A rich seam detailing what lies beneath the surface of the UK has been donated to two major libraries for researchers to dig into. The collection of over 500 books about mining, minerals and underground infrastructure is the legacy of polymath and enthusiast Paul Sowan, who died in June 2021. Paul left this valuable resource…
Dave King, ATLAS digger, invites you to a weekend of digging, caving and two BBQs in Somerset this summer. 2023 is the 50th Anniversary of the Association of Thrupe Lane Advanced Speleologists (ATLAS). The ATLAS diggers have been involved with many digs over the last 50 years including Thrupe Lane Swallet, Honeymead Hole, Little Crapnell…
The Grampian Speleological Group (GSG), Scotland’s premier caving club, has a long history of producing guides to the country’s caves; indeed this is third edition of a guide that was first published in 1972. However, in another sense this is a new departure. Previous editions were very much home-produced, but this has been laid out…
The latest book on Irish caves to be published by the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society (UBSS) in conjunction with the Speleological Union of Ireland (SUI), Caves of southern Ireland has now gone to the printers and is expected to be launched this Autumn in both Ireland, at the SUI’s annual symposium, and in Bristol….
Reigate has a brand new tunnel, thanks to the efforts of High Peak Geotechnical Ltd., acting on instruction from the Wealden Cave and Mine Society (WCMS). WCMS opens three caves within the centre of Reigate, Surrey, for public tours, under licence from Reigate and Banstead Borough Council. One of the three caves is an abandoned…
Anybody visiting Powell Street, Penwyllt, in the last 18 months would have noticed how little activity there has been, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the restrictions imposed on social activities. As if determined to demonstrate that they are very much still around and keen to get on with caving, members of South Wales…
Team: Duncan Hornby, Simon Lowis, David Mullin, Claire Vivian, Clive Westlake, Tomasz ZalewskiDates: 28th August 2021Passage in Little Neath River Cave. Photo by Tomasz Zalewski.So the 28th August 2021 was a big day for SWCC, it was the 75th anniversar…
ATLAS (the Association of Thrupe Lane Advanced Speleologists) are planning a maintenance session at Thrupe Lane Swallet and are keen to get some help. You can also have a barbecue and catch up with friends as well!
Covid continues to create certainty for events organisers, with some cancelled and others moving online, but there might be light at the end of the tunnel … unless it’s a caver coming the other way. Hidden Earth: the National Caving Conference The following announcement has been made by the Hidden Earth team: “We are sorry…
In a world first, British caver, polar explorer and climate change scientist Gina Moseley is preparing to lead an expedition to the planet’s northernmost caves in Greenland. While the expedition will explore several caves, there is one giant cave in particular that Gina is captivated by. She first found out about it in a conversation…
This account of a caving holiday in South Wales has no exciting discoveries, no dramatic incidents, and no unusual activities. But we hope Peter Burgess’ account of a caving trip to South Wales reminds our readers of the pleasures of simple caving that we have all been missing this year. I returned to one of…
CRO were called to help with an incident in Bar Pot – part of the Gaping Gill cave system under the slopes of Ingleborough. A caver (F 14yo) had fallen about 2.5 metres whilst abseiling down the first pitch of Bar Pot. The caver had landed heavil…
As I type, the Craven Pothole Club (CPC) is well into its 91st year. The founder member in September 1929 was Albert Mitchell, FRGS, who sadly passed away in October 1985. He was a prolific writer on caving and many other subjects. His early career as a reporter for the Craven Herald was partly why…
Sammy Field, from the University of Southampton, visited the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society’s collections as a PhD researcher to collect data for her thesis, ‘Re-evaluating the use of dental wear to estimate age at death of British archaeological remains.’ Sammy has kindly written a guest blog about her work in the UBSS collection. Age…
Here’s Caver Keith’s traditional annual caving roundup video. It contains some previously unseen footage.It’s not been the most prolific year for the studios in terms of videos completed, but it has been a very good year in other ways. Keith’s complete…
Team: Chloe Francis, Duncan Hornby, Tim lewingdon, Helen Stewart & Claire VivianTrip date: 25/1/20A few years ago Claire and I had the privilege of supporting a Freem filming trip beyond the sky hook at the top of Midnight Passage. It was quite an …
