Greetings!

JackRath

New member
Hellooo. My name is Jack and pretty much, want a go at this caving. I'm from the south east of England but not many mines and caves down here unfortunately. I do go underground, I guess some would call me an "Urban Explorer" but please don't tarnish me with that brush. Me and the people who I go with are not the stereotypical explorer that cause more damage and leave beer cans everywhere so, be nice to me  :halo:  Around here the only caving group are KURG (Kent Underground Research Group) who again, a bunch of elitists that cause more damage than good. They seem to be in a constant race to "claim" what little tunnels/mines/caves there are down here and seal them off to everybody apart from themselves to visit or just keep a watch around on facebook groups to see what they can go and seal up.



I live close to Dover so had a run of tunnels over there, some more challenging than others to access but all good none the less. Something impressive about the hidden underworld thats below our feet. That got me venturing further afield, Wiltshire in fact. A long weekend and managed to bust out Swan Mine, Brewers Yard Mine, Box Mine, Browns Folley and loved it. We had maps of a couple of them, compass and other equipment to make sure we did it safely. Curiocity followed. Reading up on trip reports and the TV programme that was on a while back, we want more. We are currently getting tuition how to indoor rock climb, belay, abseil and all about ropes, a sort of, foot in the door to take us onto a lot bigger things!




Im just wondering, where do we start? I would like to think I have a start in the right direction and really want to get down deeper, further and more challenging places but properly and in total safety! How or where do you learn proper ropework? Is there like easier places to start on and get harder? We looked online at Manor Farm Swallet in Somerset and that we would love to aim to be able to do that in the future and build to that level. Thank you for your help and looking forward to replies  ;)
 
Welcome to the Caving World JackRath  :)

There are a fair few things for you to do to get into caving.
There are many clubs and groups around the country depending on how far a field you want to travel, but your closest would probably be the Mendip Region in Somerset (2 1/2 hrs driving for you). Most clubs on Mendip will welcome newcomers and are full of helpful hints and people.

Contact the CSCC  http://cscc.org.uk/ and they will have a list of clubs in the South which is a place to start.

Hope that helps......and good luck  (y)
Tim
 
Top