For
thousands of years iron ore has been mined at Clearwell Caves. You can
still meet a Free Miner here; men whose ancient birthright entitles them
to dig for minerals within the Hundred of St Briavels and the Royal Forest
of Dean.
Clearwell Caves are now a working mining museum where
visitors can see impressive caverns with geological and mining displays.
Iron ore from the Caves has been used over many centuries to make tools,
weapons and machinery. Some forms of the iron ore occurs in powder form,
red, yellow, purple and brown ochre; they are highly valued as pigments
and still mined at Clearwell Caves. The iron mines are an important part
of the Forest of Dean's history and environment.
Clearwell
Caves are run by father and son team, Ray and Jonathan Wright.
Ray
Wright was a founder member of the Royal Forest of Dean Caving Club from
its creation in 1964. Club activities were mainly based upon exploring
the mysterious abandoned iron ore mines in the area. Over 45 years years
ago, Ray could see that most people were oblivious to the hidden world
beneath their feet in the Forest of Dean, so he began work on the idea
for a visitor centre based around the most suitable iron ore mines here
at Clearwell. In 1968 Clearwell Caves opened with just one cavern accessible
to visitors, each year another cavern was opened up, until the present
nine impressive caverns could be enjoyed easily by visitors. In 1984 Ray
was joined by his son Jonathan and together they have continued to work
on facilities at the mine, providing a wide range of exciting activities.
Filming at the Caves
Jonathan and Ray with Matt Baker from Countryfile in 2010
Dr
Who: Matt Smith filming 'Time of the Angels' televised April 2010
The Caves have been popular with film companies who have used the atmospheric caverns to create stunning backdrops for their stories. Amongst the many popular programmes and films that have been made here are: Dr Who, Merlin, Dalziel and Pascoe, The Pirate Prince, Blakes Seven, Narnia, The Changes, Kidnapped and many others.
Merlin: 2009 - Bradley James and Colin Morgan hiding.
Merlin and Arthur meet the Druids in 2010
Jonathan
and Ray still manage Clearwell Caves; their family having mined in the
Forest of Dean for generations, many of them Free Miners and Jonathan
is proud to continue this tradition into the 21st century.