Kents Cavern

This booklet tells you the history of Kents Cavern.

Made by

Visitors spend around 2 hours here. At Kents Cavern the reception is called the ticket desk.

At the reception desk, you can

1. pay for things from the shop 2. buy your ticket 3. ask for help

There is a café where you can buy food and drink.

There is an accessible toilet.

Kents Cavern is a cave.

A cave is a hole in the ground that a person can fit inside.

The staff at Kents Cavern will take you on a tour of the cave.

At the start of the cave there is a light show.

Kents Cavern is always the same temperature.

It feels warm on cold days and cool on warm days.

The stable temperature makes the cave a good place to live.

Is the cave colder or hotter than the weather outside today?

Stalactites The cave is made from Devonian Limestone rock, but the rocky formations are made from Calcite. The rocks hanging down from the ceiling are called stalactites.

The rocks growing up from the floor are called stalagmites.

Stalagmites

They are formed by water dripping in the cave and crystals forming.

The calcite makes strange shapes.

Can you see the rock that looks like a face? A long time ago, people used to live in Kents Cavern. They were called Cave people. They would sleep, make tools and relax in the cave.

When the cave people died here, they left their bones in the caves.

Cave bears also lived in Kents Cavern.

There is a skull in the waiting room that you can see.

The cave bears used to live in the Bear’s Den.

This is where their bones were found. Scimitar-toothed Cats lived near Kents Cavern.

Cavemen used their teeth as jewellery!

Woolly Rhinos lived near Kents Cavern.

They were furry rhinos!

They had two big horns for fighting.

Hyenas were one of the animals that lived in the cave.

Some bones in the cave had hyena teeth marks!

Woolly Mammoths were eaten by the hyenas.

They looked like furry elephants! Cave Lions lived in Kents Cavern.

They were bigger than the lions we have today.

Horses were food for the cavemen and other animals.

Which animal is your favourite?

Kents Cavern is only one part of the Geopark in Torbay

There are 30 places to visit in Torbay that are part of Torbay’s Geopark.

How many Geopark places have you visited in Torbay?

Now you know …….

1. Kents Cavern is a cave. 2. Stalagmites are on the ground. 3. Stalactites hang from the ceiling. 4. People lived in Kents Cavern a long time ago. 5. Animals lived in Kents Cavern.

We hope you enjoyed your day. What did you enjoy the most?

Thank you for visiting Kents Cavern

Please come back again!

Cavern A cave that you can walk Into.

Stalactites Points of stone that hang down from the cave ceiling.

Stalagmites Lumps of stone that grow on the cave floor.

Fossils Bones and animals that have turned to stone over a very log time.

Scimitar- A big cat with large teeth. toothed Cats

Jewellery Necklaces, rings, earrings or bracelets.

Hyena An animal that looks like a dog. Today it lives in Africa.

Woolly A large hairy elephant with a Mammoth sloping back and long curved tusks. Torbay A part of Devon. Kents Cavern and Torquay are in Torbay. Geopark An area with lots of different places to visit that have important rocks or stones. For more information about Heritage Ability, visit www.heritageability.org

This guide has been compiled by Heritage Ability using a person- centred approach, in conjunction with professional advisors with lived-experience.

Images supplied by Heritage Ability and Kents Cavern.

Heritage Ability project is run by the disability charity, Living Options Devon, registered charity no. 1102489

@HeritageAbility