Wookey Hole Caves begins work to open 'spectacular' caverns
Work has begun to open up "spectacular" new caverns at Wookey Hole Caves which, managers claim, have been seen by fewer people than have walked on the moon.
The caves beneath the Mendip Hills were discovered by divers in the 1970s and were previously unseen by the public. Now the Somerset attraction wants to blast a passage through the rocks so they can be opened up to more people as part of a £4m expansion project. It is thought that the work will take at least a month. Director Daniel Medley said the underground lake and cave formations were "spectacular". He said: "We are literally blasting into the unknown so we are all very excited to see what lies on the other side. "The new tunnel will be similar to the one created in 1973 which enabled people to see extra caverns." Mr Medley said the work - a "monumental phase" of the caves' history - would cost £2m to £3m, with a further £1m investment planned later this year, to create what is thought to be one of the biggest show cave systems in Europe. He said the 70m (230ft) access tunnel would enable people to go into the 20th chamber, which cave divers call King Arthur's Beard because of the shape of a rock formation in it. Nigel Taylor, from Cheddar-based Demrock Explosives, said the work had to be done carefully because of roosting bats. "We [started work] at about 10.30pm last night and brought out about eight tonnes of rock. "We're going to try and do it as a blast a night. Because of the bats we have to make sure they have all left the cave. "We can't risk anything [happening] to the little creatures."