Forest of Dean Cave Conservation and Access Group

Redhouse Conservation

Can you help to Safeguard Redhouse Lane Swallet Cave?

The main Redhouse Lane Swallet cave system was discovered in August 2024, when a dedicated team of local cavers broke through from the end of the previous limit of the cave which had been discovered originally in 1990.  By May 2025 the cavers had explored and mapped around 10km of ‘new’ cave, making it one of the most significant caving discoveries in Britain in recent years.  To reach the new discoveries, one must pass through about 1km of very arduous caving, much of it flat-out crawling and much of it through water which is in places only a couple of inches below the ceiling. The wonders beyond are truly amazing and require protection for others to visit and enjoy.

The team are now looking to raise £5,000 to help safeguard the cave.

The new discoveries had never been seen by man before and the floor deposits and formations were completely pristine. With conservation forefront of the minds of the explorers, great care has been taken to preserve these underground wonders. During each exploration delicate areas have been marked and separated with tape so a specific path route minimising damage can be followed.  By May, around 3km of tape has been placed.  All the tape, which comes on 200m reels, and the pins to hold it in place, plus the drill to make holes for the pins, has had to be carried, or dragged, into the cave.

Some sections of the cave cannot be protected simply by taping a path, and the 300m long Marble River passage is the most important – beautiful and delicate – of these.  There is pristine cracked mud, fragile calcite rafts and then a section of thin crust ‘marble-effect’ calcite floating on a thin layer of water.  The floor formations are unique and special.  The team believe that the Marble River colouring maybe due to the local geology with the colours emanating from clay and coal measures above.

The floor is very delicate and cracks under the pressure of a human foot.  It has only been visited twice, once on the initial exploration and a second time with a professional-standard photographer.  The teams removed their wellies and moved carefully in their socks to avoid damaging it.

The sensitive floors are within a passage and for almost all of the length, it is not possible (or desirable) to tape and preserve one section, whilst destroying another. To protect the floor, a system is needed to keep cavers off it.  Done properly, it could become a spectacle in itself, with a caver above admiring all the beauty below without fear of damage.  

The team is now hoping to set up a system of ‘Via Ferrata’ and Wire Traverses, to ensure no one touches the ground at all.  The main methods would be stemples (staples) for feet, with wire hand lines to clip into.  Some sections of wire will be used to form ‘Burma bridges’ – particularly where stability that doesn’t require arm strength is needed.  

Another major concern in the Redhouse system is how to deal with an accident.  A rescue from any part of the main cave would be a serious and long undertaking.  With that in mind the team have started to construct a set of ‘rescue dumps’ of emergency equipment and food within the cave.  Without these being in place it will not be advisable for cavers to visit, given also, that a flash flood could trap a team inside for days.

Can you help to support the Redhouse work?  The team are looking to raise £5,000 for conservation and rescue equipment.  Of that, the hardware needed for the Marble River conservation work is estimated to cost around £3,000 and the basic kit needed for the taping off of pristine areas is about £1,000, maybe more depending on what more is discovered.  Additional funds are needed for the emergency equipment, and to invest in the cave rescue response which would need to be brought in.  Funds for which would be passed on to Gloucestershire Cave Rescue Group (GCRG).

If you can help, please donate to Forest of Dean Cave Conservation & Access Group (FoDCCAG); Sort code: 20-20-15; Account Number: 00301213 and mark your donation as ‘Redhouse’.

Thank you.