North Wales Caving Clubs

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Smurf

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Moderator comment: posts split from https://ukcaving.com/board/index.ph...-trapped-in-notorious-eryri-slate-mine.32285/ and moved here.

Unfortunately I’m one of these embarrassing rock climbers (traditional and Alpine so I’m not completely clueless )and I totally appreciate there’s a chance I could get lost or run into some problems and the thought of calling out a rescue service would hurt my soul but i would still really love to have an explore myself. Living near London means I’m a weekend warrior at best and live 5hrs from North Wales so joining a caving club would be pretty much impossible for me. Do any experienced cavers ever do guided days for beginners as they do with the Mountain Leader training to gain knowledge in leading a trip? It’s really hard to get a guide if you don’t know anyone who’s into caving. If anyone could suggest a way of getting guided through safely then it would be most appreciated or alternatively any kind of map would be great as I’m more worried about route finding than anything else? Many thanks, Neil
 
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Smurf said:
Unfortunately I’m one of these embarrassing rock climbers (traditional and Alpine so I’m not completely clueless )and I totally appreciate there’s a chance I could get lost or run into some problems and the thought of calling out a rescue service would hurt my soul but i would still really love to have an explore myself. Living near London means I’m a weekend warrior at best and live 5hrs from North Wales so joining a caving club would be pretty much impossible for me. Do any experienced cavers ever do guided days for beginners as they do with the Mountain Leader training to gain knowledge in leading a trip? It’s really hard to get a guide if you don’t know anyone who’s into caving. If anyone could suggest a way of getting guided through safely then it would be most appreciated or alternatively any kind of map would be great as I’m more worried about route finding than anything else? Many thanks, Neil
Click to expand...
There’s plenty of caving to be done nearer to London than North Wales! South Wales for a start!

Also Mendips (2.5 hours for me, near Guildford) or, if you’re desperate, Godstone Mines!

Most of the caving clubs have a bunkhouse so you don’t have to do the whole thing in a day. Make a weekend of it.

Most of my underground activity is around Cheddar so if you fancy a trip, drop me a message.
 
Smurf said:
Unfortunately I’m one of these embarrassing rock climbers (traditional and Alpine so I’m not completely clueless )and I totally appreciate there’s a chance I could get lost or run into some problems and the thought of calling out a rescue service would hurt my soul but i would still really love to have an explore myself. Living near London means I’m a weekend warrior at best and live 5hrs from North Wales so joining a caving club would be pretty much impossible for me. Do any experienced cavers ever do guided days for beginners as they do with the Mountain Leader training to gain knowledge in leading a trip? It’s really hard to get a guide if you don’t know anyone who’s into caving. If anyone could suggest a way of getting guided through safely then it would be most appreciated or alternatively any kind of map would be great as I’m more worried about route finding than anything else? Many thanks, Neil
Click to expand...

To complement Oceanrower's good advice - you have plenty of local caving clubs based in London. I think at least one has its own hostel in a major caving area. (Not absolutely certain, as London is very much off my patch.) There are many London based members of the major clubs operating on Mendip and in Wales. Don't ignore the social reasons for making contact with cavers who live near you, quite apart from the mining and or caving opportunities (and shared transport).

If you fancy a formal arrangement for a mine visit I think the DCA organise trips into the Alderly Edge mines in Cheshire, some of which are aimed at folk with little to no underground experience. (The history of those mines is fascinating).

Of the many people I've introduced to caving over the years, I've generally found that those with climbing experience often cope the best. Go for it!

Even if your main focus remains in the mountains and open air, many climber cavers fall into an annual cycle of caving in the winter months when the weather is not conducive to being out on the crag and climbing in the better months. These activities complement each other and help maintain fitbness throughout the 12 months of the year.
 
Asheshouse posted whilst I was typing the above; all of those clubs he flags up are good.
 
Pitlamp said:
If you fancy a formal arrangement for a mine visit I think the DCA organise trips into the Alderly Edge mines in Cheshire, some of which are aimed at folk with little to no underground experience. (The history of those mines is fascinating).
Click to expand...
Erm, I think you mean the DCC (Derbyshire Caving Club) for Alderley Edge access, not the DCA!
 
You mentioned North Wales so I guess you visit? And, you might want to cave in North Wales?

The club you need are UCET (United Cavers Exploration Team) www.ucet.org.uk

A very liberal club that will be pleased to take you underground in North Wales (and have at least two 25+ years veterans of rock climbing too).

They have a forum on the web at the address above where you can post etc etc etc …

The Secretary can be reached at secretary@ucet.org.uk

Best cavers in the UK. Of course, I am a little bit biased, I have been with them since 2004 (not as long as many folk on UKc have been with their clubs but certainly long enough to know the folk in the club and know that they are all A1)

😊

Ian
 
Also.. there are caving clubs in London, and quite a few cavers are wise enough to also explore mines and underground queries, Wales included. Do you ever work in the West End or City of London? If so there's the Westminster Speleological Group https://www.wsg.org.uk/ (I'm not currently a member but considering...)

Edit: without being too specific on a public forum, where (ish) do you live?
 
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