Bangor University Caving Club

nearlywhite

Active member
Just wondered if anyone new when it folded - I was talking to someone about this and couldn't remember when or why it had folded. I found a newsletter dating to 1990, regarding a tragic incident but I don't know if that put an end to it all.

I think Mr Cowdery might be able to help? (Though I'm open to any info!)
 

RobinGriffiths

Well-known member
Blimey, I was at Liverpool Uni in the mid 80s, and that took a while to get up to the Dales from there. Before the A55 it would take three hours from Caernarfon to Liverpool! It may have just been the time to get to any limestone back in those days, especially with the nearness of crags for alternative and more accessible sport.

Robin
 

nearlywhite

Active member
I know, I was surprised too. Although there is a lot of limestone in the area, my house in Bangor is atop some - Anglesey has a lot, there are caves by Menai Bridge (though I've never found them), the Orme has a few, Abergele, Prestatyn, Mold all have significant development. The nearby area also has many many mines/quarries so provided they weren't fussy they'd have lots of 'Down Time'.

That said it seemed that they went to Yorkshire a fair bit... All I can say is that Kent and Glasgow have thriving caving clubs so it can be done! I do agree that it would be a lot easier now.
 

RobinGriffiths

Well-known member
The 'caves' by Menai Bridge are trials. Basically head down the public footpath steps near Plas Rhianfa, and head off along the beach towards the Gazelle.

Cris Ebbs has recently added pages for the Great Orme and Anglesey to his North Wales site

https://sites.google.com/site/cavesofnorthwales/11-caves-of-llandudno
https://sites.google.com/site/cavesofnorthwales/10-caves-of-anglesey
 

Rhys

Moderator
According to my logs, I led Bangor UCC on trips in OFD on 11th and 12th February 1995, so I guess they were still going then. They made contact through an SWCC members' daughter who was studying there at the time. I don't think I ever heard anything about them after that.
 

bograt

Active member
IRC, Bangor had a highly rated outdoor pursuits syllabus, including caving and canoeing, I recall several alumni who are (or where) professional in the field, one was Dave Edwards (RIP), the main caving instructor at Whitehall outdoor centre.
 

ChrisJC

Well-known member
I was a member '93 to '96, and it was going strong when I left. I am sure it ran for a few years after that. Graham Tattersall did a PhD at Bangor for 3 or 4 years after I left and I am sure he was in it for that time. After that, I have no idea.

Who is nearlywhite BTW? Do I know you?

Chris.
 

Clive G

Member
I have no connection with Bangor University myself (Warwick instead), but I once met someone who did, many years ago, yet is no longer around to put his case. So, for those interested in the caving history relating to Bangor University, here is a brief extract from the 1987 interview I recorded with Harold Lord:

"It all goes back to a gentleman called Bob Wright, who at that time lived in Manchester and was friendly with a few people; one of whom was called Nigel Harper, who subsequently went to Guy?s Hospital to read Medicine. Bob Wright came to Bangor University [University College of North Wales], where I?d just started doing research for a higher degree. Knowing my interest in caving he asked me if I?d be interested in going down to look at this new cave that had newly been discovered in South Wales. I don?t know quite how he came to be involved with it, although he was a member of the Eccles Pothole Club. Somehow this club had got to know of this new discovery, The Keyhole Cave (Agen Allwedd), and they?d been down there and made an initial exploratory trip down the Main Passage. He asked me if I was interested when he arrived at Bangor as a first year student.

Within a few weeks of this we got a little party together and went down and had a look at the cave [1958] and we decided to plan a larger expedition with the intentions of surveying it, because nobody seemed to be interested in making a survey of it at the time.

There was some degree of competition of course . . .

The main group seemed to be the Chelsea Speleological Society who took the work very seriously and the explorations. They seemed very reasonable and nice people to get on with, for what we saw of them, but this was very infrequent - because we were doing these quick weekend trips down from North Wales and they were doing the same thing up from London. The South Wales Caving Club was vaguely involved, the Nature Conservancy was also vaguely involved through the South Wales Caving Club . . .  [The Hereford Club was, I understand, involved . . .]  I think there was another club called the British Nylon Spinners who were also fairly active down there, but it was a question of all these groups working completely separately without any co-ordination. As far as I know we were the only ones that were seriously concerned with making a survey of the cave as a whole . . ."
(Harold Lord, 1987)
 

IanD

New member
I too was wondering what happened to Bangor Uni CC.
I completed my PGCE at Bangor in 81/82 having undertaken my degree in Derby 78 to 81. I first went caving in Autumn term 1978 in the Mendips after someone dropped out. This was a weekend away with Derby Lonsdale College Mountaineering and Caving Club. I was hooked and caved regularly whilst in Derby. On starting the PGCE course at Bangor there was no caving club running so I quickly set up a stall during Freshers and got quite a lot of interest including students from Normal College. With the rather generous backing of the Student Union (Athletics Union?) we obtained a generous grant to purchase kit (which was stored at St Mary's) and so BUCC was born. Trips were made to SWCC, Ingleton (staying at a caravan site/80p pppn!) and Derbyshire- Orpheus. Yes the A55 was horrendous but we thought nothing of setting off on a Friday and travelling for 4 hours or so to get to a pub before closing time. Cave Saturday and Sunday and back to Bangor before the union closed on Sunday evening....one place you could get a pint in an otherwise dry Bangor😁. In the last few days I've found the original list of who signed up to Bangor Uni CC...and who paid their subs! The CC was going strong by the time I completed my PGCE in June 82. Whilst we had a few eventful trips, I was saddened to learn of a fatal accident involving a BUCC some years later. It would appear the club continued onto the 90s but as far as I can see, no longer exists. The outdoor life has stuck with me and although I've not caved since 87 have been involved in organising  school activity weeks  for decades.
Ian
 

nobrotson

Active member
IanD said:
Trips were made to SWCC, Ingleton (staying at a caravan site/80p pppn!) and Derbyshire- Orpheus. Yes the A55 was horrendous but we thought nothing of setting off on a Friday and travelling for 4 hours or so to get to a pub before closing time. Cave Saturday and Sunday and back to Bangor before the union closed on Sunday evening...
.

this is what student caving should be about. I wish dales caving huts were 80p a night!
 

IanD

New member
80p a night per person probably works out about ?8 now, with inflation. Still cheap mind and no chance guest houses would have us so it was caravan, sleep on a floor or (worst) camp and cave. There is nothing worse in the morning than putting on a half frozen, left outside the tent overnight, wet suit.
Back on the Bangor Uni CC theme, I've just found by accident my diary from that period. I'd forgotten we went to Ireland in the freezing cold winter of 81/82 staying at Florencecourt outdoor centre (slept on the floor😁). Trips were White Fathers- through trip and had to break icicles to get out, kit froze to the ground in the few seconds it took to change; Marble Arch before tourism/show cave era; Talyhard, Polnagolum (If memory serves me right that's where we narrowly avoided having our vehicle blown up by the army....not a good idea to leave ammo boxes and ex MoD mortar tubes in plain sight in rear of a hatchback....somewhere near the border. Had we left 5 minutes earlier the patrolling army would have played safe and destroyed it
No messing); Talyhuna...if  I recall we were about the 7/8/9th people to visit this new cave). The journey home was 22hrs car, ferry to Stranrare (sp?),car, trains from Bangor back to Cardiff where I was living at the time. My diary tells me the following morning I was "woken by Mormons"!
 
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