UBSS, Bristol. 2019. 364pp, 20 colour photographs, 136 maps and surveys. Hardback, 180mm × 248mm. £20 ISBN 978-0-9545850-1-3 In one sense, Caves of Mid-West Ireland is the fourth edition of this caving guidebook, while in another it is the first. That is, the University of Bristol SS has a longstanding and well known intimate…
On Saturday, 9th November 2019, the University of Bristol Speleological Society brought the public facing part of their centenary year to an end with a superb symposium, and attracted a good number of cavers to enjoy a day of fascinating talks on a wide range of cave science subjects. It was early afternoon on a…
With a record breaking 30 people to arrange trips for, this weekend was a huge one. We had 18 people completely new to caving and 11 who were within their first year of starting caving with SWCC.Meeting bright and early on Saturday morning to kick the …
In 2019, The University of Bristol Spelaeological Society (UBSS), one of the oldest caving clubs in the country, celebrates 100 years of cave and archaeological exploration and research. On the 9th/10th November, to mark the occasion, the society is hosting a weekend of presentations and fieldtrips celebrating its past, present and future. UBSS member Professor…
Bob Hall, on behalf of SWCC and the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu Cave Advisory Group, has sent the following information: Changes to the Administration of Access of the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu System Background The Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system lies within a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest administered by Natural Resources Wales who own the…
Swildon’s Hole and a terminally bad experience in Sump 1 feature in our latest look at caving fiction. I’ve followed Damian Boyd’s West Country police series on and off over the years but managed to miss out on Death Sentence, which features caving as part of the plot, so I’m grateful to Bob Mehew for…
New samples taken for DNA analysis from human bone from Aveline’s Hole by Natural History Museum researchers have thrown up surprising results. Graham Mullan reports on their findings. Aveline’s Hole, Burrington Combe, Mendip, contained the largest assemblage of Mesolithic human remains yet found anywhere in Britain. The cave was excavated in the 1920s by the…
A dig in Bleadon Cavern on Mendip has revealed more pieces to a mysterious puzzle … In 1833, a survey was carried out of Bleadon Cavern by John Heel but was, in all likelihood, drawn up by William Beard who had been investigating the area from 1828. This survey was first mentioned in more recent…
Peter Burgess hears about ritual protection marks, cars going underground, time capsules and threats from out east in the Subterranea Britannica spring meeting at the Royal School of Mines in London. It has been over 25 years since I stopped my regular attendance at the bi-annual lecture meetings of Subterranea Britannica. In the intervening years,…
Pete Buckley and Ali Moody assisted by a band of Wessex diggers have had more success recently at their dig at Bagpit, on the south side of Mendip above Draycott. The site, a low cliff on the east edge of a closed basin with the same name, has three potential entrances. By excavating Pit 1,…
Team: Andy Freem, Antonia Freem, Tim Lewingdon, Andrea Lewingdon, Brendan Hoare, Chloe Thomas, Collin Hoare, Duncan Hornby, Liz Bristow, Mark Lee, Tenzin Lee, Matthew Jones, Jill Brunsdon, Paul Meredith, Haley Meredith, Phill Thomas, Sanita Lustika, Si…
Cavers, no matter how carefully they abide by access arrangements, should always be conscious that for some of our most treasured caves, access can never be taken for granted.
The following information has been released by South Wales Caving Club regarding a revised access route to the entrance of Ogof Ffynnon Ddu 1. Due to some tensions with a local landowner, please note the following: If you are walking from the SWCC HQ: take the road down the hill, past the start of The…
Chesney the Chipmunk and Valentine the donkey go caving in Reigate. Peter Burgess was there to record the occasion! Cavers do some pretty daft things at times. Spending hours on end in cold gloopy mud, digging out blocked passages that you can barely fit through even after you have forced your way into them, or…
For the first time, curious chalk inscriptions on the walls of an ancient stone quarry in Surrey are being systematically recorded, as part of a wider research project to better understand the long and hitherto hidden history of this important source of stone for London. Many of the chalk inscriptions have been identified as ritual protection marks (RPM).
