Review: Wookey Hole Caves
Few tourist attractions can beat the splendour of Wookey Holes’ ancient caves and deep pools of water. Beautifully bathed in soft lighting, the caves’ geological features include impressive stalactites and stalagmites and flowing water. All of this is shrouded with the Witch of Wookey’s tale of mystery and woe.
With what must surely be a costly public liability insurance bill, the public are allowed to view these fine caves on guided tours.
Lasting around half an hour, the tour takes in four main caves spectacularly lit and we also get a glimpse of cave maturing Cheddar cheese. Whilst it is not possible to push a pram or a wheelchair around the caves, they are reasonably accessible and babies can be easily transported in your baby carrier.
Whilst the caves are arguably the main attraction, the venue’s second greatest strength is circus. Wookey’s resident circus school performs a dazzling show, giving children the rare opportunity to watch gravity defying stunts and acts performed by trained children aged between 9 and 16 years.
The little exhibition housing curiosities from circuses and shows from times past is also fascinating. This is an area that could really be developed into something on a bigger scale at Wookey, giving the public an intriguing, permanent exhibition showcasing a history of circus, something currently lacking in the UK.
Whilst the caves and tour have been perfected, building on the history of circus could be the way to go for this venue. That Wookey Hole is shortly to become home to a new academic circus course comes as no surprise because under the ownership of Gerry Cottle, this is something Wookey excels at.
We’ve all seen the film Big, so we aren’t going near it
Carrying on with the tradition of curiosities, a large, old penny arcade featuring old fashioned slot machines and truly dark games can be played. We liked being able to see into the room where the machines waited to be fixed.
Other areas of interest include hands on paper making and a display and video on cave diving.
Two small soft play areas, cannon shooting with soft balls and a mirror maze kept children surprisingly active and happy during wet weather.
The famous and incredibly dainty and pretty Witch of Wookey was omnipresent, interacting with children throughout the day and allowed photo opportunities at no charge.
A little museum area also allows children to handle real cave finds and learn more about the caves’ interesting history.
A valley of life sized dinosaurs is looking a little weather beaten, but it was great to be able to give young palaeontologists an insight into their sheer size and scale.
Wookey Hole is almost the same home to the curious and bizarre, as Robert Opie’s collection is to packaging and consumer history. Whilst it is arguably one the South West’s biggest tourist attractions, the owners seem aware that the caves alone are not enough to fill a family day out. They have gradually added bits and bobs drawing out the overall experience to somewhere between the set of the League of Gentlemen and brilliant. Who could possibly guess that a twenty foot red rabbit could entertain children so much?
Giant red rabbit an unlikely hit with the children
There is plenty to occupy a family, even during rain. Babies from just a few months old can appreciate the beauty of the caves whilst the merging of oddities with fact based exhibitions will entertain preschoolers and upwards. As with many tourist attractions, if you put the enthusiasm and time in with the children, everyone will get something out of it.
Wookey Hole Caves was tested out for Chopsy Baby by four adults aged between 25 and 55, and five children aged 4 months, 5 months 3, 4 and 8 years of age.