Shute Shelve Cavern

Shute Shelve Cavern is a cave on Shute Shelve Hill, above the small town of Axbridge in Somerset, England. It sits in the Mendip Hills a few kilometres from Cheddar. This is not a ticketed show cave: it is a geological and historical site that only organised caving groups can enter.

What is Shute Shelve Cavern?

The cave is a natural phreatic system, meaning water filling the limestone under pressure carved its passages. Cavers regard it as one section of a large fossil phreatic loop that once carried water from the Lox Yeo valley catchment towards an ancient resurgence near Axbridge. Uranium-series dating shows its stalagmite and flowstone formations are more than 350,000 years old.

Published dimensions vary. A University of Bristol Spelaeological Society paper reports about 262 m of passage and 56 m of depth, the Mendip Cave Registry lists 249 m by 56 m, and other sources give much smaller figures for the surveyed section.

Why is it also called Axbridge Ochre Mine?

Miners worked the site for yellow ochre, a pigment used in paint-making, until the 1920s. They had entered the first part of the cave well before its main discovery, which is where the alternative name comes from.

Who found it?

Members of the Axbridge Caving Group broke into the main cave in March 1992. The UBSS authors suggest it may be the "Lost Cave of Axbridge", long rumoured to lie beneath the hill.

Can you go inside?

No casual visits are possible. The entrance has a locked gate, and the Axbridge Caving Group manages access. During the bats' roosting season the cave is shut completely to avoid disturbing them. If you are an experienced caver, contact the group well in advance about a guided trip.

What else is nearby?

The Mendip Cave Registry lists several other sites close to the cavern on Shute Shelve Hill, including Carcass Cave, Dick Turpin's Cave, Rose Wood Boundary Cave and The Rift. The surrounding hills have footpaths with views over Axbridge and the Somerset levels, and nearby Cheddar has its well-known show caves open to the public.

How do you get there?

Axbridge lies on the A371 between Cheddar and Winscombe, roughly 30 km south-west of Bristol. Drive or take a regional bus to Axbridge, then continue on foot towards the hill. The cave's coordinates are about 51.294 N, 2.828 W.

Frequently asked questions

Is Shute Shelve Cavern open to tourists? No. The cave is locked and access is controlled by a local caving group.

When is it completely closed? During the bat roosting season nobody may enter.

Why is it called Axbridge Ochre Mine? Because yellow ochre for paint was extracted from it until the 1920s.

Where can I see a cave without special permission? In nearby Cheddar, where several caves are open to ordinary visitors.