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Copes Road, HIGH WYCOMBE, HP15 6JE

Footpath off Copes Lane by Cockpit Hole

This Elizabeth II postbox is located in Heath End Road HP15 6HL and has a knitted crown on its top to commemorate the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday 6th May 2023. The wording on the label below the top is at https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7479279. St Margaret's Road can just be seen to the left of the postbox.

This label is attached to the knitted crown on top of the post box in Heath End Road near St Margaret's Grove. It has the following wording: Made with love for our village ♥ GK Postbox Topper Ladies Incidentally, GK stands for Great Kingshill which is adjacent to Heath End.

Cockpit Hole is surrounded by a metal fence as it is deep and a lot larger than it first looks. In 2008 the hole was spruced up with access provided by steps to wooden walkways and viewing areas above and around a pond. Whether or not it has been stocked with fish I could not see. The origin of the hole is somewhat sketchy, but one explanation below comes from the "Geological Sites" section of the Prestwood Nature website. "Swallow-holes occur most commonly in the hard limestones on the north and west of Britain, but similar phenomena occasionally manifest themselves in the chalk regions. They occur where underground water has worn channels through the chalk and the chalk above them has gradually weathered away, suddenly giving way so that the overlaying clay falls into a huge hole. These swallow-holes can be differentiated from quarries by the fact that their sides are steep all the way round, ie there is no graded access to cart out excavated material. A good example can be seen near the north edge of Atkins Wood. The large depression known as Cockpit Hole in Great Kingshill may also have had its origin in this way, as it is too deep and steep-sided to have ever been useful as a pond, and (contrary to legend) was never used as pit for cock-fighting."

Cockpit Hole is surrounded by a metal fence as it is deep and a lot larger than it first looks. In 2008 the hole was spruced up with access provided by steps to wooden walkways and viewing areas above and around a pond. Whether or not it has been stocked with fish I could not see. The origin of the hole is somewhat sketchy, but one explanation below comes from the "Geological Sites" section of the Prestwood Nature website. "Swallow-holes occur most commonly in the hard limestones on the north and west of Britain, but similar phenomena occasionally manifest themselves in the chalk regions. They occur where underground water has worn channels through the chalk and the chalk above them has gradually weathered away, suddenly giving way so that the overlaying clay falls into a huge hole. These swallow-holes can be differentiated from quarries by the fact that their sides are steep all the way round, ie there is no graded access to cart out excavated material. A good example can be seen near the north edge of Atkins Wood. The large depression known as Cockpit Hole in Great Kingshill may also have had its origin in this way, as it is too deep and steep-sided to have ever been useful as a pond, and (contrary to legend) was never used as pit for cock-fighting."