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The south side of Cheddar Gorge, and thus the caves in this area, is owned by Cheddar Caves (Longleat Enterprises). In September 2025, Longleat and CSCC entered into an access agreement covering Reservoir Hole, Spider Hole and Gough's Caves. The agreement permits access to recreational cavers, cave divers and diggers subject to certain conditions.
The main access conditions are:-
● All trips must be booked in advance and accompanied by an approved Cheddar Warden
● All cavers must be 18 or over, be suitably experienced and have adequate public liability insurance (i.e. BCA insurance)
● All cavers must complete the User Agreement form - User Agreement
The full agreement can be found here Cheddar Caves Access Agreement
To book a trip to one of the covered caves, please talk to your club's Cheddar Warden. If your club does not have a Cheddar Warden then email the CSCC Conservation & Access Officer (canda@cscc.org.uk) who can put you in touch with a guest Warden.
Please note that access to any other caves on Longleat land (for example Long Hole, Great Oones, etc) is not covered by the agreement and is not permitted. Any attempts to access these caves will jeopardise the main access agreement.
Last modified 30th Oct 2025. Copyright © CSCC 2025. For the latest information see cscc.org.uk. To maintain good relations with the landowners if the location is published the access information should also be published.