Clearwell Caves
Clearwell Caves is an ancient iron ore mine in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, with evidence of mining activity stretching back over 4,500 years to the Bronze Age, making it one of the oldest and most continuously worked mineral workings in Britain. The cave system extends to nine chambers open to visitors, revealing the geological formations, historical mining equipment and evidence of the various periods of extraction that have taken place on this site across millennia. The caves are managed as a visitor attraction with guided tours exploring the natural cave features and the mining history of the Forest of Dean. The Forest of Dean is one of the most historically significant mining and industrial landscapes in England, with iron and coal extraction dating back to Roman times and a distinctive forest culture that developed around the free-mining rights granted to local inhabitants. Clearwell village and the surrounding forest provide an attractive setting for this remarkable heritage site.