Wurt Pit and Devil’s Punchbowl

Useful Information

Location:	South of Compton Martin and West Harptree on Old Bristol Road. (51.281495, -2.655870)
Open:	no restrictions. [2021]
Fee:	free. [2021]
Classification:	Doline Ponor
Light:	n/a.
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

Wurt Pit and Devil’s Punchbowl are actually two different sites, the two largest dolines in the Mendips, and together they form a 0.2 ha geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). At this place the karst is covered by insoluble rock, the solution and formation occurs only in the limestone layers below. At Devil’s Punchbowl it is covered by marls, at Wurt Pit by the Harptree Beds, an early Jurassic series of limestones and silica impregnated clays. The dolines form by collapses, when the caves below become too big to support the rocks above.