Winnats Pass

At the foot of the pass is the entrance to Speedwell Cavern, a karst cave accessed through a flooded lead mine, and which is a popular tourist attraction.

[3] The gorge of Winnats Pass was once thought to have originated as a giant collapsed cavern;[4] however, this idea has since been superseded.

These were formed approximately 340 million years ago as a reef fringing a shallow lagoon, with deeper water beyond.

The presence of a small outcrop of fossiliferous rock (known as 'beach beds') at the base of Winnats Pass, close to Speedwell Cavern, suggests that a contemporary underwater cleft or canyon once existed within the active reef which caused the build up of shelly and crinoidal remains at its base.

[5][6][7][8][9][10] Hieracium naviense is a species of hawkweed whose only world location is found at Winnats Pass.