, a dagger and a polished stone ball (spooky, I know). She is thought to have been the woman who was accused of witchcraft, and blamed for local misfortune (in revenge for being jilted by a partner - you know, the usual nonsense). In particular, she was supposed to have cursed anyone who fell in love, so if you ever get bad luck or break up after falling in love, now you know why. Her bones are now in the Wells & Mendip Museum.
Modelling by Footleg, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
The Hell Ladder steps (everything has to have a name in a showcave, you know) lead into First Chamber, which the showcave calls the Witch's Kitchen, and lights in a bizarre shade of purple, obliterating the cave's natural colours. This 30 x 25 x 20 metre chamber is the first place that the River Axe is seen underground, and is now separated from the resurgence by a sump. In the past, the river used to be open, but the water level was raised in 1860 by the weir that is used to supply water via a leat to the paper mill. Wookey Hole is unusual in that the numbers do not refer to sections of cave separated by sumps. Instead, they are chambers (both above and underwater), large rifts and airbells, on the main route or side branches. Therefore the numbers don't really make sense, and occasionally get out of sequence. The far bank has a tall rift called Charon's Chamber. (Why is that not numbered? Because it isn't.)
St. Michael's Mount, a large column in First Chamber, lit in highly unnatural purple, orange and pink. Incidentally, the shadowy stalagmite on the right is supposed to be the witch, having been turned to stone by a monk who was sent there by the Abbot of Glastonbury. He had chased her into the caves where she hid, and when she jumped out to attack him with her spells, he sprinkled water on her from the River Axe - the water that she and everyone else in the valley would have been drinking on a daily basis - and she turned to stone. This story gets more and more insane. Of course, he never undid her curses, so we're all screwed. Unless you never love anybody, in which case you're fine, I guess. Or maybe that is its own curse. Who knows? Anyway, I digress.
Modelling by Wookey and Wookey Hole, lighting by Wookey Hole, Footleg and Wookey
The Second Chamber, a 15 m long, 20 m tall chamber, connected to the First Chamber by a lake under the wall. This is known as the Witch's Hall or The Great Hall, depending on what mood the showcave is in.
Modelling by Footleg, lighting by Wookey Hole, Wookey and Footleg
Incredible deposit of large cave pearls at the start of the chamber. The largest are a couple of centimetres across.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
The walls of the chamber once had more formations, but these were removed by eighteenth century collectors.
The low passage leading onwards has the Witch's Chimney aven in the ceiling. This is filled with witch protection inscriptions. The lighting is completely natural, honest.
Modelling by Footleg, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
The Third Chamber, which the showcave calls the Witch's Parlour. Do you get the feeling that they are milking the whole witch thing? Tools, bones and other artifacts show that this part of the cave was in use by humans as much as 45'000 years ago. This is also where the World's first successful cave dive took place. Starting on 13th and 14th July 1935, Graham Balcombe and Penelope "Mossy" Powell had regained Chamber 4, which was previously open (and sometimes still open in low flow conditions) but flooded by the weir. On 4th August 1935, they reached Chamber 6, and on 31st August, Chamber 7. Dives on 17th August were even televised. These dives took place using bottom walking equipment, and long air hoses with a pump in Chamber 3. As a result, the divers could not leave the water to explore the chambers that they had discovered. The word "successful" is subject to interpretation. Swildon's Hole's Sump 1 was passed the next year, into dry passages. Diving in Wookey Hole then ceased for many years because the water supply for the nearby village of Wookey Hole was being contaminated with silt from the diving.
Modelling by Footleg, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
In 1974-1975, Somerset coal miners added a tunnel to connect to the dry chambers that the divers had discovered
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
With the ceiling dimly lit so that you might think it's natural.
The junction of passages, where the cheese room is on the right, and the tourist route is on the left. Sixth Chamber lies below the passage on the left, and is not connected to the showcave. In 1949, the World's first cave diving fatality was that of Gordon Marriott in Sixth Chamber, while returning from exploration in Wookey 11.
