Underneath the mysterious Forest of Dean lies a colourful world, spectacular and unseen, a vast natural cave system that has been mined for thousands of years.
Clearwell Caves were first opened to the public in 1968 when Ray Wright began opening the caverns to visitors. Ray’s son Jonathan was registered as a Freeminer in 1981 and joined Ray full time in 1984.
Jonathan studied for his M&Q Mine Deputy Certificate at the last mining course held at Cinderford Mining and Technical College (‘the MinTech’), between 1986/7. Jonathan is now President of the Royal Forest of Dean Freeminers Association https://www.forestfreeminers.org/. Today he manages Clearwell Caves with his artist wife, Heather.
‘Sadly since 2015 Ray is no longer with us, but the Caves continue as a tribute to Ray and Jonathan’s deep knowledge of the Forest of Dean, its rich history and culture.
‘At Clearwell Caves you can explore impressive natural caverns worked for iron ore and ‘colour’ (ochre) by Freemining families over the centuries.
‘The Caves offer a unique opportunity for visitors to experience the atmospheric workings with exciting displays throughout.
‘A visit to Clearwell Caves lets you see a major part of the Forest of Dean’s long history where ‘colour’ has been extracted continuously since the Stone Age over 4,500 years ago, through to the present day.
‘Although large scale mining finished in 1945, the Caves still produce ‘colour’ on a small scale, continuing this central strand of the Forest of Dean story.
‘Once you have explored the caverns open to the public, you can go beyond, on exciting caving activities run occasionally into the Deep Levels of the mine, see https://clearwellcaves.com/adventure-deeper/.
‘The Forest of Dean forms a natural basin, with carboniferous limestone (riddled with caves) making the steep cliffs and hills found around the rim.
‘Here at Clearwell you are standing on the limestone rim making the edge of that basin.
‘The central part of the Forest of Dean is the large Cannop valley (the centre of the basin) holding the shales and sandstones that make up the Coal Measures.’
Visit – https://clearwellcaves.com to plan your visit now!
Important info:
Please wear well fitting, flat-soled footwear, with a good grip.
The path is steep and uneven in places. The pathways can be wet.
Please use the handrails where provided.
The temperature underground is a comfortable but cool 10 degrees all year round, so you may still need a jumper even in summer.
Call in advance for information on disabled access.
May not be suitable for people with walking difficulties.
Clearwell Caves, The Rocks, Clearwell, Nr Coleford, Gloucestershire, GL16 8JR.
