CavefestUK and Cavefest 2019

C

CavefestUK

Member
Hello everyone.

The official date chosen for Cavefest this year will be;
Friday 23rd - Monday 26th August.

We have considered this date carefully and decided to announce that the August bank holiday will be the South Wales Cavefests permanent date.
At present, the Mendip cavefest has been held during the Easter bank holiday, however, this may change by 2020 when CavefestUK returns to hold another Mendip event.

We look forward to your continuing support and hope that we are giving you the cave festivals you want and enjoy.

Thank you once again and a Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you all from the CavefestUK team.
 
Alex

Alex

Well-known member
You guys have already got hidden earth down there, how come there is no cave-fest up north?
 
R

rkinsella91

New member
Alex said:
You guys have already got hidden earth down there, how come there is no cave-fest up north?
Click to expand...

Totally agree! It?s a long way for us in Yorkshire to go!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I

Ian

Member
If you can identify a suitable location I am certain that the Hidden Earth team would jump at the chance of "coming north".

Please look for a site that has 3 or 4 halls / lecture theatres (don't forget the gear hall must be large) and somewhere to camp close by (in the grounds?).

Also, it needs to allow beer - I believe a lot of sites are no goes because they won't allow beer on site.
 
Alex

Alex

Well-known member
I know there is no site for hidden earth up here. But as that means it will be down south forever more, why do you need this cavefest as well down there?

As for hidden earth I have suggested changing the format for hidden earth to allow it to be more mobile, but had been shot down on this one.

An idea for from my mind is do something like Kendal mountain festival and hold it over 4 days rather than 2, that way you only need two lecture theatres. Hold it near a pub/pubs and you don't need to worry about on-site bear requirements.

Thank you to UKCaving and peeps for helping setup kendal lectures this year, it's the closest we have gotten to a northern hidden earth in a long time. I know CHECC comes up north regularly but I and others am too old for that now :(
 
PeteHall

PeteHall

Moderator
Alex said:
I know there is no site for hidden earth up here. But as that means it will be down south forever more, why do you need this cavefest as well down there?
Click to expand...
Regarding Hidden Earth, that's a bit fatalistic isn't it? The HE team have been struggling for a northern venue recently, but that doesn't mean they aren't still looking and it certainly doesn't mean they won't find one.

As for cavefest, this is a totally different event, organised I believe, by a non-affiliated group of cavers who happen to be based down south. There is no reason why a similar event couldn't be organised in the north. This probably needs a group of northern cavers with a bit of free time sort.

And let's not forget EuroSpeleo, the biggest and undoubtedly best caving event in the country, in recent history, held in Yorkshire...
 
Les W

Les W

Active member
PeteHall said:
And let's not forget EuroSpeleo, the biggest and undoubtedly best caving event in the country, in recent history, held in Yorkshire...
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And only 2 years ago...
So not actually due to be in the Frozen far north until 2020 anyway.
It should have been in the Peak district area last year but I doubt the hard core northerners consider that north enough
 
JoshW

JoshW

Well-known member
Alex said:
I know there is no site for hidden earth up here. But as that means it will be down south forever more, why do you need this cavefest as well down there?

As for hidden earth I have suggested changing the format for hidden earth to allow it to be more mobile, but had been shot down on this one.

An idea for from my mind is do something like Kendal mountain festival and hold it over 4 days rather than 2, that way you only need two lecture theatres. Hold it near a pub/pubs and you don't need to worry about on-site bear requirements.

Thank you to UKCaving and peeps for helping setup kendal lectures this year, it's the closest we have gotten to a northern hidden earth in a long time. I know CHECC comes up north regularly but I and others am too old for that now :(
Click to expand...

holding over 4 days instead of 2 I would imagine would struggle to work. The number of volunteers who currently run it would need to be taking 3/4 days off work to sort it. The number of people visiting on the days during the week would likely be reduced to the point of not making it worth having those days/lectures.

As I understand it the HE bar supports the running costs of the weekend as well as donating a chunk of money to GPF.

The HE team is actively looking for suitable new locations around the UK (the north included) and i'm sure there'll be grateful for your assistance in helping them out as you're so keen!
 
Keris82

Keris82

Member
I think it would be a great idea to hold events closer to London. Reason being is that caving is a dying sport and we need to attract new people. I'm from London and many people in here have never heard of or ventured in to a sport like this and if it can be advertised more we can get more people interested.
 