Mendips Meet, 17-18 NovTeam: Bill Buxton, Celestine Crabbe, Andy Freem, Antonia Freem, Duncan Hornby, Stephen Johnson, George Linnane, Sanita Lustika, Phill Thomas, Claire Vivian, Clive Westlake. With Miri and Duncan Simey in support.This was the last …
This was the biggest Provisionals’ Weekend I have been involved with. We had 34 people come caving with us over the course of the two days and over 20 current club members helped out to make sure everyone had a great experience. Some were current SWCC …
Why not check out Dales water levels before you decide whether to get up? Craven Pothole Club have gone live with a River Ribble monitoring webcam in Horton. Anyone viewing the sites will be able to view live feeds of river conditions to give an indication of how high water levels are.
SWCC Team: Duncan Hornby, Allan Richardson & Claire VivianTrip Date: October 16th 2018Following directly after the SWCC Yorkshire trip meet, Claire and I stayed up North for a few more days. On a wet and miserable Tuesday we headed over to Nenthead…
SWCC Team: Derek Cousins, George Linnane, Helen Hooper, Duncan Hornby, Mark Rees, Lee Smith, Claire VivianDates: 12th October – 14thA smaller team of SWCC cavers descend upon the YSS for a weekend of SRT training and trips. Very wet weather limited our…
Andy and Antonia have been making films for some time now, mostly about caves and caving. Many of their previous productions can be found on their You Tube channel but Tales from Cuthbert’s is their most substantial film yet. St Cuthbert’s Swallet, Priddy, Somerset is a beautiful and complex cave deserving of a great film…
The BCA Cave Surveying Group have just announced an Intermediate Therion training course. The scope of this training course is to improve the skills of people who ideally as a minimum have attended a CSG Paperless Surveying training course or are currently using Therion for their mapping projects. The course is not aimed at people…
SWCC Team – Jill Brunsdon, Bill and Doreen Buxton, John Cliffe, David Eason, Mark Hampton, Duncan Hornby, Andy Jones, Barbara Lane, George Linnane,Darren Mackenzie, David Mullin, Angie Peacock,Claire Vivian, & Tarquin Wilton-Jones Otter Hole Leader…
In January 2018, we reported that the Wealden Cave and Mine Society had been awarded the opportunity to get free radiocarbon dating work performed on archaeological samples from the Reigate area. By the end of March, the results were available, but disappointingly, two of the three samples submitted did not contain sufficient carbon to provide…
Dr Gina Moseley from the Innsbruck Quaternary Research Group will receive one of this year’s prestigious Austrian Science Foundation (FWF) START prizes. The START programme is an Austrian initiative to support and strengthen outstanding research projects in science and humanities. Gina, a member of the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society and current Symposium Lecture Secretary…
Team: Derek Cousins, Duncan Hornby, George Linnane, Lesley Markie, Ariana Preston, Lee Smith, Richard Sore, Claire Vivian, Neil Weymouth.Dates: 18th -20th May 2018This club meet saw new and old club members travelling from far and wide to descend upon …
Subterranea Britannica group enters the Kőbánya cellar system, 35 kilometres of underground quarry. Photo: Peter Burgess I was once an active member of Subterranea Britannica, usually abbreviated to “Sub Brit”. Its quirky interest in man-made and man-used subterranean space appealed to me, and my own interests in old mine and quarry workings fitted in well….
