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Thrupe Lane Swallet

Caves of the Mendip HillsGeology of SomersetLimestone cavesSites of Special Scientific Interest in SomersetSites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1992

Thrupe Lane Swallet (grid reference ST603458) is a 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 1992. It is also a Geological Conservation Review site. The name Thrupe Lane comes from the nearby hamlet of Thrupe, which in Anglo-Saxon meant dairy farm.The swallet is a small, single pothole cave system that is dominated by a series of deep (117 metres (384 ft)) and mainly vertical passages, which follow fault lines, natural joints in the rock and mineral veins. It shows a form of cave development not seen elsewhere in the Mendips and contains the tallest vertical shaft in any known cave on the Mendip Hills, Atlas Pot, which is 60 metres (197 ft) deep. The stream that flows through the cave is one of those that feeds St Andrew's Wells in the grounds of the Bishop's Palace in Wells.Thrupe Lane Swallet was first entered in 1974 following digging by three caving groups. The entry shaft has been blasted open to ensure a stable entrance.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Thrupe Lane Swallet (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Thrupe Lane Swallet
Thrupe Lane, Mendip

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N 51.21047 ° E -2.568998 °
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Thrupe Lane Swallett

Thrupe Lane
BA5 3HD Mendip
England, United Kingdom
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Masbury railway station
Masbury railway station

Masbury railway station was a small isolated station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway's main line between Evercreech Junction and Bath. It was situated to the north of Shepton Mallet and near the summit of the line as it crossed the Mendip Hills. The station opened in 1874 and closed with the rest of the line under the Beeching Axe in March 1966. Maesbury Railway Cutting is a two hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest between East Horrington and Gurney Slade and a Geological Conservation Review site because it exposes approximately 135 metres of strata representing the middle and upper Lower Limestone Shales and the basal Black Rock Limestone. Both formations are of early Carboniferous (Courceyan) age. It lies close to the Iron Age hill fort Maesbury Castle. The station was never heavily used, and from 1938 it was reduced to a "halt" status. A feature of the station was a substantial stone-built stationmaster's house on the main northbound platform. The front of the house, which is still standing and in private hands, features a fanciful carving of Maesbury Castle as a medieval castle: in fact, Maesbury is an Iron Age fort nearby. There is about a half-mile of ramparts and views to Glastonbury Tor. The station is located mostly on private land but a public footpath crosses it. In May 2013 an online appeal was launched by the Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust to raise £500,000 by 30 September 2013 to purchase the station. The trust eventually raised only £80,000 by the deadline, and the site was sold to another party. The site is now in private hands so visitors are asked to respect the fact that it is a family home. Plans are in progress to restore the station to its original state, including rebuilding the signal box and renovating the platforms and waiting rooms.