Modelling by Andrew, Jonathan, Wookey and Footleg, lighting by Wookey Hole, Jonathan, Wookey and Footleg
Walking through the cheese room, where the local Cheddar, which is sold in the nearby village, is aged. The smell goes from musty at one end of the room, to heavenly at the other. This is where previous attempts at photogrammetry had failed, as the software had been confused by so many identical cheeses, and had tried to compress them all into one set of cheese; The Cheese Incident. This time, however, it worked perfectly. We deemed the difference to be due to the density of scanning points; "How many points per cheese, 100? Well, we get thousands of pixels per cheese", an essential ratio to consider when trying to use LiDAR scanning and photogrammetry. This also gave us the memorable quote; "this is the first survey I have been on that has recorded the colour of cheese".
Modelling by Jonathan, Footleg and Andrew, lighting by Ogof Arddangos, Jonathan and Footleg
The walkway extends out to Seventh Chamber, or Wookey 7. The surveying tool here is an iPhone 13 Pro, which has its own LiDAR scanner built in.
Modelling by Andrew and Jonathan, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Jonathan
Far below is the water surface in Seventh Chamber/Wookey 7.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
Stal in the ceiling of Seventh Chamber/Wookey 7.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
The blasted tunnel continues to Eighth Chamber/Wookey 8. Diving resumed in 1947 by the same team, now set up as the Cave Diving Group. Using self-contained equipment, they discovered this chamber.
Stal in the ceiling of Eighth Chamber/Wookey 8.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
You know how you clench your phone that little bit tighter when walking over a drain? Yeah, these walkways.
Modelling by Tarquin's foot and Footleg's foot & leg
Eighth Chamber/Wookey 8 and Ninth Chamber/Wookey 9 are connected by a natural passage, but there is a barrier and a Danger sign. Why you ask?
Lighting by Footleg
Ah yes, that's why. Ninth Chamber/Wookey 9 is a long way below.
Modelling by Footleg's foots and Tarquin's feet, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
The walkway descends a series of steps over a rift dropping down into Ninth Chamber/Wookey 9.
Ferns and moss, the problem with showcave lighting.
The 30 metre long Ninth Chamber/Wookey 9, which was discovered in 1948 by the Cave Diving Group. The walkways and ropes are part of the adventure route that tourists can take through the cave.
The jammed boulder we had stood next two in the passage connecting the chambers.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
Scanning in Ninth Chamber/Wookey 9. The ceiling is 30 metres up, with more giant, poised boulders protected by netting. The continuing passage is the newly mined route to Wookey 20.
Modelling by Jonathan, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Jonathan
The far end of the chamber, where the ceiling is tallest. There is a second sump below the walkway here, connecting to the same underwater route upstream, which became the dive base for all subsequent exploration. Up in the ceiling ahead is the 9(2) Extension, which is used as part of the adventure route.
Modelling by Jonathan, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Jonathan
The new tunnel leads to Wookey 20, and since our last visit here, the walkway had been completed. The lake on the right is just a lake, with the way to the upstream and downstream sumps being ahead, and the way to Wookey 24 and Land Of Hope And Glory being to the left. Notice that the naming has now dispensed with "Chamber x", and is simply "Wookey x".
Modelling by Footleg and Henry, lighting by Ogof Arddangos, Footleg and Rich
Ribbed rock in Wookey 20.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos, Footleg and Rich
Ribbed rock.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos, Footleg and Rich
The way onwards towards the sumps, which requires a climb. The chamber is 60 metres long, 15 metres wide, and 20 metres high, making it the largest chamber on the tourist route. The showcave has conveniently installed a light all the way up in the ceiling.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
Entrance to the showcave.
