Crystal Caves

Crystal Cave is one of the most spectacular and best known caves in Bermuda. It was discovered in March 1904 by a 13 year old boy named Carl Gibbons, while playing with his brothers and a friend named Edgar Hollis.

The boys found a hole in the ground and after pulling aside some rocks, they found the cave. On 17th March 1907, Percy Wilkinson, his father Julian and Percy's three brothers Stephen, Bernard and Kenneth were shown the entrance to the cave by a young boy named John Hollis. The Wilkinsons returned the next day and set about exploring the cave. What they found was a silent world of delicate and incredible splendour - magnificent crystal stalactites and stalagmites surrounding a clear lake extending to depths over 16 m. The father and his four sons formed a partnership and proceeded to develop the cave. A much travelled American friend of Percy Wilkinson told him about pontoon bridges that he had seen in Europe and Asia and prepared plans. The pontoon bridge was built and the cave was opened to the public on 8th January 1908. In 1912 the existing tunnel was excavated to provide better access, as the attraction was so popular with visitors that it was necessary to abandon the original access and create an easier method of entry. The cave has been kept open continuously by the Wilkinson Family since 8th January 1908. These caves had such a great effect on one young visitor that later, when he became Jim Henson's creative director, he used it as the basis for Fraggle Rock.

Text by Tony Oldham (2002). With kind permission.