Upper Flood Swallet which was originally known as Blackmoor Flood Swallet, is an exceptionally well-decorated cave near Charterhouse, in the carboniferous limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. The cave is part of the Cheddar Complex SSSI.
Upper Flood Swallet | |
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Location | Charterhouse, Somerset, UK |
OS grid | ST 50570 55765 |
Coordinates | 51°17′56″N 2°42′37″W / 51.29885°N 2.71037°W / 51.29885; -2.71037 |
Depth | 110m |
Length | 4.1km |
Discovery | 3 October 1968[1] |
Geology | Limestone |
Entrances | 1 |
Difficulty | Extensive system with tight strenuous sections |
Access | Leader controlled by Mendip Caving Group; experienced cavers only |
Cave survey | MCG Upper Flood Survey 2012 |
Registry | Mendip Cave Registry[2] |
The entrance was revealed in the Great Flood of 1968,[3] giving the cave its name.[4] It was dug consistently since then with breakthroughs occurring in 1971, 1972, 1985 and 2006.[1]
As of September 2008 it is over 3.5 km in length and around 125 m deep.[5]
In September 2006 cavers squeezed through an excavated boulder choke into new passage. In a series of three digging trips they discovered 1.2 km of well decorated cave.[6]