The cafe is truly bad, the inside waiting area leaves a little to be desired. The caves are scary, dark and cold. The tour guide is slightly cheesy in his delivery. The entire experience is wonderful.
I’ve lived in London since I first opened my eyes. I know of all the main tourist attractions. Chislehurst Caves slipped by me. It’s not that well advertised and I’m sure that not a huge amount of people know about it, or indeed think it worthy of the trip, but it really is.
The tour lasts over an an hour and is effectively a mile walk around the caves (lantern in hand) with regular stops to allow our delightfully witty guide to tell us about what happened where. Hendrix played in the Saxon’s part of the cave. The hospital was in the Romans’ part etc…
It’s a very powerful snippet of what life must have been like for those during WWII. The caves were very much a home for many and as such became an underground village/community. This isn’t a history lesson so I won’t go on but suffice to say that spending £6 on a lazy Sunday morning to grab some cave air and a little culture was a truly good start to the coming week.
I wouldn’t eat in the cafe unless I was highly hungover and in need of a greasy helping hand (chilli con carne and the full English were top choices) but its vibe added to the low rent (in the best possible way) vibe of the place. I did however pick up a book on war-time cookery, which I will consult when I need to ration my food intake and drop a few pounds, so basically a daily read!
Chislehurst Caves 10/10 Caveside Close Old Hill BR7 5NL
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