STONE BOTHERING

In the folds of the Mendip Hills in Somerset lies Ubley Warren, a place where stone takes centre stage. It is a landscape that holds the memory of ancient seas, of volcanic forces and tectonic shifts, of miners who sought wealth in its depths, and of hidden caves that stretch into the unknown. To walk here is to cross ground that has been four hundred million years in the making. Ubley Warren is not just another corner of the Mendips. It is a geological archive, a place where the processes that shaped Britain can be read in the rocks beneath your feet. It is also one of the most historically significant mining landscapes in the area, its scars and hollows testifying to centuries of human labour. And deep below, it conceals an underground labyrinth that reveals how stone and water interact across vast spans of time. This article will take you through the story of Ubley Warren in its deepest sense: the geology that created it, the human industry that exploited it, and the hidden facts th...