The caves in Reigate, Surrey, are in reality sand-cut cellars and sand-mines. The caves that were excavated in Tunnel Road in the nineteenth century were, in part, used as a large beer cellar by the local Reigate brewer, Mellersh and Neale, until the early twentieth century. Local publicans Blackiston and Son also had a cellar…
Three years of digging and the second choke has still yet to yield. It’s not for want of trying, as you’ll discover in the video below. Lots of time spent lying in squalid mud, the main stream and way too many scary moments to be comfortable with!Anton…
Team: Antonia Freem, Duncan Hornby, Ollie Jone, Sally Richards, Alan Walsh & Tarquin Wilton-JonesTrip date: 24/2/18“Team Freem” had been wanting to film the furthest parts of Ogof Craig A Ffynnon for some time and last weekend had been a trip in th…
In the summer of 2017, I was made aware of a scheme to encourage community archaeological groups to submit material for radiocarbon dating. The scheme is known as the Community Archaeology Radiocarbon Dating (CARD) Fund, and there is a simple online application process for suggesting suitable items for dating. The Wealden Cave and Mine Society…
Team: Claire Vivian and Tarquin Wilton-JonesTime: 12 hours. (Saturday 6th January) It all started off so well! Wake up a 5.30am. Yes. Taxi to train station at 6am. Yes. Catch train to Cardiff at 6.30am. Yes. Then things started to go wrong. Leave Neath…
OFD1 to Cwm Dwr – Sun 10 DecemberTeam: Jo White, Helen Hooper, Andy Jones, Darren Mackenzie, Lee Smith, Ariana PrestonTime: 4 hoursNew SWCC provisional member Ariana Preston tells us about her first OFD through-trip. All photos by Darren Mackenzie Our…
December 31st 2017 was a wonderful example of SWCC members coming together and proving that many hands make light of hard work. So read all about it or even better watch the video!Ashford Price, the owner of Dan-Yr-Ogof show cave had very generously of…
Team: Paul Crowsley, Si Lowis, Lesley Markie, John Roe, Samsung S7, Claire Vivian, Neil Weymouth, Tarquin Wilton-Jones.Report and photos: Tarquin Wilton-Jones.This was a very welcome chance to visit one of my favourite caves with some SWCC friends, and…
Team: Andrea Jessup, Matt Jones, Paul Tarrant, Claire VivianThis was a quick evening trip to introduce Andrea to OFD1 and let Matt have a chance to practice his routefinding skills on his second visit to this part of the system. Fun was had, including …
Team: Andrew McLeod, Bob Hall, Duncan Hornby, Helen Stewart, Jo White, Malcolm Stewart, Mason Davis, Morgan Specht,Trevor Rogers, Richard Sore, Tarquin Wilton-JonesDate 18th November – 19th NovemberA few of us arrived at the Shepton on Friday, unusuall…
At the beginning of the summer break of 2017, six members of the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society (UBSS) travelled to County Clare on our annual Ireland expedition. Our main objective was to continue the re-surveying of the Coolagh River cave which was started last year. We also had the secondary objective of continuing survey…
Lucy Archer, Barbara Lane, Angie Peacock, Claire VivianA small group of us thought we would scare ourselves silly by visiting Alton Towers for Scarefest on the weekend before Halloween. There were dancing zombies and witches a-plenty, plus the odd ghos…
Only 9 days before the event Les Williams contacted Mark and asked if he was free on 21st October as he needed an after dinner speaker for the 83rd Wessex Cave Club Annual Dinner. Having not been able to find a suitable excuse Mark then contacted me and asked if I would be one half of a double act.
The slot was scheduled to last for 15 to 20 minutes. Mark’s idea was basically for us to trade insults between short compilations of Caver Keith videos. It seemed a half decent idea so for the next 8 days we honed the script and assembled the videos. However neither of us were really confident that it would work with a large unfamiliar audience of about 90 people.
Les said that he could provide a large screen, projector, amplifier and speakers as the Hidden Earth equipment is held in the Wessex stores. All we had to provide was ourselves and a laptop loaded with the presentation and videos.
Suitably suited and booted we arrived early at the venue but had to run across the carpark through a cloudburst courtesy of storm Brian. The equipment was already in place so we fired up the laptop, connected the video cable and plugged in the amplifier. The projector worked fine but the audio stubbornly refused to work. With the clock ticking relentlessly to the start of the meal it seemed that our ‘well-rehearsed’ presentation was doomed to failure. With only minutes to spare we diagnosed the problem. The 3.5mm jack plug was not going into the socket on the laptop far enough to make contact and there wasn’t a spare lead! Fortunately I had bought a bluetooth speaker so we connected it up and placed a microphone in front of it. The sound wasn’t perfect but it looked like the show was back on. Phew!
When I said ‘well-rehearsed’ presentation I may have been slightly embroidering the truth. Cobbled together might have been a more accurate description. During the meal we found out that over the years the great and the good of the caving world had addressed this long established club. The names that every ever knows – The Clive Westlakes, The Martin Farrs, The Sid Perous, The Gavin Newmans and alike, and who are we? Did anyone know us from Adam? To emphasise the point the person to Mark’s right during the meal said, “Who is Caver Keith?” – enough said. So to say that we were a little nervous would be an understatement.
At the end of the meal were a number of toasts and then it was down to us.
Mark started with, “During the history of the Wessex Cave Club we understand that you have been addressed by all of the big names in caving.”
