Banwell Caves

LeisureDome was a proposed indoor ski slope for Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England. It was to be located on the site of the former RAF Locking, which closed in 1999. Planning permission for the LeisureDome was granted by North Somerset Council on 21 July 2011. Subject to final approval by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, construction, which was estimated at £50 million, was expected to commence in December 2011. The ski slope was originally planned to open in early 2013, but construction was delayed, later cancelled. In 2015, the future of the project was in doubt because of the need for additional funding, and no mention of the LeisureDome proposals appear on the information provided by St. Modwen Properties, the developers about their plans for Locking Parklands as the site is now known.

Elborough Hill is an univallate Iron Age hill fort situated approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) east from the small village of Hutton and 1 mile (1.6 km) south from the village of Elborough in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. The site is oval shaped and is defined by a triple bank on the northern side with a double out-turned bank on the southern side.

RAF Locking was a Royal Air Force station near the village of Locking and about 3 miles (4.8 km) from Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England. During the period 1939 to 2000, the station trained tens of thousands of engineers in the maintenance of aircraft then radar, radio and computers.

Banwell is a village and civil parish on the River Banwell in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. Its population was 3,251 according to the 2021 census.

Locking is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is a predominantly quiet residential area of North Somerset, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south east of the town of Weston-super-Mare. As well as a pub and church the village has a village hall, school (Locking Primary School), a small shop and post office, a hairdressers, a Chinese takeaway, a pet care shop, florist, pharmacy, cafe and petrol service station comprising car sales and a mechanical workshop. The village gave its name to RAF Locking, which has now closed and proposals are under consideration for an employment and residential development for the site that could deliver 25 hectare (62 acres) of employment space and up to 1,800 new homes. In July 2011, North Somerset Council gave planning permission for the £50 million LeisureDome to be constructed on the site. It will contain a 210-metre (690 ft) indoor ski slope, other leisure facilities and a number of shops and restaurants.

Banwell Castle is a Victorian Gothic Revival mansion in Banwell, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill is a 332.2 hectare (820.9 acre) geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the western end of the Mendip Hills, Somerset. The line of hills runs for approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from west to east and includes: Crook Peak, Compton Hill, Wavering Down, Cross Plain and Shute Shelve Hill. Most of the site is owned by the National Trust, which bought 725 acres (293 ha) in 1985, and much of it has been designated as common land. It was notified as an SSSI by Natural England in 1952. The ecology of the area includes ancient woodland and calcareous grassland which supports nationally rare species including the Cheddar pink. The underlying rocks are Carboniferous Limestone containing phreatic caves at Shute Shelve Cavern and Picken's Hole from which fossils dating from the Middle Devensian have been recovered.

Loxton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to the M5 motorway in the unitary authority of North Somerset. The parish includes the village of Christon and has a population of 214.

Shiplate Slait (grid reference ST365567) is a 33.9 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Loxton, within the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, North Somerset, notified in 1987. The site is underlain by Clifton Down Limestone, Burrington Oolite, Black Rock Dolomite and Black Rock Limestone of the Carboniferous Limestone Series. There is dolomitic conglomerate (Triassic Mudstone) at the lower edges of the site. The site has unimproved calcicolous grassland, some of which is mixed with dwarf-shrub, mosaics of calcicolous grassland and scrub and woodland. Four nationally rare types of vegetation form most of the grassland. Rare species include Koeleria vallesiana (Somerset hair-grass), Carex humilis (dwarf sedge) and Potentilla tabernaemontani (spring cinquefoil).A bowl barrow of Neolithic to Bronze Age with a diameter of 24 metres (79 ft) and around 1.2 metres (3 ft 11 in) high, is scheduled as an ancient monument. Two further bowl barrows are also scheduled.

Locking Castle was a castle that once stood on Carberry Hill near the site of RAF Locking in Locking in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. It has been scheduled as an ancient monument.It was a motte and bailey on Carberry Hill. Excavations in 1902 identified the remains of a small stone chamber surrounded by a ditch. Fragments of pottery and the remains of a sword were also found. A coin from the period of Edward IV was also uncovered.Around the site of the castle is a 60 metres (200 ft) long bank which is around 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) high and a ditch. An area west of the inner bailey has been identified as a possible pillow mound. The origin of the castle is unclear. It may have been part of the manor of Kewstoke or alternatively Hutton. The two manors were combined and given by Henry I to Geoffrey de Dun. In 1214 Locking was given to Woodspring Priory and would have ceased to have military significance.

The Lox Yeo is a short river in North Somerset, England. It rises at Winscombe and flows south west for about 6 kilometres (4 mi) to join the River Axe near Loxton. The river flows through a gap in the Mendip Hills between Crook Peak and Bleadon Hill, through which the M5 motorway now runs. The river was once known simply as the Lox. The name appears to be of Celtic origin, and means either "winding stream" or "bright one".

Banwell Ochre Caves (grid reference ST407593) are a 12.46-hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Banwell, North Somerset, notified in 1983. There are five caves in total which contain the most extensive and accessible yellow ochre workings in the Mendip Hills. A wide variety of ochre types and iron hydroxides (limonites) can be examined in situ, and the evidence of their accumulation as residual ore-bodies associated with Ice Age (Pleistocene) sediments is clearly visible. The caves are also a nesting site for the Horseshoe bat a protected species.The caves were first exploited for ochre mining in the 1930s and worked until 1948.Cave one is 62 metres (203 ft) long, Cave two 154 metres (505 ft), cave three 92 metres (302 ft) cave four 62 metres (203 ft) and cave five 31 metres (102 ft) long. A small additional cave is choked with rocks at a depth of 4 metres (13 ft).