Mendip Hills to the development of cave diving in Britain. The first cave dive was attempted at Swildon's Hole in 1934, and the first successful dive was achieved the following year at Wookey Hole Caves, which has the deepest sump in Britain at 76 m (250 ft). The cave complexes at St. Dunstan's Well Catchment, Lamb Leer, and Priddy Caves have been identified as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The deepest cave in the Mendip Hills is Charterhouse Cave with a vertical range of . Many caves in the Mendip area were excavated for archaeological and natural history studies by pioneer explorer
Wookey Hole Caves the owner Captain G.W. Hodgkinson in 1927 following preparatory work by Balch. Three years later, John Cowper Powys wrote of the caves in the novel "A Glastonbury Romance". Hodgkinson took offence at the portrayal of his fictional equivalent, initiating a costly libel suit. The current paper mill building, whose water wheel is powered by a small canal from the river, dates from around 1860 and is a Grade II listed building. The commercial production of handmade paper ceased in February 2008 after owner Gerry Cottle concluded there was no longer a market for the product, and therefore sold most of