Histories and legends of Wookey Hole
Wookey Hole is 2 miles from the beautiful medieval city of Wells and 20 miles from Bristol. The village of Wookey Hole is dominated by the Wookey Hole Caves tourist site which has show caves, a paper mill and a museum. The village has shops, pubs, restaurants, hotels and a campsite. Glencot House is a grade II listed country house dating from 1887, by a Mr George and Harold Peto, for WS Hodgkinson. A report of the building appeared in “The Building News”, May 13, 1887 and the architects drawing was exhibited at the Royal Academy, and is now at RIBA.
Wookey Hole Caves is a show cave and tourist attraction in the village of Wookey Hole on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills near Wells in Somerset. The caves lie under the Mendip Hills and have been carved out by the flow of the River Axe. Wookey Hole caves feature one of the largest natural domes in Europe and 25 caverns have been discovered with exploration continuing. Visitors can enjoy a tour through 50,000 years of legend and history, brought to life by an experienced guide. The caves are the focus of many delightful tales interwoven with a mix of fact, legend and folklore. For example there’s the story of the famous Witch of Wookey, based on the discovery of an old woman’s skeleton in the caves over 100 years ago – a polished alabaster ball was also found nearby, the sure sign of a witch.
Wander through the prehistoric valley of the Dinosaurs featuring King Kong or relax in our “Enchanted Fairy Garden” with fairies, dragons and elfish. Indoors added a revolutionary pirate ship “ZAP ZONE” adventure which we’ve named “Pirates of the River Axe”. Come and visit the Wookey Bear Collection and factory, also our Big Top Restaurant. New for July 2007 is the Jolly Roger Pirate Circus.
