Caves open for tours under commuter town

Caves underneath a Surrey commuter town are being opened to the public in one of only a handful of opportunities to see the site this year.

Reigate Caves are opened one day at a time by volunteers between May and September each year, with Saturday marking one of the last chances to see them this summer.

Peter Burgess, of the Wealden Cave and Mining Society, said being able to show the caves to people was "a way of touching back to those long forgotten times when Reigate was a completely different place".

He added: "We have introduced so many people to this cave who wouldn't have seen it if we hadn't gone through the trouble of taking it over."

On a busy day, he added that the two caves in Reigate - one in Reigate Castle Grounds and another near the town centre - attract about 600 visitors between them.

The cave in the castle grounds is thought to have been used as a wine cellar and is the last surviving structural part, said Burgess.

Reigate Caves have also sparked interest as they are dug into the same sort of ground as in Godstone, where similar caves have been linked to a large sinkhole which closed the road for over a year.

Lisa Brunt, a tour guide at the Reigate Caves, said: "I'm a teacher, so to me it is about educating people.

"I love passing that on and my passion is letting people get the opportunity to see the caves.

"People don't know what to expect - when they hear some of the stories they get quite excited.

"It's a lovely thing to be able to do."

Reigate Caves will have a final open day of the year in September.

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