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All the United Kingdom Wales Pembroke Wogan Cavern

Wogan Cavern

A spiral staircase connects the limestone cave with Pembroke Castle, birthplace of King Henry VII.

Pembroke, Wales

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Alan Newman
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Wogan Cavern showing the entrance stairs and massive Norman-built wall.   Ceridwen/CC BY-SA 2.0
Pembroke Castle and the River Pembroke.   Robin Drayton/CC BY-SA 2.0
The cavern.   Cderidwen/CC BY-SA 2.0
Cavern entrance   jooniur / Atlas Obscura User
Under this rock promentary is the massive Wogan Cavern.   N Chadwick/CC BY-SA 2.0
Looking out from the “Water Gate.”   ceridwen/CC BY-SA 2.0
Exterior of the “water Gate” into the walled-off cave.   N Chadwick/CC BY-SA 2.0
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In Wales, a 12th-century castle is hardly notable. The Norman invaders left them scattered all over the country. However, Pembroke Castle has a feature that makes it stand apart from the others: Lying underneath it is Wogan Cavern, an enormous natural cave.

People can access the cave from a huge spiral staircase within the castle. Fifty-five steps lead down into the large subterranean limestone room, which was created by the natural process of water erosion.

Wogan Cavern is at river level, and the castle owners blocked the cave entrance with a massive stone wall that contained a large door. It’s been proposed that the cave was used for directly loading and unloading ships on the river. It was also fortified with arrow slits.

The cavern was used even before the medieval modifications that placed a castle atop it. It’s believed to have even been visited by the Romans.

Apart from its magnificent cavern, the castle is also notable as the birthplace of Henry VII, first of the Tudor monarchs. It’s now the largest privately-owned castle in all of Wales.

In the U.K., the only castle that is somewhat similar is Peveril Castle in Derbyshire, which is built directly over Peak Cavern. But, unlike Wogan Cavern, Peak Cavern cannot be accessed directly from the castle, nor was it used by the castle for a practical purpose.

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Caves Castles Natural Wonders Stairs Geological Oddities Ecosystems Geology Nature

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Added By

Dr Alan P Newman

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jooniur

  • jooniur

Published

September 27, 2017

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Wogan Cavern
Pembroke Castle
Pembroke, Wales
United Kingdom
51.676903, -4.920534
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