Wealden Cave and Mine Society

The Wealden Cave and Mine Society is a club whose members have traditionally come from the Surrey and Sussex area, but is increasingly attracting members from further afield. In 2012 membership stood at about 130.

WCMS was formed in September 1967, and has always taken an active interest in the mines and other subterranean sites of east Surrey, and regularly visited Somerset caves from the start, and in recent years has become more active in South Wales. A small cabin, once the caving base for Willie Stanton and his friends in the late 1940s, has provided cosy accommodation for the club in Somerset since 1970.



Our cottage, "The Stump" - artwork by member Tony Melbourne.

In 2009, the club commenced the restoration of the Penwyllt Inn, the semi-derelict former pub owned by South Wales Caving Club, in the upper Swansea Valley. The cottage goes by the name the local residents used when the quarries and brickworks were active - "The Stump". The cottage is now a very popular venue for members and can accommodate 18 members and guests in two bunkrooms, has two luxury showers, and is fully fitted out with central heating and a modern kitchen. Just as SWCC can boast that the passages of Ogof Ffynnon Ddu lie directly beneath their cottage, so it is for "The Stump".

Wealden Cave and Mine Society maintains and controls access on behalf of landowners to a number of underground sites in east Surrey, including workings at Merstham, Godstone, and Reigate.

Wealden Cave and Mine Society licenses the sand caves in Reigate for public access, and runs a number of Open Days throughout the summer. Three caves are accessible for public tours in Reigate. One is Barons' Cave, a medieval tunnel system below the old castle, and the others are off Tunnel Road. One of these contains displays of local industry and transport, and information about the Home Front in Reigate during the Second World War.

For further enquiries, please visit the WCMS website.