Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could help me im currently trying to organise a caving trip to Ireland for Plymouth and Exeter Uni caving clubs and was wondering if anyone could give me advise on which region to go either county clare or county fermanagh and whats the caving like in the different regions.  Also where would people recomend staying for a big group?

Thanks

Hels

Available from here.

Go to Doolin with a sack full of Euros
When you have spent up go caving, Fisher Street Pot through trip is a good starter.
More  and then decide where next.
Its not that big a country so you could visit Fermanagh as well on the same trip
Enjoy the craic and have a nice fat juicy pint o'Guiness for me

In summary, Clare is the better holiday desitination, being really pretty area, bars with traditional music, the seaside and so forth, with some great fun, but not especially challenging caves. More than enough to do a different fun trip each day for a week or two though.

Fermanagh / Cavan has some really fantastic sporting trips at various levels of difficulty, not epic trips necessarily, just great sporting trips trips so is ultimately the better caving destination. Nice enough holiday wise, but not as nice as Clare.

Most caves in both destination are very weather dependant, and I should know having had an epic in Noon's hole in Fermanagh!

If you've two weeks, a week in each might be a good compromise.

Both are highly recommended for a great fun caving holiday. Ireland's a fairly expensive destination though.

Hywel

Graham is the expert on the south and might be able to advise re accommodation. Doolin is smashing although you have to take the rough with the smooth with regard to the weather. If Mark Vinall (ex PCG) is still around he has been there with me but that was 20 years ago!! A limited number of pics of Clare caves at http://www.darkanddeep.co.uk/caving_Ireland.asp

mrodoc said:

Graham is the expert on the south and might be able to advise re accommodation.

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Difficult without knowing exactly what the requirements are, but following the guidebook link above from our website will lead you to this link http://www.celtic-designs.com/doolin-links.html where details of much of the locally available accommodation can be found.

If the numbers work out then renting a self catering cottage (I've used Seaview) for a week can be a decent option - slightly more comfortable than the other normal option of the Doolin Hostels. Doolin is the area to be in though if you are in Claire.

The claire caves are young, - fairly short quite rifty active streamways. Bring kneepads! There are a few realy vicious crawls. Though there are a couple of larger systems around. Many can be done in surprisingly high rainfall conditions as I found a couple of years ago when it rained all week. For a variable level of done of course - they can at least be entered. Little tackle is required, the odd ladder here and there.

Fermanagh - I've not been, but they are definetly more vertical SRT/Ladder systems.

I think we are going for a cottage idea maybe a few of them because there will probably be arround 15 of us.  We will be going at the end of december so rainfall will be quite high.  Can anyone advice on some classic trips? 

Thanks

Hels

for that time of year because of the weather i mean.

All of the classic Clare caves are wet. The Coolagh River Cave and the Cave of the Wild Horses should certainly be avoided in poor weather. Many of the others can be done, as was said above, in surprisingly wet conditions but BE CAREFUL. For example I've been down (most of) Cullaun 2 when it was chest deep in places. Great Fun, but we didn't go anywhere near the final climb and the pitch to the sump; we would have been washed straight over. If you don't know where the obstacles are be very cautious in such conditions. An awful lot of the caves have low bits, normally under stal flows, which can back up and sump in high water, be cautious, therefore, when attempting through trips not to get caught out.

Oh, and I don't know about December but I was told last weekend that over in Clare it virtually hasn't stopped chucking it down since early June.

How's that different to here then?

St. Catherine's to Arran view. This avoids the problem of FisherStreet pot sumping, which is the worst bit. There may be others, but it's a classic in the area.

A lot of the SLieve Elva caves should be okay I'd have thought IF you can get along the green lane to them - can't remember the name of the one with the waterpump in the enterance, which is fun though the canals at the far end might not be accessible.

Yeah it hasn't stopped raining over here in Ireland since the end of June :thumbsdown:
But it has made for some 'fun'  caving trips.

As people have have been saying there are plenty of good trips to do in both Fermanagh/Cavan
and Clare.

I think the caves in Fermanagh are more fun and sporty, with greater variation than thoose in Clare.

Ireland is more expensive than England but if you choose to go to Fermangh, you don't have to worry about the exchange rate.

Renting self-catering cottages is probably the best way to stay in Clare.

There are previous topics in this forum with people giving good suggestions for trips in Clare.
I recomeend:

Coolagh River Cave
Killcorney (cave of the wild horses)
Doolin River Cave
PollnaGollum - Elva through trip