Clovelly Cave

Length: 122m | Surveyed: 1930-01-01

Anthony Hitchcock and Peter Swart, 6 July 2002

Extension: TBD

Introduction

Clovelley Cave has been known for a long time and there are remnants of an old midden at its entrance. The first historical reference to this cave is in the late 19th century recorded by JWC Moore. This cave has a prominent arch-like entrance from which issues a sluggish mixture of water and mud. This fern filled entrance is very pretty. !(Clovelly Entrance)[] The drier entrance to the right is normally used. This forms a wide shelf-like entrance at the back of which a passage leads into the mountain. Low straight passages with sandy floors continue and become lower until it is only possible to slide on ones stomach. The passage at the end loops back on itself making for some fun exploration. There is also a small aven in the ceiling of the entrance shelf. It is possible to climb into this aven and squeeze out of a small hole in the cliff-face.

Survey and Exploration

Anthony Hitchcock surveyed Harbour View, Lower Aladdin, Drupkrans, The Wizard’s Cell and Clovelley Cave during March 1982. This proved quite an undertaking as it was done without any assistance. The survey soon showed that the passages in Harbour View Cave and Lower Aladdin Cave are connected vertically. It also showed that Drupkrans was an internal part of the system until its outer wall fell away. A narrow passage on the far side of Drupkrans drops into the Wizards Cell. It is possible to drop into this passage from the Drupkrans side, but the passage leading towards Clovelley Cave becomes too narrow to expore. There is an adjacent fissure on the Clovelly Cave side that leads towards the Wizard’s Cell and sports a cool draft. Attempts to penetrate this passage have dislodged boulders and proved too dangerous. A connection seems likely, but possibly too narrow to get through. All the caves mentioned might be regarded as part of a continuous system with one impassable joining passage. The total length is difficult to calculate with passages on so many levels, but is estimated between 350 and 400m.

A fissure in the ceiling near the end of the cave was widened by members of CPSS and allowed Greg Waller to enter a chamber above the main system. The chamber is about 5m long by 1.5m wide and 3-4m high and has no further potential.

Fauna

The cave cricket Speliacris tabulae is common in the sandy passages of Lower Aladdin Cave and Clovelly Cave. There are the usual spiders and shrimps in the pools. Bats are not encountered in these caves probably because they have low ceilings and are popular destinations for cave explorers.

Safety

There are no records of accidents in these caves, but there is every likelihood of one sometime in the future. Most explorers are content to crawl around the safe passages in Clovelly and Lower Aladdin Cave. More adventurous cavers could however hurt themselves in a number of places. The vertical passages linking Harbour View and Lower Aladdin Cave are exposed on the Drupkrans side. The narrow passages between Drupkrans, Wizard’s Cell and Clovelly Cave present very real dangers to explorers who might get stuck or be hurt by falling boulders on the Clovelly side.

Mythology

There is a story of an old fisherman who apparently lived in Clovelly Cave and was found dead from natural causes. He is said to creep up behind unsuspecting cavers and touch them on the shoulder.

Extract from Fire Protection Services booklet

There are several entrances of which the left-hand one is the best. This has a perennial spring in it. Turning to the right at the spring and then left 20 feet further on, the main passage will be reached. This is followed for 50 feet to an opening on the right. From here the cave swings back to the S.E. through wide low passages for 80 feet and reaches a point where the ceiling comes down in places to within 15 inches of the floor. A candle should be left here to show the way when coming out. From here a complicated and strenuous stomach crawl of 136 feet begins—first straight ahead, then veering gradually to the right and through a hole into a small chamber from where a difficult finish leads into the "Cor Sepulchri" 326 feet from the entrance. In addition to bats and spiders there are white cave grasshoppers in this cave.