Visit to
Chiselhurst Caves - 25 October 2017
We had
arranged to meet in the Caves cafe by 11.00 and everyone arrived on time. There
were 18
of us.
Our guided
tour was booked for 11.15 and lasted about 45 minutes.
We were given
an oil lamp to help see where we were going as the floors of the tunnels are un
even. It is
surprising how much light they give and they create a pleasant atmosphere.
If you have a
fear of darkness then this is not for you!!!!
The caves are
a labyrinth of dark mysterious passageways which you would be unlikely to find
your way
through unaided.
The caves are
at a constant temperature of 10 degrees so it felt a little chilly.
The tunnels
are about 20 miles long but we only covered one mile on our tour. During WW2
the
Caves were
used as an air raid shelter and could accommodate 15000 people each night, with
beds for all
of them.
There are a
few interesting things to see like a huge fossil on the roof of one tunnel, a
small
church, a
hospital and some interesting carvings made 19 years ago by a lady from New
Zealand.
Although some
guides claim they have seen a ghost we did not meet any. The only strange
things
we heard were
Roger’s jokes…..
Our guide was
very good and luckily knew his way back!! So we managed to get back to the
surface with
the group intact but Roger & Doreen managed to get lost between the Caves
car
park & the
pub - a distance of about 200 yards. Apparently they were last seen turning the
wrong
way out of the
car park with Roger muttering something about the Cutty Sark!
After the
visit 12 of us met up in a pub called the Imperial Arms where we had a very
nice lunch.
All in all it
was once again a successful outing.
Regine Milkins.
