Dave Shearsmith
Member
BCRA NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2025
Our Social media news outlets...
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/groups/britishcaver
• BCRA News forum: http://bcra.org.uk/forum
• The Darkness Below https://darknessbelow.co.uk
• UK Caving http://ukcaving.com/board/?board=86.0
In this newsletter
BCRA NEED A NEW SECRETARY & NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR BCRA COUNCIL
For personal reasons I have decided not to seek re-election to the BCRA Council and will be standing down as Secretary. Hence, there is an urgent need for a new person to join Council and to take on this role which provides interesting insights into caving in Britain and across the world as well as the promotion of cave science and research. If anyone is interested in this post and would like to apply then please contact the Chairman - or email me if you would like more information on what the post entails.
In addition to the Secretary, nominations for membership of BCRA Council have to be in by the end of September. This applies to both current members who wish to continue and to prospective new members who are invited to contact the Chairman ahead of their application. The application form is available on the BCRA website.
2025 Hidden Earth Update The dates for Hidden Earth have been announced as 26th-28th September 2025 in the same venue as last year at Llangollen Please check with the Hidden Earth media outlets and website [ https://hidden.earth/# ] for further information . If you wish to submit a lecture/presentation / workshop ,you can now do this on the Hidden Earth website . Details of the various competitions are also available on the website. There are more lectures than ever this year and those likely to be of particular interest to BCRA members include: “British Cave Science” by Andy Farrant & John Gunn; “Once upon a slime: snottites and biofilms in neutral mine drainage environments in Derbyshire” by Jo White; “Scientific Investigations in Greenland’s Caves: Unlocking High Arctic Climate Histories” by Gina Moseley and “Cave Archaeology in Britain - new discoveries” by Rick Peterson
Donations of items to the British Caving Library
Donations of caving publications are important to the library and its users. But for the foreseeable future the library will not be able to accept further donations unless:
We have a list of what is on offer in advance so we can select only those items we need.
Or there is a very small amount - not exceeding the size of one archive box.
Or funding can be provided to rent storage elsewhere.
Or space can be provided by members and/or BCA/BCRA.
It should also be noted that processing new material will take some considerable time even using additional volunteers.
We must reiterate that donations are the life's blood of the library and often represent unique records which will be of importance to cavers of the present and the future. But at the moment the library has reached capacity both in space and resources to process new material.
2025 BCRA Science Symposium and AGM Final circular and Registration being now open
The 36th Annual Cave Science Symposium will be hosted by Professor David Richards, Linda Wilson and Professor Fiona Whitaker at the University of Bristol’s School of Geographical Sciences, University Road Bristol on Saturday 11th October 2025. We welcome everyone with an interest in caves and karst science. This will be a live in-person event but will also be streamed online, where possible.
Notice is hereby given that he BCRA AGM will be held at 12:25 (at the end of the morning session). BCRA Members are invited to attend in person or online via Zoom.
Following the symposium, an informal evening meal will be arranged for those who are interested. Further details will follow. Field trips will take place on Sunday 12th October in the wider Bristol area, including the nearby Mendips.
Registration is now open. There is no registration fee, but donations would be appreciated (we suggest £5 - £10 for non-students) to help cover the cost of the event. Donations can be made on the day or online at https://bcra.org.uk/bookshop/donate.html).
Student Travel Grants Support with travel costs will be available for students who provide a talk or poster and, subject to demand, it may be possible to offer travel support to other student attendees.
Further information Details of the venue and local facilities in Bristol as well as details of the programme and field trips will be posted on the BCRA website and circulated to members at least 2 weeks before the meeting but for enquiries please contact David Richards (david.richards@bristol.ac.uk).
BCRA Online Seminars The next seminar will be held on the 13th October 2025via zoom 19.30- 21.00
Please see the BCRA website for further details. If anyone can deliver a seminar later this year or in 2026, please contact the organiser, Emily Tilby.
BCRA Cave Radio and Electronics Group, Field Meeting - 18/19 October 2025 Yorkshire Dales, Ingleton. The provisional programme has in-cave demonstrations on the Saturday and talks / discussion sessions on the Sunday. Contact Mike Bedford via https://bcra.org.uk/contact.html
BCRA membership . If you haven’t renewed your membership, or wish to join, go to the membership and subscription section of the BCRA website or upgrade your BCA membership through Just Go.
Supporting BCRA.
Members will note that there has been a lack of field meetings since the end of Covid restrictions and we encourage anyone willing to organise a meeting to contact the secretary.
IT Support
As those who use the BCRA website will know, it has grown over the years thanks to a major time commitment from David Gibson. It now contains a large amount of important information but accessing this is not always easy. BCRA would welcome support from anyone with the time and expertise to improve, or possibly even to re-write, the site. If you feel that you can assist with this or other aspects of IT then please contact the secretary:
The next newsletter will be at the end of October 2025
Our Social media news outlets...
