First time in a mine last night

[ScottDitchburn]

so last night a friend took me for my first time underground in a mine and im hooked!! ive been into "extreme sports" all of my life but never had the opportunity to do anything of this sort,what a rush! anyway from what i could get out of my friend it seems that caving in the uk is quite "clicky" and there are a lot of politics involved with who can go where and what not which also makes finding a group to join virtually impossible even if you know someone in the group! basically what im getting at is id like to find a group i could join as i do not really want to be going down into these places alone as ive read thats a big No No.....well at least until you're fully versed in caving.if you fancy helping a new comer get into the sport my details are below

i live in north wales

 my instagram;scott_ditchburn

or email me from here

[PeteHall]

Hi Scott and welcome to caving!

I've never done a lot in North Wales and I have heard that the politics can be problematic in that area. There are several forum users in the area though, who I'm sure will be along with some advice.

Every area I have caved, local clubs often offer beginner/ taster trips and are always keen to recruit keen new members, so I hope what you've heard about it being difficult to join a club in North Wales isn't actually the case.

Usually, you would email the club and they'll tell you when the beginner trips are, or otherwise organise something specifically for you. Once you've been on a few trips and got to know a few people, you'll be able to apply to join. Obviously clubs can't hand out membership to people that nobody knows as they typically loan out equipment, so they do need to know you're not going to kill yourself with it 

This isn't about keeping people out, it's about keeping people safe.

With coronavirus, things are a little different at the moment. Different clubs are handling things in different ways depending on their membership and facilities, so you might find it's a bit less straight forward than usual...

[tamarmole]

Try posting on the Aditnow forum.  It's a very friendly place.  There is a strong North Wales Contingent there who I am sure will be able to help you.

It is worth noting that mine explorers are much nicer than cavers 

[JoshW]

To echo what Pete says about Coronavirus things will be a little different, and for the most part people aren't excluding people from for the sake of it, it comes from a safety point of view.

I know there's a couple of UCET guys on the forum here who may pop up to comment. In the meantime I'll try and give the ones I know a nudge in this post's direction.

[Martin Laverty]

Something about the caving clubs in North Wales here:
http://www.cambriancavingcouncil.org.uk/registry/CoNW/CoNW_26.htm#Clubs

[cavemanmike]

Hi Scott
I'm involved with ucet based in North Wales give me a pm and we will get you underground on a regular basis, no politics in this club just caving

[Pitlamp]

Hello Scott and welcome aboard this cavers' forum.

If your friend advised: "from what i could get out of my friend it seems that caving in the uk is quite "clicky" and there are a lot of politics involved with who can go where and what not which also makes finding a group to join virtually impossible even if you know someone in the group!" then I think you've been badly misinformed.

Follow the advice given by experienced cavers in the posts above - and enjoy!

[Badlad]

Scot - go with UCET.  There is quite a lot of clicky club rivalry over access to a couple of the mines in North Wales.  UCET is renowned for rising above it, ignoring the politics and getting on and doing. Good luck and have fun.

[gingerlycolors]

UCET meet every Thursday night at the Glan yr Afon pub in Dolphin, near Holywell, just off the A55.  I have been with them for a few years now and you do not get the formalities and the rules associtated with some of the other clubs.

[Keris82]

Yep get in touch with UCET. The first time I went to north wales I posted on here and some lovely peeps from the club were happy to take us on some trips and we made some good friends since then 

[kay]

anyway from what i could get out of my friend it seems that caving in the uk is quite "clicky" and there are a lot of politics involved with who can go where and what not which also makes finding a group to join virtually impossible even if you know someone in the group!

That's certainly not been my experience! Maybe it's different in N Wales.

If you're interested in caves as well as mines, this is a good starting point, including contacts for clubs: https://newtocaving.com/