Going Underground: Wookey Hole blends history, heritage and technology with epic immersive experience

Wookey Hole Caves has collaborated with Warehouse Digital and Darkside Audio Visual to create a bespoke projection mapping experience within its show caves.

Forming part of the attraction’s core cave tour and a £250,000 investment in upgrading the show cave experience, the project introduces a series of curated storytelling moments across three chambers using projection mapping to bring raw stone to life.

Each sequence lasts around two minutes and tells the story of a different aspect of the history of Wookey Hole Caves. Starting with the story of the Witch of Wookey Hole, it moves to the story of the formation of the cave network itself and some of its earliest inhabitants before closing out with stories of the early cave divers who first explored the cave network.

The entire experience has been fully integrated into the visitor flow, creating spectacle without disrupting conservation or capacity. As Chris Goodchild, General Manager, Wookey Hole, explains:

“Logistically and financially, this has been quite the undertaking and is easily one of the most ambitious and complex attraction updates we’ve ever undertaken. We also had the creative challenge of putting something together doesn’t pull focus away from the caves themselves but brings them into a while new light.”

"For this installation, the Panasonic PT-REQ12 series was selected as the ideal solution, for its exceptional image quality, reliability and long-term performance"

This installation presented unique environmental conditions; the temperature is constant but with very high humidity levels. To meet these challenges, we created custom stainless-steel enclosures, with atmospheric monitoring and control. In addition to this, Panasonic applied custom silicone coating to the projector’s PCB boards, providing enhanced protection beyond standard specifications. While many projection systems on the market offer IP5X-rated optical protection, internal electronic components often remain exposed to dust, moisture, and corrosive elements leading to premature failure.”

Drawing on expertise from cruise, live events, and staging environments, Panasonic’s coating process protects critical electronics from dust, chlorine, oil, moisture and chemical exposure. This added resilience extends equipment lifespan and reduces the risk of downtime, making it ideally suited for challenging installations such as this.”

With the challenges of hardware solved it was then up to the team at Warehouse Digital to ensure seamless design and implementation of the content itself.

While lining up the 3D surface proved tricky, it was made achievable with the mapping and alignment tools built into the projectors themselves. The next challenge to overcome was ensuring clear audio, as James adds:

“Another key part of the puzzle was the sound in the chambers. We installed a localised vocal system that provides a crystal clear narration channel for the audience, whilst utilising already existing cave speaker infrastructure throughout to help engulf the audience in the soundtrack of the show.”

"We’ve projected onto and through all sorts of surfaces, from water fountains on a lake to gauze in a forest, but the un-even surface inside the caves presented a new challenge. Using scans of the rockface along with some creative license, we’ve created an immersive projection sequence that perfectly complements the narration of the story and the surround sound inside the cave"

The experience demonstrates how heritage, visitor attractions and live venues can use technology in even the most unlikely of spaces. While the content itself has been curated as modular “moments”, allowing for future refreshes or seasonal overlays without further physical intervention, as Chris adds:

“Our goal is not simply to project images onto cave walls. We want to treat the environment as the stage, use technology to reveal stories already embedded in the site and create the feeling that the cave itself is remembering and re-telling its own history.”

Now live, the installation provides a working case study for event producers, technical directors and venue operators looking to deploy immersive techniques in extremely challenging spaces, natural sites and nontraditional event environments.

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Going Underground: Wookey Hole blends history, heritage and technology with epic immersive experience

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