Caves of the Mendip Hills Caves of the Mendip Hills The caves of the Mendip Hills are formed by the particular geology of the Mendip Hills: large areas of limestone worn away by water makes it a national centre for caving. The hills conceal the largest underground river system in Britain. The hills consist of anticlines of Carboniferous Limestone lying over Devonian Old Red Sandstone, with the sandstone exposed on the summits. When a surface stream running off the sandstone reaches the limestone it sinks below ground through a "swallet", (also known locally as a "slocker"), continuing on its way down towards sea level by
Ebbor Gorge by the National Trust, and managed by Natural England as a National Nature Reserve. The land was donated to the National Trust by Mrs G.W. Hodgkinson, in 1967, in memory of Winston Churchill. The site was purchased in 1931 by Wookey Hole Caves Ltd. The site is close to Wookey Hole village and caves and offers views across the Somerset Levels to Glastonbury Tor and beyond. There are three marked trails of varying lengths around the steeply wooded gorge, the longest being long, the shortest of which is suitable for wheelchair users. Because of the ecology of the area was