Modelling by Footleg, lighting by Wookey Hole (the cave), Footleg and Wookey (the person)
Band of crystals near the entrance. These appear to be hydrothermal in origin. The surrounding rock is also highly conglomerated, much like that seen in the Land Of Hope And Glory extension.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
The passage leading into the cave passes through Goatsherd Chamber, where the 1000 year old skeleton of a goatherder was found, along with goat bones, a dagger and a polished stone ball (spooky, I know). She is thought to have been the woman who was accused of witchcraft, and blamed for local misfortune (in revenge for being jilted by a partner - you know, the usual nonsense). In particular, she was supposed to have cursed anyone who fell in love, so if you ever get bad luck or break up after falling in love, now you know why. Her bones are now in the Wells & Mendip Museum.
Modelling by Footleg, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
The Hell Ladder steps (everything has to have a name in a showcave, you know) lead into First Chamber, which the showcave calls the Witch's Kitchen, and lights in a bizarre shade of purple, obliterating the cave's natural colours. This 30 x 25 x 20 metre chamber is the first place that the River Axe is seen underground, and is now separated from the resurgence by a sump. In the past, the river used to be open, but the water level was raised in 1860 by the weir that is used to supply water via a leat to the paper mill. Wookey Hole is unusual in that the numbers do not refer to sections of cave separated by sumps. Instead, they are chambers (both above and underwater), large rifts and airbells, on the main route or side branches. Therefore the numbers don't really make sense, and occasionally get out of sequence. The far bank has a tall rift called Charon's Chamber. (Why is that not numbered? Because it isn't.)
St. Michael's Mount, a large column in First Chamber, lit in highly unnatural purple, orange and pink. Incidentally, the shadowy stalagmite on the right is supposed to be the witch, having been turned to stone by a monk who was sent there by the Abbot of Glastonbury. He had chased her into the caves where she hid, and when she jumped out to attack him with her spells, he sprinkled water on her from the River Axe - the water that she and everyone else in the valley would have been drinking on a daily basis - and she turned to stone. This story gets more and more insane. Of course, he never undid her curses, so we're all screwed. Unless you never love anybody, in which case you're fine, I guess. Or maybe that is its own curse. Who knows? Anyway, I digress.
Modelling by Wookey and Wookey Hole, lighting by Wookey Hole, Footleg and Wookey
The Second Chamber, a 15 m long, 20 m tall chamber, connected to the First Chamber by a lake under the wall. This is known as the Witch's Hall or The Great Hall, depending on what mood the showcave is in.
Modelling by Footleg, lighting by Wookey Hole, Wookey and Footleg
Incredible deposit of large cave pearls at the start of the chamber. The largest are a couple of centimetres across.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
The walls of the chamber once had more formations, but these were removed by eighteenth century collectors.
The low passage leading onwards has the Witch's Chimney aven in the ceiling. This is filled with witch protection inscriptions. The lighting is completely natural, honest.
Modelling by Footleg, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
The Third Chamber, which the showcave calls the Witch's Parlour. Do you get the feeling that they are milking the whole witch thing? Tools, bones and other artifacts show that this part of the cave was in use by humans as much as 45'000 years ago. This is also where the World's first successful cave dive took place. Starting on 13th and 14th July 1935, Graham Balcombe and Penelope "Mossy" Powell had regained Chamber 4, which was previously open (and sometimes still open in low flow conditions) but flooded by the weir. On 4th August 1935, they reached Chamber 6, and on 31st August, Chamber 7. Dives on 17th August were even televised. These dives took place using bottom walking equipment, and long air hoses with a pump in Chamber 3. As a result, the divers could not leave the water to explore the chambers that they had discovered. The word "successful" is subject to interpretation. Swildon's Hole's Sump 1 was passed the next year, into dry passages. Diving in Wookey Hole then ceased for many years because the water supply for the nearby village of Wookey Hole was being contaminated with silt from the diving.
Modelling by Footleg, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
In 1974-1975, Somerset coal miners added a tunnel to connect to the dry chambers that the divers had discovered
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
With the ceiling dimly lit so that you might think it's natural.
