My First Cave

SealCave

SealCave

New member
1974 roughly, 15 years old,  WRCC, Bull Pot.  I'll remember it forever. Bus up there. Slept the night before on a tarp in a field, had a lift from there to the road near the hole, acetylene lamp, burnt my fingers and I think someone then lent me an electric one. Lots of water(how little I knew) and features, absolutely shattered and a smile from ear to ear. Wonderful.
 
JasonC

JasonC

Well-known member
The Old Ruminator said:
Lucky you Mr S . Only 41 ish ....
Click to expand...

Excellent!  I am only a few years older than Mr Cave Seal, but I am going to refer to myself as 41 ish for a good few years yet  ;)
 
mrodoc

mrodoc

Well-known member
My first cave. Depends what you mean. I can remember crawling down the passages of Giants Grave Cave at Halton Gill when I was only 8.
 
A

adrian paniwnyk

Member
My first 'wild' cave was Bagshawe Cavern  when I was 14 years old and carried as part of an outdoor activities holiday. Amazing fun getting muddy,ladder climbs and sploshing along a stream way where I did want to come back.
. Prior to that did the usual Show Caves/mines mainly in the Peak District but also a memorable to Eisreisenwelt, Australia. Here remember somebody strangely managing to get off the wooden staircase down an ice tube and starting to slide off to certain doom. Fortunately someone managed to grab them in by the by the collar of their coat.
. Didn't however get into caving till after  I finished H.E but these early memories stayed with me.
 
M

mudman

Member
There weren't many caves to explore where I grew up outside Brighton so I had to make do with exploring old tunnels dug into the chalk cliffs outside Brighton. My most memorable was when three of us found a huge wooden door open and we couldn't resist it. Ascending a very long flight of steps we went up in true Enid Blyton fashion to pop out in the grounds of a very elite private girls school.
 
K

Kenilworth

New member
I have been caving every year of my life, and my parents were caving overnight when I was an embryo. My first cave memory is of a small stream cave near my house when I was four years old. Dad took us often, but I was probably a teenager before my fear of caves was replaced by love for them.
 
RobinGriffiths

RobinGriffiths

Well-known member
Heron Pot on fresher's week in 1983. The river was in spate, we crossed with the aid of a rope. One of the second years almost got swept downstream. We got as far as the first pitch which was impassable. We retreated, got across the river again without losing anyone, and had a look at Yordas. I think that was full of water as well, so I think we may have had a look a Valley Entrance, before retreating to the pub. Can't say I remember which one.
 
RobinGriffiths

RobinGriffiths

Well-known member
Ascending a very long flight of steps we went up in true Enid Blyton fashion to pop out in the grounds of a very elite private girls school.
Click to expand...

That'll be Blyton's unpublished 'The Famous Five get a Criminal Conviction' I guess.
 
caving_fox

caving_fox

Active member
I'm pretty sure my first was when I early teens (late 80s?) on a family holiday in Dent. We walked up Ingleborough and wondered what was going on when we saw the winch meet set up. I'm not sure if the wait was already long or we didn't have anything suitable to wear, so we came back early the next day. Descended the fabulous shaft in the main chamber. No floodlights! I'm not sure we even had helmets, just a hand torch and waterproofs. I remember my brother <10yr old losing his welly in some mud!
 
SamT

SamT

Moderator
Pindale Quarry Cave, c1982-85 

The abandoned quarry was a favourite haunt of my dads when he used to get us out the house very early on a Saturday/Sunday morning to allow mum a lie in. 

We were probably about 8-10.  There was an active dig in the foot of the cliff with rails (John Beck was involved I think!) that dad had heard on the local grape vine had discovered some cave.  So armed with yellow site helmets, (far to big), and crappy little hand held torches and our 1980s waterproof onesies, the 3 of us, Dad, me and and my sis, crawled in to explore.  I cant remember much about the cave, other than we turned back and dad got stuck on the way out, we were behind him, so effectively trapped, one of our lights failed and the other was getting very dim and my sister cried.

In hindsight, it was probably mingingly loose and probably not where you'd want to take your kids.

First proper trip was almost certainly Giants with scouts (followed rapidly by Bagshawe, P8, Bar Pot to GG, Long Churn to Alum).

Happy days.
 
skippy

skippy

Active member
P8, 1984.

One of 3 scouts, taken by John New of DCC.

Dry grots, dads waterproofs and a 'British Telecom' overall. Made to wade the neck deep canal after mud hall(rather than the traverse). loved every minute of it. Was accepted into a proper caving club later in the year at the age of 15...welcomed by Mrs Trellis.
430855_10150528848315994_1154748019_n.jpg



 
rhychydwr1

rhychydwr1

Active member
adrian paniwnyk said:
My first 'wild' cave was Bagshawe Cavern  when I was 14 years old and carried as part of an outdoor activities holiday. Amazing fun getting muddy,ladder climbs and sploshing along a stream way where I did want to come back.
. Prior to that did the usual Show Caves/mines mainly in the Peak District but also a memorable to Eisreisenwelt, [World of the Ice Giants try Austria]   Australia. Here remember somebody strangely managing to get off the wooden staircase down an ice tube and starting to slide off to certain doom. Fortunately someone managed to grab them in by the by the collar of their coat.
. Didn't however get into caving till after  I finished H.E but these early memories stayed with me.
Click to expand...
 
M

MJenkinson

Member
My "first cave" was I think either Long Churn or Valley Entrance, tagging onto a trip arranged by the school my dad worked at.

However my first cave as a "caver" i.e. I proactively went out looking to join a club, was a very wet P8 with the Rubber Ducks - a trip that has opened up a whole world of fun for me!
 
andrewmcleod

andrewmcleod

Well-known member
My first cave was only about two years ago at Halloween - went down Cuckoo Cleeves until the CO2 levels rose from unnerving to alarming and legged it back out. Second cave the next day was the Swildon's Short Round (took three hours).
 
royfellows

royfellows

Well-known member
The Old Ruminator said:
Lucky you Mr S . Only 41 ish and I am 70 so you have many caving rears left. :clap:
Click to expand...

I know what its like. I am 73 in January and last night had to leave the floor early at karate with a knee problem.

One looks on the bright side. Aikido tonight and it wont affect my rolls and breakfalls, and working underground over the weekend, I expect to still be able to do the 8 hour day.

If you dont mid advice, just keep at it. Constantly moving hinges dont rust.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top