Memories of student trips

[JohnMCooper]

When caving with the University of Hull in the late 1960's I especially remember 2 cold exits in the middle of winter. One was climbing the entrance ladder of Car Pot a bit after midnight with my hands freezing to each ladder rung then having to coil it up on the surface. No gloves in those days. Another time having done Dow Cave my helmet strap was frozen into my beard - very painful removing it (the helmet that is).

 

[Pitlamp]

Memories of a certain person with the initials PH handing round gert doorsteps of bread filled with cheese and loads of raw onion in the back of the student union minibues, en route to the Dales on Friday nights. Your gob still tasted of onion on the way back on Sundays, despite best efforts to rinse it away with beer over the weekend!

 

[alanw]

Lancaster bomber!

I wasn't yet caving, but a friend of mine was. He'd invited me to his wedding, to be held in the chapel of Trinity College Cambridge, with the reception in the Master's Lodge. He came up to me and said "We promised the Master we'd be out by 11, we're off on our honeymoon now (to a secret destination, since his caver friends were present), please can you sort things for us?". I don't believe there's ever been a precedent for evicting drunken cavers from such a place, so the only solution I could come up with was "come on - the party continues back at my place". I'd only recently bought the house and newly carpeted it. Fortunately, when the game of "Lancaster Bomber" started, they had the decency to use water, rather than beer.

 

[hannahb]

I remember being shouted at by an irate Mrs Morphet, who ran the caravan park under the viaduct. All we did was cram 20 students into a 4 berth caravan, then get the uni minibus stuck on the grass, leaving a couple of trenches behind.

Not just DUSA then!

 

[Pitlamp]

"Lancaster bomber" - I remember getting involved in that when LUSS members were playing it when they had Clapdale. There were some excellent parties there in those days.

 

[snebbit]

My 'student caving days' in the late noughties involved looking up potential trips on UKCaving and dragging housemates to them as a hotch-potch pseudoclub, because LUSS had disbanded and hadn't yet started back up

I remember one lad turned up in a silk shirt with a zippo lighter, not that my bucket hat helmet was any more professional. I really hope some of you bumped into us on one of our 'trips' and rolled your eyes.

 

[lexik]

I wasn't yet caving, but a friend of mine was. He'd invited me to his wedding, to be held in the chapel of Trinity College Cambridge, with the reception in the Master's Lodge. He came up to me and said "We promised the Master we'd be out by 11, we're off on our honeymoon now (to a secret destination, since his caver friends were present), please can you sort things for us?". I don't believe there's ever been a precedent for evicting drunken cavers from such a place, so the only solution I could come up with was "come on - the party continues back at my place". I'd only recently bought the house and newly carpeted it. Fortunately, when the game of "Lancaster Bomber" started, they had the decency to use water, rather than beer.

 

[lexik]

Drunken Cavers!! - Sir you refer to the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Cambridge Climbing and Caving Club - a finer bunch of drunks you will never find - I knew I could entrust you with the task - a simple "Bait and Switch" operation.
But you gained the thanks of my new Mother-in-Law who was starting to worry 😁