The junction of passages, where the cheese room is on the right, and the tourist route is on the left. Sixth Chamber lies below the passage on the left, and is not connected to the showcave. In 1949, the World's first cave diving fatality was that of Gordon Marriott in Sixth Chamber, while returning from exploration in Wookey 11.
Modelling by Andrew, Jonathan, Wookey and Footleg, lighting by Wookey Hole, Jonathan, Wookey and Footleg
Walking through the cheese room, where the local Cheddar, which is sold in the nearby village, is aged. The smell goes from musty at one end of the room, to heavenly at the other. This is where previous attempts at photogrammetry had failed, as the software had been confused by so many identical cheeses, and had tried to compress them all into one set of cheese; The Cheese Incident. This time, however, it worked perfectly. We deemed the difference to be due to the density of scanning points; "How many points per cheese, 100? Well, we get thousands of pixels per cheese", an essential ratio to consider when trying to use LiDAR scanning and photogrammetry. This also gave us the memorable quote; "this is the first survey I have been on that has recorded the colour of cheese".
Modelling by Jonathan, Footleg and Andrew, lighting by Ogof Arddangos, Jonathan and Footleg
The walkway extends out to Seventh Chamber, or Wookey 7. The surveying tool here is an iPhone 13 Pro, which has its own LiDAR scanner built in.
Modelling by Andrew and Jonathan, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Jonathan
Far below is the water surface in Seventh Chamber/Wookey 7.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
Stal in the ceiling of Seventh Chamber/Wookey 7.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
The blasted tunnel continues to Eighth Chamber/Wookey 8. Diving resumed in 1947 by the same team, now set up as the Cave Diving Group. Using self-contained equipment, they discovered this chamber.
Stal in the ceiling of Eighth Chamber/Wookey 8.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
You know how you clench your phone that little bit tighter when walking over a drain? Yeah, these walkways.
Modelling by Tarquin's foot and Footleg's foot & leg
Eighth Chamber/Wookey 8 and Ninth Chamber/Wookey 9 are connected by a natural passage, but there is a barrier and a Danger sign. Why you ask?
Lighting by Footleg
Ah yes, that's why. Ninth Chamber/Wookey 9 is a long way below.
Modelling by Footleg's foots and Tarquin's feet, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
The walkway descends a series of steps over a rift dropping down into Ninth Chamber/Wookey 9.
Ferns and moss, the problem with showcave lighting.
The 30 metre long Ninth Chamber/Wookey 9, which was discovered in 1948 by the Cave Diving Group. The walkways and ropes are part of the adventure route that tourists can take through the cave.
The jammed boulder we had stood next two in the passage connecting the chambers.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg
Scanning in Ninth Chamber/Wookey 9. The ceiling is 30 metres up, with more giant, poised boulders protected by netting. The continuing passage is the newly mined route to Wookey 20.
Modelling by Jonathan, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Jonathan
The far end of the chamber, where the ceiling is tallest. There is a second sump below the walkway here, connecting to the same underwater route upstream, which became the dive base for all subsequent exploration. Up in the ceiling ahead is the 9(2) Extension, which is used as part of the adventure route.
Modelling by Jonathan, lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Jonathan
The new tunnel leads to Wookey 20, and since our last visit here, the walkway had been completed. The lake on the right is just a lake, with the way to the upstream and downstream sumps being ahead, and the way to Wookey 24 and Land Of Hope And Glory being to the left. Notice that the naming has now dispensed with "Chamber x", and is simply "Wookey x".
Modelling by Footleg and Henry, lighting by Ogof Arddangos, Footleg and Rich
Ribbed rock in Wookey 20.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos, Footleg and Rich
Ribbed rock.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos, Footleg and Rich
The way onwards towards the sumps, which requires a climb. The chamber is 60 metres long, 15 metres wide, and 20 metres high, making it the largest chamber on the tourist route. The showcave has conveniently installed a light all the way up in the ceiling.
Lighting by Ogof Arddangos and Footleg