Hellfire Caves

Steeped in history: social. natural and some say paranormal!!!

We invite you to venture 300 feet underground through a series of hand carved tunnels and alcoves; past exhibits, which tell a fascinating story.

On entering the Caves you will walk through a quarter of a mile, through the great Banqueting Hall and past various chambers. In these you will find scenes with various members of the Hellfire Club.

The final destination is the Inner Temple which is reached by crossing the River Styx. You are now three hundred feet below the Church on top of the hill.

Ghosts
We have several resident ghosts our most famous is a bride called Suki. She was a barmaid of the George and Dragon in the 18th century. She was a pretty young lady and was engaged to highway man. One day, two jealous local men wrote a letter (pretending to be him) and asking her to the caves for them to then run away and be married. When she arrived at the caves she was greeted by the local men and she realised she had been part of a practical joke. In her anger she threw stones at them. They retaliated and a stone hit her on the head and she died. She is still spotted walking the tunnels looking for her lost love.
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History
Supposedly of very ancient origin these unique caves were extended in the 1740’s by the infamous Sir Francis Dashwood, founder of the notorious Hellfire Club. His aim was to provide an extraordinary addition to his landscape gardens, no doubt inspired by his Grand Tours of Europe and the Ottoman Empire. Many of his fellow dilettantes were building great Estates and landscaping gardens and temples above ground but no others dared venture underground in this way. The chalk was used to build the main road from West Wycombe to High Wycombe. This also provided employment to the Villagers of West Wycombe following a succession of harvest failures. The achievement is a true feat of engineering and quite remarkable considering they were all dug by hand. You can still see the individual pickaxe marks on the walls.
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Opening Times :

April – October:
7 Days a week – 11am – 5.30 pm
November – March
Weekends – 11am – Dusk
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Contact Details:

Hellfire Caves,
Church Lane,
West Wycombe
Bucks
Tel: 01494 533739

www.hellfirecaves.co.uk
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Pushchairs & Wheelchairs: Please note due to the nature of the caves and the width of the tunnels, the Hellfire Caves are unsuitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs. We do however provide pushchair parking and baby slings for your convenience. All visitors can enjoy the tea rooms, gift shop and the courtyard at the entrance to the Caves.

Dogs : Please note dogs are not permitted in the caves or cafe but are permitted in courtyard.