Fairy Cave Quarry is between Stoke St Michael

Stoke St Michael

Stoke St Michael is a village and civil parish on the Mendip Hills north east of Shepton Mallet, and west of Frome, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England.-History:...

 and Oakhill

Oakhill

Oakhill, Somerset is a village located approximately north of Shepton Mallet between the A37 and the A367 . Oakhill is today is mainly a commuter village of in size, but it is more famous for its past activities which include its brewing....

 in the limestone of the Mendip Hills

Mendip Hills

The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north...

, in Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Quarrying was first started on the site in the early 1920s. In 1963 the quarry was acquired by Hobbs (Quarries) Ltd., and production on a much larger scale began. Excavations cut back into the hillside above St Dunstan's Well Rising

St. Dunstan's Well Catchment

St. Dunstan's Well Catchment is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, covering near Stoke St Michael in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1967.Formerly known as Stoke St Michael Slocker.- Geological :...

, a Bristol Water

Bristol Water

Bristol Water supplies 300 million litres of drinking water to over 1 million customers in a area centred on Bristol, England. It is regulated under the Water Industry Act 1991...

 abstraction point (long since abandoned), various caves were intercepted. The quarry ceased production in 1977.

The caves in Fairy Cave Quarry include:

• Balch Cave
  Balch Cave
  Balch Cave is a cave in Fairy Cave Quarry, near Stoke St Michael in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. The cave is part of the complex of passages feeding to St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Site of Special Scientific Interest and an abandoned Bristol Water abstraction point.It...
  
  
• Conning Tower Cave
• Fairy Cave
• Fernhill Cave
• Hillier's Cave
  Hillier's Cave
  Hillier's Cave is a cave in Fairy Cave Quarry, near Stoke St Michael in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England.It falls within the St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Site of Special Scientific Interest....
  
  
• Hillwithy Cave
• Shatter Cave
  Shatter Cave
  Shatter Cave is a cave in Fairy Cave Quarry, near Stoke St Michael in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It falls within the St...
  
  
• W/L Cave
  W/L Cave
  W/L Cave is part of the Fairy Cave Quarry group of caves between Stoke St Michael and Oakhill in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England....
  
  
• Withyhill Cave

The caves in the quarry were formed by water from an unknown source. Withybrook Slocker is an active swallet to the south of the quarry and although the water sinking here presently flows through the quarry caves the stream is misfit. Withybrook Slocker however gives access to the upstream continuation of the quarry caves and digging activities by the Cerberus Spelaeological Society will hopefully lead to the discovery of the original source of the system.

The quarry has also been used extensively for climbing

Climbing

Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...

, with 136 named routes. Although this was previously without permission of the landowners in July 2010 access for climbers was agreed.

External links

• Geological Conservation Review