Old sod just starting out

Hi folks

I thought it might be polite to pop a note up on here to say hello.
I only started caving at the end of August, primarily, for one reason or another, to gauge how comfortable I feel underground in small passages/spaces. I did not really have any great expectations, but absolutely loved it.

I?m a wee bit pressed for time these days, being an old sod with lots of other responsibilities and things going on, however I?m kicking myself for not having tried this sooner. It really is the most amazing fun & I haven?t even scratched the surface yet.

Aside from visiting a couple of mines earlier this year, I?ve managed three caving jaunts so far, all in the Mendips; two to Burrington Combe and last weekend to Swildon?s. The Burrington ones were great as none of us on the trip had much of a clue where we were going, which made it a bit of an adventure, culminating with my buddy and I getting stuck in Rod?s pot for a while as we missed the very obvious way out of the Bear Pit, so ascended up a strenuous rift/chimney thing, which ultimately led nowhere, and when that didn?t work tried to contort ourselves through another absurdly small and awkward opening.

For the Swildon?s trip, some of the folks from Kent Uni CC kindly let us tag along which was very decent of them. We got to the other side of Sump 1 but didn?t have time to explore further due to time lost queuing elsewhere (not something that I expected in a cave). It was great to be with KUCC for that as, aside from the practicalities of not having a clue how to safely rig ladders and ropes, I?m not sure I?d have had the balls to try and plunge through Sump 1 without a little guidance!

The next step is to join a club ? probably the WSG as they?re fairly local and were a friendly bunch when I went along to one of their recent meetings.

After that who knows ? I?ll probably drag my daughter underground at some point soon, she?s very small so I can shove her into places that I won?t fit, and I?m hopeful that I?ll be able to manage at least one trip per month myself.
 
Hi TC,

if you are looking to join a local club feel free to come along to our new members weekend in a few weeks time:

https://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?topic=22521.0

we are also local and friendly  :) .  It might be worth checking out a few different clubs to see which one suits you best before you commit.
 
Another trip to Goatchurch today.

Found the drainpipe but didn't have much luck with the passages at the other end, got a little bit stuck, but we had a little Russian lady with us who was helpfully able to inform me that I wasn't missing much.

Then on to Sidcot which was fun. I found it very poky and with some rather awkward little bits. Got down to the ducks before heading back out. Might explore 'purgatory' a little more next time, but the description of 'not suitable for novices' put me off today. Had visions of me sliding down and getting wedged in.

Next trip will hopefully be Wales in a couple of weeks.

Lots more fun to come.
 
Top