M

mikem

Well-known member
Unlikely, it was a one off celebration & by the sound of it, not that well attended by cavers or others likely to be recruited.
 
C

CavefestUK

Member
Hello everyone.
Just a quick note before we reply to everything that has been said here.
CavefestUK are looking to arrange events across the country, just like the events we hold in the South West. As pointed out previously,  we are based in the South West.
Our aim is to grow our event capability,  and in turn, reach further afield  and arrange events wherever cavers want to cave. Like we have always said, we want to create the events you want.
We value your comments and will indeed work towards making CavefestUK forever better.
Thank you.
Neil.
CavefestUK.
 
Cookie

Cookie

New member
mikem said:
Unlikely, it was a one off celebration & by the sound of it, not that well attended by cavers or others likely to be recruited.
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I disagree. I thought it was pretty well attended although it could have been better attended by non-cavers.

The auditorium was packed on Monday evening which was RGS members' night.
 
C

CavefestUK

Member
Hello everyone.
We are working towards what could well be our best event yet. Crickhowell is shaping up to be full of things to do during the whole weekend, including plenty of alternative activities for the non cavers who accompany us.
The local community are getting involved and helping us provide better facilities and even more good old camp fire atmosphere so dont miss out and be sure to register your interest online.
www.cavefestuk.co.uk

Something that is important to us is what you want. Your comments, ideas and inspiration are valued so please feel free to let us know.
 
badger

badger

Active member
Like Mikem said, there was an event held at the RGS Hq in London, it would have been nice to have seen more people there especially non  cavers, some people thought being London it would be very expensive, the reality was by doind a bit of homework you could have got a bed for the night as little as ?19.00, and food from ?10.00 a meal, beer was cheaper in london than portsmouth. anywaya link thqt will let you know what you missed https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkKeWp08_lX6c7yk4l1JaxQ
Keris82 said:
and if that does not work try searching on you tube for the golden age of caving

I think it would be a great idea to hold events closer to London. Reason being is that caving is a dying sport and we need to attract new people. I'm from London and many people in here have never heard of or ventured in to a sport like this and if it can be advertised more we can get more people interested.
Click to expand...
 
badger

badger

Active member
Hidden Earth oop North and or Derbyshire, the Hidden Earth team spent many many days searching for suitable venues, giving up hours of there time, Hidden Earth team I believe would like to move around the regions, however the venue's are big issue's non more so when us as cavers cock it for the organising team. Or in several venues in middle of rebuilds or the venue has changed so no longer suitable.
 
Badlad

Badlad

Administrator
Staff member
CavefestUK said:
Hello everyone.
We are working towards what could well be our best event yet. Crickhowell is shaping up to be full of things to do during the whole weekend, including plenty of alternative activities for the non cavers who accompany us.
The local community are getting involved and helping us provide better facilities and even more good old camp fire atmosphere so dont miss out and be sure to register your interest online.
www.cavefestuk.co.uk

Something that is important to us is what you want. Your comments, ideas and inspiration are valued so please feel free to let us know.
Click to expand...

I like the idea that you are providing activities for non cavers.  Also engaging with the local communities.  Showcasing caving to the non caving visitor with displays and offering sign ups for those new to caving gets my vote every time.  Please keep it up.
 
C

CavefestUK

Member
Keris82 said:
I think it would be a great idea to hold events closer to London. Reason being is that caving is a dying sport and we need to attract new people. I'm from London and many people in here have never heard of or ventured in to a sport like this and if it can be advertised more we can get more people interested.
Click to expand...

CavefestUK will indeed venture towards London at some point if there is an area that has ample enough choice of caves to offer. We will if course research this, but if you know the area, please help us to help you.
 
C

CavefestUK

Member
badger said:
Hidden Earth oop North and or Derbyshire, the Hidden Earth team spent many many days searching for suitable venues, giving up hours of there time, Hidden Earth team I believe would like to move around the regions, however the venue's are big issue's non more so when us as cavers cock it for the organising team. Or in several venues in middle of rebuilds or the venue has changed so no longer suitable.
Click to expand...

Our plans to move North to secure a permanent fixture on our calendar are underway. We have looked at possible locations and venues and will continue to do so.
CavefestUK have found that our campfire approach to these events allows us more freedom of choice for location, and this, we hope, will make our task somewhat easier.

 
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