Hell's Lum (Lion's Head) [Sea Entrance]

A tall, narrow rock entrance to NNW end of a 83 m subtidal passage leading to the inland shakehole known as Hell's Lum. The tunnel is formed on a double rift and as a result, the ceiling is more or less flat. It is 2.5 m wide at this entrance, at sea level, but is wide enough to turn a 5.5 m kayak around about 25 m inside.

Notes: Passage runs from the cliff at the above NGR to a shakehole inland at NJ 83635 66304 (NNW end).

It was measured (H,W,D) on 14/8/25 by N Feilden. Altitude is ACD. Length from NGRs.

Links and Resources:

1st Ed OS shows the tunnel with 'Hell's Lum' aligned to the right, parallel to it.
Photo 1 shows the north side of Lion Head (on left). This entrance is is the shadow slightly right of the kayak bow. Taken 14/5/19.
Photo 2 shows the sea entrance. 14/5/19.
Photo 3 taken inside the entrance. Some light from the gloup end can just be seen - but the tunnel wriggles a bit at this low level. 14/5/19.
Photo 4 looking out of this entrance from inside on 14/8/25.
Photo 5 looking SSE along the tunnel towards the south entrance and the rock pile. Taken an estimated 20 - 30 m inside. 14/8/25.
Photo 6 as photo 5, but about 20 m from the end. It gives an idea of how rough the rock walls are. This tends to dissipate energy from waves coming in. Note the sharp edges on the rocks in the rock pile which suggests that either, the rocks have fallen recently and/or there is not much milling going on (waves + pebbles) to round those edges.

This entry was last updated: 2025-08-18 19:42:44

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NGR:	NJ 83597 66378
WGS84:	57.68694, -2.27676
Length:	83 m
Vert. Range:	18.4 m
Altitude:	-2.5 m
Geology:	Gardenstown Conglomerate Formation
Tags:	Cave, SeaCave, Shake
Registry:	main

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