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Gloucester Hole

Caves of GloucestershireChepstowRiver WyeTidenhamTourist attractions in Gloucestershire
Use British English from February 2018Wild caves
Chepstow Gloucester Hole 1
Chepstow Gloucester Hole 1

The Gloucester Hole is a roughly square opening in the limestone cliffs of the River Wye, directly opposite the town of Chepstow. The hole itself is on the Tutshill side of the river, in Gloucestershire, England; the river forms the boundary with Wales. The small square opening leads into a much larger chamber within the cliffs. The entrance is about 5 feet 6 inches (1.7 m) square, and runs in for about 12 feet (3.7 m). The cave was a natural opening in the limestone which was enlarged so that its greatest depth and greatest breadth are 27 feet (8.2 m), and its height at one point is 15 feet (4.6 m). There is speculation about its origin and about what it has been used for in the past. Suggestions include its use by the Shirenewton Quakers for storing tea, or for the storing of explosives by Brunel when the railway was built. A local antiquarian, J.G. Wood, wrote in 1901 that nearly 50 years earlier he had quizzed the oldest inhabitants and discovered that this natural cave had been enlarged and fitted with a crane at its mouth to unload large ships that could moor there in deep water, but could not easily dock at the shallower wharves on the Chepstow side of the river. The cargo was then reloaded onto trows and taken up river to Monmouth and Hereford. For many years mooring chains and rings in the cliff below survived to support this explanation. The cave can only be reached by boat at high tide.Next to the Hole is a Union Flag which was first painted in 1935 to mark the Silver Jubilee of King George V by some Chepstow salmon fishermen, and is regularly repainted. The highest tides reach nearly to the top of it. During flooding in January 2014, the water level rose above the flag for the first time in many years.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Gloucester Hole (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Gloucester Hole
Rock Villa Lane, Forest of Dean Tidenham

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

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N 51.646 ° E -2.6684 °
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Rock Villa Lane

Rock Villa Lane
NP16 7DL Forest of Dean, Tidenham
England, United Kingdom
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Chepstow Gloucester Hole 1
Chepstow Gloucester Hole 1
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Chepstow
Chepstow

Chepstow (Welsh: Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about 2 miles (3 km) above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the Severn Bridge. It is the easternmost settlement in Wales, situated 16 miles (26 km) east of Newport, 28 miles (45 km) east-northeast of Cardiff, 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Bristol and 110 miles (180 km) west of London. Chepstow Castle, situated on a clifftop above the Wye and its bridge, is often cited as the oldest surviving stone castle in Britain. The castle was established by William FitzOsbern immediately after the Norman conquest, and was extended in later centuries before becoming ruined after the Civil War. A Benedictine priory was also established within the walled town, which was the centre of the Marcher lordship of Striguil. The port of Chepstow became noted in the Middle Ages for its imports of wine, and also became a major centre for the export of timber and bark, from nearby woodland in the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean. In the late eighteenth century the town was a focus of early tourism as part of the "Wye Tour", and the tourist industry remains important. Other important industries included shipbuilding – one of the First World War National Shipyards was established in the town – and heavy engineering, including the prefabrication of bridges and wind turbine towers. Chepstow is also well known for its racecourse, which has hosted the Welsh National each year since 1949. The town had a population of 10,821 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 12,350 at the 2011 census. It is served by the M48 motorway, and its accessibility to the cities of Bristol, Newport and Cardiff means it has a large number of commuters. It is administered as part of Monmouthshire County Council, and is within the Monmouth UK parliamentary constituency and Senedd constituency. Chepstow is on the western bank of the Wye, while adjoining villages on the eastern bank of the river, Tutshill and Sedbury, are in England. The population of the built-up area including these villages was 16,169 in 2011.