---
title: "Explorer Finds Vintage Car Junkyard Deep in an Abandoned Mine Dubbed ‘Cavern of Lost Souls’"
description: "Cars sometimes end up abandoned in bizarre places—in the middle of a forest, on top of a mountain, or even in an old dealership. But the mind still boggles at the sight of 100-odd vehicles from various decades in a crumpled heap at the bottom of a flooded, disused mine in Great Britain."
date: "2018-10-24"
modified: "2018-10-24"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/24411/explorer-finds-vintage-car-junkyard-deep-in-an-abandoned-mine-dubbed-cavern-of-lost-souls"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Watch This"
tags:
  - "abandoned cars"
  - "British cars"
  - "Great Britain"
  - "Junkyard"
  - "Mine"
  - "Wales"
---

# Explorer Finds Vintage Car Junkyard Deep in an Abandoned Mine Dubbed ‘Cavern of Lost Souls’

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/10/richard-reality-car-cave.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Cars sometimes end up abandoned in bizarre places—in [the middle of a forest,](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/15783/how-did-this-honda-nsx-end-up-abandoned-in-the-middle-of-a-russian-forest>) on [top of a mountain,](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/10025/man-finds-legendary-crashed-toyota-supra-on-a-mountain-in-japan>) or even in [an old dealership.](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/18347/this-old-abandoned-subaru-dealership-is-full-of-time-capsule-cars>) But the mind still boggles at the sight of 100-odd vehicles from various decades in a crumpled heap at the bottom of a flooded, disused mine in Great Britain. It's called the Cavern of Lost Souls, and a recent expedition by a group of urban explorers shows how accurate that name really is.

Once part of a productive slate mine, the massive underground chamber sits below a mountain in Ceredigion, Wales. Its transition to a subterranean junkyard began after mining operations ceased in 1960, at which point a small opening in the ceiling reportedly became an official garbage disposal for locals on the surface. The magic black hole swallowed up everything from household appliances to cars—the latter of which really piled up below, with around a hundred stacked in a cascade of rusting metal rising out of the watery depths.

There are some rumors as to why exactly so many cars ended up down there, but no concrete explanations have emerged. Most are smashed or deteriorated beyond recognition, but there are some instant standouts like the late-Sixties Ford Cortina wagon front and center on the pile. The way the cars lie half-submerged in utter darkness, completely ruined and impossible to retrieve...the Cavern of Lost Souls, indeed.

https://youtube.com/embed/YSp83ONerDQ

[This video](<https://youtu.be/YSp83ONerDQ?t=482>) comes courtesy of the YouTube channel [*Richard's Reality*,](<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoqxLQjRcw-G7eIuV48nbCw>) which explores abandoned and forgotten places around Britain. The full 11-minute clip traces the small group's descent deep into the mine, giving a good sense of the true inaccessibility of the place. We've cued in the video to when they finally reach their goal and set out in an inflatable boat for an up-close look.

The towering mess is mesmerizing to behold, and really the entire space is permeated with an eerie beauty. [Other photos](<https://www.bcd-urbex.com/cavern-of-the-lost-souls-underground-car-mine/>) capture the undisturbed water, a striking, translucent turquoise against the red-brown jagged metal. The way the cars are mashed together in random violence verges on modern art.

Junkyards [usually aren't permanent fixtures](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/20902/suburban-development-is-forcing-utahs-last-classic-car-parts-yard-to-close>) in the landscape. This one's got a shot at entering the fossil record. We have a feeling those lost souls can rest in peace.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)