New to the board, but an experienced US-based caver with proficiency in SRT and technical rope rescue. I'll be based in London for a month this summer, and I have a free weekend at the start of August. I was toying with the idea of a caving trip, but I have no sense of possibilities. A search online only turned up man-made mines near London (Chislehurst, Reigate).

So... thought I'd pipe up here and ask about possibilities. I'm trying to determine if a trip is doable, and I'm trying to gauge whether or not I should bring gear. Any advice is appreciated!

There are club weekends on Mendip at the start of each month...

Hi There

Just thought I'd give you a bit more information than the previous post.....

There are 4 main caving areas in the UK, Mendip (near Bristol), South Wales (near Cardiff), the Yorkshire Dales (North-East of Leeds) and The Peak District (in between Manchester and Sheffield). Mendip and South Wales are predominantly horizontal systems with little rope work and The Dales and the Peak District are more vertical, often requiring the use of SRT.

Coming from London, your closest areas will be either Mendip or the Peak District, with South Wales and the Dales being slightly further away. A major issue may be transport, with public transport being more difficult (but certainly possible) in the caving areas. Will you have access to a car, if you do that certainly will give you more possibilities.

Best bet is to decide of which area you want to visit, then either post back here and hopefully somebody will be up for taking you on a trip, or contact one of the local clubs who should be able to sort you out.

The new to caving website, www.newtocaving.com, has a good list of clubs on it and which area they are in.

Hope that helps!

"North-East of Leeds"?  That's the Wolds and - a bit further - the North York Moors.  Not particularly well-known caving areas.

You'll  find the Dales to the North-West of Leeds, roughly from Skipton up to Sedburgh.  Plenty of good caving there!

Woops, got my east and west mixed up!

If you've come all the way from America, the Mendips won't seem very far from Londinium.

My own area is the Dales, I know little of the other areas.  You could get a five o'clock Friday night train from Kings Cross to Horton in Ribblesdale back Sunday for under ?100 with an advance ticket now.

That is just across the valley from the Craven Pothole Club where if you get in touch with the Craven you can get a bunk.  There are Bed & Breakfast places there too, but high season is August.  Camp sites are there aswell but I can't imagine you have brought a tent with you.

Caving from the train is easiest from that station I think.

You could also catch a train to Sheffield, and then a train to Hope, and either grab a bus for the last two miles or someone would pick you up and take you to sunny Castleton (if you fancy the Peak District) where many caving treats await...

mikem said:

There are club weekends on Mendip at the start of each month...

Click to expand...

Many thanks to all for the information and advice.

I connected with a friend of a friend who lives in London, and he invited me to Mendip for his club's event that weekend. The timing worked out great.

Maybe I'll see one or two of you there. I'll be the one with the funny accent.

No, on Mendip they will be the ones with the funny accent!