Welcome to the South Wales Caving Club section of the UK Caving Forum. We are a club of more than three hundred members, and have our own HQ in the upper Swansea Valley.

You can find out all about us from our website, www.swcc.org.uk

Tony_B said:

and have our own HQ in the upper Swansea Valley.

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....and have very fine ladies showers now I understand.......

menacer said:

....and have very fine ladies showers now I understand.......

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And indeed, very fine gents' showers too...both our changing rooms have been refurbished to a high standard in the last couple of years.

And very fine ladies too!

Im glad we now have a forum! more ways to plan fantastic trips and expeditions!!! 

Give my regards to Germany! Whereabouts are you heading to. Might be able to fix you up some caving contacts over there....

http://www.dechenhoehle.de/sgl/start.htm

The Speleo-group Lethmate would be your closest active club and in the closest german cave region near Dortmund. You will not be too far from the Belgian cavinf region either so plenty of choice really. Depends if your Flemish is better than your german!  ....

The only book for the region I know of is the Caves of Iserlohn (in German) There may well be more nowadays since I was there in 1995!

Hi all

I'm Phil Jones I'm 43 and living in The Cynon valley I'm a would be newbie Caver lol

I'm Caving experience i must admit is limited to Porth yr ogof (my closest Cave)

I'm my 20,s i was a keen hiker and on one trip noticed Cavers going in and out of the carpark in Porth.
I thought this might be for me so looking in the free ads i come across a guy from Cardiff who was sell up,so off i went with my hard earned and collected a nearly new Petzl Ecrin duo Battery/acetylene and all the gear.
after a year nosing around with my then Brother in law and a mate (not a good way to Start i know) Work and a new Family ended my caving career.

I'm in the happy position at the moment to have a lot of time on my hands Ive joined a local Metal Detecting club which i enjoy very much but id like to do something more active to challenge me a bit.

Id be interested in the provisional weekend you got planedfor January could some one tell me what benefits are there being a provisional member ? like the cans and cants so to speak or in this case Type lol

All the best Phil Jones

Hi again 

Another thing id like to ask.
Being a provisional member What oppertunity would i get to go underground I realise id have to get to know a few People first Is there many Provisioal Weekends through out the year ?

Many help would be Great
Thanks Phil

The benefits of being a provisional member are pretty much that you get a chance to know the club, and the club gets to know you. There is lots more detailed info on the SWCC website http://swcc.org.uk/

The particular benefit of the provisional members' weekend is that there will be people doing trips intended to accommodate people who may not have huge amounts of experience or particular technical skills. Which is usually a decent way to have a good time without pushing yourself too far into the unknown.

Hi Phil,
        I am currently the Chairman of SWCC and we would be pleased to welcome you as a provisional member or just for a one-off trip to see if you like us! The way provisional membership works is this; it lasts for a minimum of six months and a maximum of 12 (although we do extend this on request). In that time you have a chance to get your face known, and for us to get to know you. You receive the club's publications and can stay at the HQ at members' rates (currently 2.50/night as opposed to 4.50/night for guests). Sadly prov membership doesn't grant access to caves, but you will of course have plenty of opportunity to go with other members.

Then if you wish to become a full member you need two other members to propose you, your name comes before the committee and as long as we can put a face to the name you get in. SWCC gets occasional stick from those who think that we're too restrictive but this is not the case, the only reason anyone ever fails to get full membership is if not enough of the committee know who they are. It really isn't that big an ask to make yourself known in anything up to a year, and the system has worked for the club for a great many more years than I've been around.

It clearly makes sense to aim to turn up on committee weekends, not least because these act as a focus for lots of our active members, not just those on the committee. (There is a list of these weekends on the calendar on the club website.) West Brecon Cave Rescue Team practices are another good opportunity to turn up and get yourself known - these are often scheduled on committee weekends anyway - especially since you're local.

If you want any more info then please ask! We look forward to seeing you at Penwyllt sometime soon.
Regards,
Tony.   

Hello Rsch Tony 

Thank you both for the information.

Tony i think you've answered most, if not all of my question If i can think of anything else i,ll get in touch if that's OK.
I think what id like to do is meet the members the meeting before the Provisionals weekend and maybe meet other Provisionals same time.
I shouldn't have any trouble fitting in, I'm very likeable even if i say so myself. :halo:
I,ll contact Lizzy for more info about the weekend

Thank you very much for your help
regards
Phil Jones,

Hi,
I'm a caver based in the yorkshire dales, planning to come down to south wales the last week in May. I've heard about the through trip in OFD2 to Cwm Dwr, after previously visiting OFD1 on several occassions.

Is there anyone available to guide the through trip for myself and a few others on either thursday 27th or friday 28th May?

Or does anybody know of anyone I could get in contact with?

Cheers

Gemma

Hi I am going to be at SWCC on the weekend of 10th of July and am interested in tagging along on any trips that weekend.

I am an experienced caver from new Zealand and have my own kit...and SRT too.

Is anyone going to be going underground and can accommodate an extra person that would be most greatly appreciated.

My phone number is 07787412827

Hi SWCC, Any objections if I archive this board as I'm having a tidy up on the forum??

On a general note:

UKC are more than happy to support any club that would like a sub board on the forum.  A great way to promote your club to fellow cavers, however only works with regular posts.

Facebook - run for profit, owned by billionaires, don't care about caves, caving or cavers...

UKC - the opposite.

Yes, I know posting on facebook is 'easier' and posting a photo on here takes some effort, but doesn't caving itself 'take some effort'? 

Thanks, Pegasus