Alan Jeffreys couldn’t put down the updated edition of Adventures Underground, and not because he’d accidentally glued it to his fingers …
The first edition of Adventures Underground first appeared in 2017, and was written very much as an homage to the seminal 1952 Underground Adventure by A. Gemmell and J. Myers. Authors Dave Haigh and John Cordingly followed the same approach with each chapter or discovery written in the first person by cavers who took part in the work. Without doubt it was the best account of Yorkshire caving for 50 years and brought readers up to date with new discoveries made since the immediate post-war explorations. The book was so good that it rapidly went out of print.
A second, revised edition has now made a welcome appearance, bringing the narrative up to date with discussions of various successful digs and dives throughout the western Dales and even extending a little way to Wharfedale, which was omitted in the 1952 book. Adventures Underground is lavishly illustrated with colour and some historic monochrome photographs as well as clear, multi-coloured surveys and maps. Thee book is an absolute delight to read. There is no attempt to stifle inherent risks and ‘hairy’ moments, instead they are related with humour and, occasionally, relief that things worked out safely! This honesty alone is refreshing.
Adventures Underground provides a window into speleological activity, and I cannot praise it too highly. Each apparently isolated venture is contextualised into an overall consideration of the complex drainage patterns of the Yorkshire Dales limestones where not only the Three Counties System has now been realised, but thoughts are turning to an even greater prize, a Trans-Craven System extending from Barbondale in the west to Coniston Moor in the east. This staggering concept will serve as a driving force for exploration in the coming years, providing younger explorers with a salivating target that will not yield gracefully. But who would have it otherwise?
This revised, extended volume sets a hard standard to match, never mind beat. The text is pleasantly readable, the photographs are generally new and I found it hard to put down – and did so only to make it last longer! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so perhaps authors in other caving regions will be spurred on to match this splendid book.
Adventures Underground
Dave Haigh and John Cordingley
Revised edition 2024
Wild Places Publishing
288pp
329 colour photos (occasionally historic black & white), 35 diagrams/surveys
ISBN 978—8382628-2-2,
£29.95.
Available from Wildplaces Publishing
Reviewed by Alan L. Jeffreys
