A Cheddar Circular, Part II,'Black Rock To Velvet Bottom' by Sheila, June 14th 2021
Channel: semw52
Date: 2021-06-24

Black Rock-----A Quarry with a Lime kiln  used to extract lime is still visible----A scene from the TV Drama 'Poldark' was also filmed here just a few years ago..........The Limestone rock of Cheddar has allowed for the formation of the caves here...The Quarry has had several episodes of quite large chunks falling off and is really dangerous---not a good idea to climb or picnic directly below the rock face------a few years ago a dog fell to its death from the top--it literally ran off the top---no warning signs so be aware when wandering about  above and below the quarry.......A quiet walk here with no one about on this visit as I make my way to Velvet Bottom------a place steeped in history and geology---an ancient mining area with evidence of the Romans and the Victorians visible---I have videoed and recorded this area in more depth  as shown in earlier videos over the years--today its just great to wander here and enjoy the warm sunshine and landscape allowing one's imagination to travel back in time when  the Victorian chimneys were here and the black smoke and slag heaps in abundance and even further back in time when the Romans were here---like Magpies  finding  the lead--After  just 6 years of arriving in Britain the Romans were mining  in Velvet Bottom near Charterhouse--large scale removal of lead and Calcite---More to come folks of this section of the walk as I walk back in history