Kings Arthur's Cave and Symonds Yat Rock at the Welsh Border

Visit a legendary place at the Welsh border on this day trip!  

Our hike starts from Symonds Yat Rock. The internationally famous clifftop at Symonds Yat Rock provided a good vantage point for its Iron age inhabitants, who built a fort here 2,500 years ago. 

The site is now a scheduled ancient monument.  After spending some time enjoying the views, we walk down the 120 metres steep trail to the River Wey and follow its meandering to near the border with Wales.  We then cross a shaky bridge and make our way around the valley to King Arthurs Cave.  

About King Arthur’s Cave:  

THE LEGEND  

The reason why King Arthur’s Cave get’s its fantastic mythological name is because of its association with the legendary ruler of Camelot.  

If you’re not in the know, King Arthur of house Pendragon was a British leader that is mostly remembered through folklore, poems and fairytales.  He had a castle at Tintagel, was taught by Merlin the wizard, wielded the magical sword of Excalibur and defeated Saxon invaders. He’s also been associated with the Holy Grail and the Knights of the Round Table.  

In 1695 a goat herder found in this cave a set of bones that she believed belonged to the famous king.  

The goat herder then sent off the skeletal remains to her friend Mr Pye who was a surgeon from Bristol.  He set off on a voyage to Jamaica and, strangely, decided to take these bones with him on his journey.  Unfortunately, tragedy struck while they were sailing and the ship sunk in a violent storm. The bones were lost forever at sea!  

THE SCIENCE  

King Arthur's Cave is one of only five English caves known to have been used in both the Early and Late Upper Palaeolithic periods.  It consists of two chambers that join near the entrance - they go back about ten metres and have 'ceilings' up to four metres high. 

Excavations have found various Palaeolithic tools, and the remains of hyenas, horses and red deer. Were these left from meals? A horse would hardly wander into a cave - but maybe the hyenas did at an unoccupied time (you can only imagine them to be a rather stringy meal choice). 

A hearth near the entrance was dated to about 12,000 years ago. Later Mesolithic artefacts, including a drilled pig's tooth, have also been found in this part of the cave.  

HIKE TECHNICAL NOTES: 

Distance: 

6 miles/ 10 kilometres 

Ascent: 400 metres 

Difficulty: Moderate  

Beware! There is a very steep hill 120 metres high!  

FEE £68  

INCLUDED IN FEE 

- Travel in a private minibus from London Hammersmith 

- Guided hike  

TRAVEL 

2.5 hours, plus a service station stop each way  

FACILITIES 

There are toilets and a cafe at the beginning of the hike and at the service station.  

MEETING POINT: 

Blacks Road 

Hammersmith 

London - W6 9DT 

Behind Marks and Spencer  

ATTENTION:  

1 - It is your responsibility to ensure you check messages on this event and emails sent to you before the trip starts and up to the morning of the trip.  On occasions, meeting location, time and other details might have to be changed and the event could also be cancelled last minute in case of extreme weather or other unexpected events.  

2 - As with any road trips, there is a chance of heavy traffic, accidents and break-downs which could force us to skip parts of the trip, or stop it completely. We will do our best to make your day better, and of course to avoid any of these, but we expect your understanding on these occasions.