28 eager Dartmoor Society members convened in the car park of the William Pengelly Cave Studies Trust on 18th September.
Our host was Sheila Philips who is the Education Officer at the Trust. Sheila showed us plenty of evidence of volcanic disruption and the caves themselves are surrounded by several disused quarries.
In total there are five and a half kilometres of cave networks at the site and Sheila showed us the entrance to Bakers Pit Cave, then Reeds Cave and finally we explored the inside of the exquisite Joint Mitnor Cave.
During our fascinating tour we walked uphill and along a lane to the remains of the old Buckfastleigh Church named Holy Trinity Church which was devastated by fire on the 21st July 1992.
The whole area is frequented by bats and ongoing studies are taking place on the Greater Horseshoe, Lesser Horseshoe and Pipistrelle species.
At the end of the evening our members explored the recently developed Pengelly Cave Studies Trust Museum and had the opportunity to purchase some interesting literature.
What an amazing event this was.