Kents Cavern Newsletter - 16 March 2009
Published :March 17, 2009
        |
Kents Cavern Newsletter - 16 March 2009
New Look Website
Take a look at the new Kents Cavern website. We have added new features including a search facility, news and events section. Under "About Visiting" you'll now find loads of information about the ancient humans of Kents Cavern and the geology of the caves, including how the caves formed. You can also read about the early Victorian explorers, whose work at Kents Cavern gave them a scientific foundation to dare to challenge commonly accepted thinking on the antiquity of man....[Click here] |
 |
Emergency Services Disaster Exercise
Over 100 personnel from the police and fire services including the Urban Search And Rescue special operations team and the Devon Cave Rescue Organisation were involved in a major disaster planning exercise in the cave in January. |
 |
James hoovers the caves!
Once a year we close to take care of the cave environment. The paths are cleaned and we remove a year's dust from the walkways which could otherwise block natural drainage channels in the limestone bedrock. Lighting devices in the cave causes lampenflora, a green algae, to grow. If left to its own, it would soon damage the cave, so we carefully remove it and adjust light emissions in sensitive areas to control growth during the coming year. Pictured here is James Hull our general operations manager vacuuming the cave back in January! |
 |
2009 Promotional Leaflet
The 2009 Kents Cavern promotional brochure is out with some dramatic images of Neanderthals sourced by our new marketing manager Carl Smith. The images are from Wall to Wall's Channel 4 TV documentary about a time when Neanderthal and early modern humans lived together, about 40,000 years ago. The Origins Digs starting 30th March in the caves is about finding more evidence from this time in the cave. |
 |
Have a go at Cave Art
Join the archaeological team from Exeter's Royal Albert Memorial Museum at Kents Cavern during the Geopark Festival celebrations and discover hidden treasures in our reconstructed prehistoric cave. Help the experts reassemble ancient skeletons or make a cave painting to take home. Free. Thurs 28 May, 10am to 4pm at Kents Cavern. (Pictured here is prehistoric art from Pech Merle Prehistoric Cave in France, a must see cave if you are in the area.) |
 |
New menu
Over the winter we've introduced a new menu. Jackie Prowse, our chef and catering manager, has added some classic dishes using locally sourced produce and we now offer breakfast, lunch and afternoon high teas. The restaurant is open daily from 9am to both local residents and cave visitors. Come along and try us out. |
 |
Website Discount Voucher
For March and April we have a 25% discount voucher on the website. If you are planning on visiting the area over Easter, click here and access this great value money off voucher ...[more] |
 |
Foreign Language Translations
We have produced a French language audio trail of the cave. This will now be heard by the many French students who visit the caves each year. Pictured here is Lorry Georgeon from Lyon in France who spent 3 weeks working with us as part of a European scholarship with the Training Partnership. We have also produced an Italian audio tour. We are now working on tours in Spanish, German, Russian and Mandarin Chinese for our growing number of overseas visitors from these countries. |
 |
Great British Heritage Pass
If you live outside the UK then you might like to take advantage of the Great British Heritage Pass for your next visit to England. This affordable one-off pass gives you free entry to over 580 UK heritage properties including Kents Cavern of course. Visit http://www.britishheritagepass.com/ |
 |
Macbeth Underground
London based theatre group C Company is bringing Shakespeare's Macbeth back to Kents Cavern in October this year. Aileen Gonsalves, director of C Company, played the porter 15 years ago in Kents Cavern in an adaptation of the play directed by Tony Benet. Book early, this is an event not to be missed.....[more]
|
 |
Bushcraft Day 2nd May
A 1/2 day introduction to Prehistoric Technologies run by Nomad Bushcraft. Learn how to make fire, make flint hand tools and hunt using Stone Age weapons. Other dates are 21st June, 18th July and 24th October. ...[more] |
 |
GB6GEO calling
"GB6GEO" will again be on air during the weekend of 23/24th May 2009 from Kents Cavern as part of the European Geoparks Festival week along with other amateur radio stations set up in Geoparks across the globe. Other attractions to see at the caves during the weekend include "no-aerial" cave radio, satellite communications, amateur TV and a tribute to Oliver Heaviside, a local scientist who discovered the Heaviside Layer in radio propagation. There will be a number of scouting groups gaining communications badges and a chance for everyone to send greetings to other Geoparks and amateur stations around the world. Last year we contacted colleagues in Brazil, Tasmania and Siberia from the caves. |
 |
Fleet Street Shop in Torquay
The Kents Cavern shop in town opens up for the season on 30th March. Drop in to see our new range of products and get some great deals on tickets to local attractions. The shop is close to Torquay Harbour opposite Pizza Hut. |
 |
Membership Scheme
Today we launch an annual membership scheme for Kents Cavern. This great value pass allows you unlimited multi-return visits plus 10% off in all our retail outlets and money off the cost of entry for your friends and family. It costs only 拢16 for individuals, 拢28 for joint friends and 拢38 for families...[more] |
 |
260 million year old worm
Giant sand worms lived in Torbay, scientists claim. Dr Kevin Page, Kents Cavern's geological consultant, has found evidence of a giant prehistoric sand worm on the English Riviera. Traces of this unknown lifeform have been found in rocks in a secret location. The animal which made these large burrows through sediment at the bottom of desert wadis some 260million years ago could be unknown to science. ...[more]
|
 |
And finally....
Keep up to date with the Darwin200 Origins Dig starting on 30th March by checking out the Dig Blog. Visitors to the caves can see the dig in action as part of the guided tour. However we are also allowing public access to the dig site between 10 and 11am from Thur 2nd to 9th April for just 拢2. This is FREE for season ticket and membership holders....[more] |
 | |
 |
