Umpherston Sinkhole

Umpherston Sinkhole, also known, as The Sunken Garden was once a cave until its top chamber collapsed downwards creating quite a big hole. Then, along came James Umpherston in 1886 who decided he could put the topsoil on the floor of the sinkhole to good use. Up sprouted beautiful gardens that have grown and changed, attracting lots of critters including the human variety over the last one hundred or so years. Open at all times, it’s quite an adventure to sink down into gardens and if you plan it for dusk then you can enjoy the evening appearance of possums who venture into the floodlit gardens to feed. There are stairs on your way down so there’s no pushchair/wheelchair access.