Mountains & hills · South Wales
King Arthur's Cave
In or near Symonds Yat.
King Arthur's Cave — cave in Herefordshire, England, UK.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 3 h–8 h
- Best time of year
- Late spring – early autumn (May–Oct)
- Nearest railway station
- Rookwood · 6.6 km
- Free entry
- Dog-friendly
Getting there & planning your visit
To visit King Arthur's Cave, the nearest railway station is Rookwood, located 6.6 km away. The postcode for your sat-nav is HR9 6DZ. Entry to the cave is free.
About
King Arthur's Cave is a named summit in the United Kingdom. Heritage designation: scheduled monument. Wikidata describes it as: "cave in Herefordshire, England, UK". Coordinates: 51.8369°, -2.6607°.
Photo gallery
Protected designations
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: Upper Wye Gorge SSSI
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: River Wye SSSI
- Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Wye Valley
Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
King Arthur's Cave is a limestone cave at the foot of a low cliff at the north-western end of Lord's Wood in The Doward, near Symonds Yat, Herefordshire, about four miles northeast of Monmouth, in the Wye Valley. The cave entrance lies about 285 feet above the River Wye on a hill, with a double interconnected entrance and two main chambers. It is protected as a nature reserve under the Herefordshire Nature Trust. There is evidence that the cave was occupied by man during the Upper Palaeolithic era, and flint tools and woolly mammoth bones have been unearthed within and around the caves.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
It is uncertain exactly how the cave got its name. A skeleton of a "giant human" was supposedly discovered in the cave around 1700, but was lost when a local surgeon named Mr. Pye took the skeleton to sea on a voyage to Jamaica and his ship sank. The cave is shrouded in local superstition and is believed to have had a part in the early legend of King Vortigern, a native British king who fought against the invading Anglo Saxons. Vortigern is said to have made his last stand against Aurelius at nearby Ganarew. Lawman mentions a castle on Cloard Hill in the district of Hergin, and has Vortigern dying after the castle was besieged and fired by Aurelius and Uther. Helen Hill Miller, in her 1969…
Architecture
The cave is said to "consist of a broad entrance platform, a double interconnected entrance and two main chambers", about 300 feet above the River Wye. The main chambers obtained the names Bear's Den and Lion's Cave due to the paleontological items found there. There are also several other open rooms to the cave.
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 51.8369, -2.6607
- District
- Herefordshire, County of
- Parish
- Whitchurch
- Postcode
- HR9 6DZ
- Parliamentary constituency
- Hereford and South Herefordshire
- Nearest railway station
- Rookwood — 6.6 km
Sources
- wikidata: Q6411240 (CC0)
- wikipedia: King Arthur's Cave (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: King Arthur's Cave - geograph.org.uk - 88587.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Hill Fort Entrance
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Little Doward Hill
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Great Doward
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Wye Valley Heritage Centre
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Biblins Youth Campsite
Campsites · 1.0 km
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📷 3Frequently asked questions
- Where is King Arthur's Cave?
- King Arthur's Cave is in South Wales, United Kingdom (postcode HR9 6DZ), in the parish of Whitchurch.
- What is King Arthur's Cave?
- King Arthur's Cave — cave in Herefordshire, England, UK.
- How do I get to King Arthur's Cave?
- The nearest railway station is Rookwood, about 6.6 km away. Drivers can use postcode HR9 6DZ.
- Is King Arthur's Cave a listed building?
- King Arthur's Cave is officially recognised as scheduled monument listed.
- Is King Arthur's Cave a protected site?
- Yes — King Arthur's Cave is part of the Upper Wye Gorge SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the River Wye SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
- Is King Arthur's Cave free to visit?
- Yes, King Arthur's Cave is free to enter.
- How do I get to King Arthur's Cave?
- The nearest railway station is Rookwood, about 6.6 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode HR9 6DZ.