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/groups/britishcaver
• BCRA News forum: http://bcra.org.uk/forum
• The Darkness Below https://darknessbelow.co.uk
• UK Caving http://ukcaving.com/board/?board=86.0
In this newsletter
- BCRA need a new Secretary!
- Nominations sought for membership of BCRA Council
- Hidden Earth 2025 Update
- British Caving Library Donations
- 2025 BCRA Science Symposium and Notification of the BCRA AGM-
- CREG Field Meeting( Cave and Radio Electronics Group)
- BCRA online seminars
- BCRA Membership
- Supporting BCRA
BCRA NEED A NEW SECRETARY & NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR BCRA COUNCIL
For personal reasons I have decided not to seek re-election to the BCRA Council and will be standing down as Secretary. Hence, there is an urgent need for a new person to join Council and to take on this role which provides interesting insights into caving in Britain and across the world as well as the promotion of cave science and research. If anyone is interested in this post and would like to apply then please contact the Chairman - or email me if you would like more information on what the post entails.
In addition to the Secretary, nominations for membership of BCRA Council have to be in by the end of September. This applies to both current members who wish to continue and to prospective new members who are invited to contact the Chairman ahead of their application. The application form is available on the BCRA website.
2025 Hidden Earth Update The dates for Hidden Earth have been announced as 26th-28th September 2025 in the same venue as last year at Llangollen Please check with the Hidden Earth media outlets and website [ https://hidden.earth/# ] for further information . If you wish to submit a lecture/presentation / workshop ,you can now do this on the Hidden Earth website . Details of the various competitions are also available on the website. There are more lectures than ever this year and those likely to be of particular interest to BCRA members include: “British Cave Science” by Andy Farrant & John Gunn; “Once upon a slime: snottites and biofilms in neutral mine drainage environments in Derbyshire” by Jo White; “Scientific Investigations in Greenland’s Caves: Unlocking High Arctic Climate Histories” by Gina Moseley and “Cave Archaeology in Britain - new discoveries” by Rick Peterson
Donations of items to the British Caving Library
Donations of caving publications are important to the library and its users. But for the foreseeable future the library will not be able to accept further donations unless:
We have a list of what is on offer in advance so we can select only those items we need.
Or there is a very small amount - not exceeding the size of one archive box.
Or funding can be provided to rent storage elsewhere.
Or space can be provided by members and/or BCA/BCRA.
It should also be noted that processing new material will take some considerable time even using additional volunteers.
We must reiterate that donations are the life's blood of the library and often represent unique records which will be of importance to cavers of the present and the future. But at the moment the library has reached capacity both in space and resources to process new material.
2025 BCRA Science Symposium and AGM Final circular and Registration being now open
The 36th Annual Cave Science Symposium will be hosted by Professor David Richards, Linda Wilson and Professor Fiona Whitaker at the University of Bristol’s School of Geographical Sciences, University Road Bristol on Saturday 11th October 2025. We welcome everyone with an interest in caves and karst science. This will be a live in-person event but will also be streamed online, where possible.
Notice is hereby given that he BCRA AGM will be held at 12:25 (at the end of the morning session). BCRA Members are invited to attend in person or online via Zoom.
Following the symposium, an informal evening meal will be arranged for those who are interested. Further details will follow. Field trips will take place on Sunday 12th October in the wider Bristol area, including the nearby Mendips.
Registration is now open. There is no registration fee, but donations would be appreciated (we suggest £5 - £10 for non-students) to help cover the cost of the event. Donations can be made on the day or online at https://bcra.org.uk/bookshop/donate.html).
Student Travel Grants Support with travel costs will be available for students who provide a talk or poster and, subject to demand, it may be possible to offer travel support to other student attendees.
Further information Details of the venue and local facilities in Bristol as well as details of the programme and field trips will be posted on the BCRA website and circulated to members at least 2 weeks before the meeting but for enquiries please contact David Richards (david.richards@bristol.ac.uk).
BCRA Online Seminars The next seminar will be held on the 13th October 2025via zoom 19.30- 21.00
Please see the BCRA website for further details. If anyone can deliver a seminar later this year or in 2026, please contact the organiser, Emily Tilby.
BCRA Cave Radio and Electronics Group, Field Meeting - 18/19 October 2025 Yorkshire Dales, Ingleton. The provisional programme has in-cave demonstrations on the Saturday and talks / discussion sessions on the Sunday. Contact Mike Bedford via https://bcra.org.uk/contact.html
BCRA membership . If you haven’t renewed your membership, or wish to join, go to the membership and subscription section of the BCRA website or upgrade your BCA membership through Just Go.
Supporting BCRA.
Members will note that there has been a lack of field meetings since the end of Covid restrictions and we encourage anyone willing to organise a meeting to contact the secretary.
IT Support
As those who use the BCRA website will know, it has grown over the years thanks to a major time commitment from David Gibson. It now contains a large amount of important information but accessing this is not always easy. BCRA would welcome support from anyone with the time and expertise to improve, or possibly even to re-write, the site. If you feel that you can assist with this or other aspects of IT then please contact the secretary:
The next newsletter will be at the end of October 2025
