Apologies if this has been asked before, but does anyone know of any sources that there might be for grants to go towards club kit etc?

I Appreciate that there are grants for overseas expeditions, but what about for just ordinary non-exped club kit etc?

In particular I'm thinking of a grant that could help us buy complete sets of kit for potential members to use to try caving for the first time, or towards the purchase of a distoX in order to record local mines etc

Any ideas? 

Several clubs have benefited from Lottery grants in the past to do exactly that. I can't recall all of them but I think YSS were one such group

Which part of the UK? Different regional sports councils have very different grant allocation procedures. Similarly for  local authorities - you might be surprised what help is available, though you'll have to be a bit persistent. Face to face gets a lot more results. They do quite like to know what's going on underneath their feet and ?400 isn't a lot.

If your club has links to a Further Education establishment (even if just a couple of members happen to be members) then they're usually the best place to start.