A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to the sunless sea.
Coleridge
Next we visit Wookey Hole, a series of limestone caverns, also in Somerset. Here at last I actually find a boat to answer the call of the prompt image.The occupant appears to be standing alongside, perhaps the better to appreciate the scale of his surroundings.
In the next card shows the Escape of the River Axe, but no boat party.
These rather dull sepia cards are enlivened by the a visit to the ‘Witch of Wookey Hole’. Go on, you know you can see her!
"Double, double, toil and trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.”
At last we find an occupant of a cave. This is St.Michael’s Cave in Gibraltar. It’s a so-called Neanderthal Man, who apparently sat out the last Ice Age in these caves. A skull was found in 1848. All he needs now is a Rock Chick and the party can begin.
Ok it’s not that sort of party in the prompt picture. At the end of our cave journey we finally spot a party of people enjoying the Postojna Caves in Slovenia, or as it was then, Yugoslavia. They aren’t in a boat though; this is a train, and the link shows that these are much more modern than the one shown here.
Why not join other troglodytes for this week’s Sepia Saturday? Here’s the prompt: Party in Boat, Speedwell Cavern, Castleton.
Isn't it awesomely amazing what a little water on rock can create given a bit of time!
ReplyDeleteI've made several visits to Cheddar, and enjoyed them very much. My first was unforgettable. We went on a family day trip with my paternal grandparents. As we entered the caves, my grandmother collapsed, narrowly avoiding a protruding rock. I remember a kind lady who distracted me and my sister while grandmother was attended to. We continued our tour while she sat quietly, sipping a cup of sweet tea. Not sure what caused her to faint, but it might have been a bout of claustrophobia.
ReplyDeletePostcards were the bookmarks of the holidays of our youth and those of the generations that went before. We don't send postcards now. OK, we send Facebook messages and selfies but they are somehow transitory and shouting "I was here" rather than "look how nice/interesting/magnificent this place is". I remember having to recite Kubla Khan as a child and thinking "how strange to call a rive Alf"
ReplyDeleteCaverns are so mysterious. They make me wonder what else is going on down there. It is fascinating how some formations look like familiar things. In the Luray Caverns in Virginia, there are some fried eggs -- rock, of course.
ReplyDeleteA perfect set of postcards to match the prompt! I like the imagination people have used to name the formations too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a wonderful tour. The faded images of the caves look like movie sets for old science fiction films.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the Neanderthal Man and the Wookey Witch can get it together...
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty imaginative, but can't discern Madam Witch. Unless the big dark rock is supposed to be her. Thanks for some great images, and of course the caves themselves are amazing. I have become claustrophobic in my later years, but used to enjoy visiting caves.
ReplyDeleteAccording to my DNA test I get about 2.5% of my dna from Neanderthal ancestors. I found the one in this post to be one of the best looking I've seen.
ReplyDeleteThese caves look like locations from sci-fi movies!
ReplyDelete