I replied, “But unfortunately tonight we’ve got us.” It got a small titter from a couple of the audience.
We then played the Potholer Sketch. It’s one of my favourite videos and I know that Mark rates it highly too. The odd smile played on a few faces but there were no laughs. It wasn’t going well!!!
I then said, “I was introduced to Mark about 8 years ago. I can remember the day vividly. He walked into the windmill like he owned the place and my first impressions were … “. I left a suitable pause and continued with, “What a fat bastard.” The place erupted with laughter. Perhaps we were going to be able to pull it off after all.
The exchange of insults continued with Mark slagging off my videos and me slagging off his acting ability. We then played a compilation of video clips entitled “Nah … He Can’t Act” showcasing Mark’s acting, starting with the famous Corset video and concluding with the title, A Star Is Born. Having broken the ice with my ‘Fat Bastard’ remark the bonhomie from the audience continued.
After another exchange of insults we played the third and final video clip compilation entitled “Highlights from the Video Vault” which featured humorous clips of both of us, including Brendan being blown up on the firing range, me stuck in the Lobster Pot, my return to caving following my accident and crashing my drone down Eldon Hole. This elicited laughs in all the right places.
The conclusion revolved around Mark suggesting that it was about time I gave up making videos and me storming off saying that if that was his attitude I was off to find my next ‘big star’ and shouting, “Les, Les come and be in my videos.”
We did get applause, thanks and some very nice comments prompting Mark to post on Facebook, “After dinner presentation with Keith Edwards done and we didn’t get lynched or nuffink!”
Would we do it again? Possibly if our egos were massaged enough.
Team: Gian Ameri, Stuart Bennett, Derek Cousins, Duncan Hornby, Kevin Munn, Pam Munn, Phill Thomas, Morgan Specht, Helen Stewart, Claire Vivian, Jo White, Tarquin Wilton-Jones
Dates: 14th -15th October 2017
Saturday
Staying at the TSG in Castleton is extremely convenient. Not only are you within walking distance of the great Peak Cavern, but you are also incredibly close to a large number of pubs and eating out options. The downside is the lack of parking. But the feel of being literally right in the centre of the town is great!
Saturday began with rough plans being made of trips into Peak Cavern.
 |
| Last minute preparations. |
 |
| Almost Ready, getting changed at the TSG “chapel”. |
We decided on 2 groups, one which would go and have a look at the fantastic Main Streamway and Lake Passage including Buxton Water, Far and Ink sumps and the other team would do a slightly longer trip including the main stream, the Galena Circuit and a visit to Moss Chamber. Some of us had been to Peak before, but none had visited Moss Chamber or done the Galena round trip.
 |
| The two teams at the entrance of Peak Cavern. |
 |
| The two teams at the Treasury Passage junction. |
A little further on is Surprise View, a simple fixed ladder leading down to the Main Stream way, at this point the groups went their separate ways and only bumped into each other once.
The photos below are a mixture of each group’s adventures taken by various people.
 |
| Claire in the Tube (photo by Morgan). |
 |
| Duncan at the Lake Sump with a multitude of steel beams, scaffolding bars, and divers tanks! (photo by Morgan). |
 |
| Tarquin puzzling over the many water pipes in the Main Stream inlet passage. |
One group visited Moss Chamber, an hours diversion off the Upper Gallery passage, mostly hands and knees crawling, a squeeze through an eye hole and a final refreshing dunk in water right at the end. This chamber is famous for where an accident lead to the body of Neil Moss, being cemented into a too tight rift that he had become trapped in. Despite the sombre feel to this location it also has some of the nicest flowstone formations in the system.
 |
| Claire in Moss chamber. |
 |
| Different angle (by Morgan). |
 |
| Derek at the Far Sump. |
 |
| Derek in the Main Stream way. |
 |
| Helen in ‘The Tube’. |
 |
| Duncan passing under the low arch at the Muddy Ducks (on the way out). |
We all had to be out before 4:30pm as the show cave was running some sort of spooky tour in the evening. The show cave had some rather amusing ghosts and ghouls in odd locations…
 |
| Claire admiring a formation in the ceiling… |
In the evening Jo White and Stuart Bennett joined us for some pub grub, on the Sunday Jo went to a BCRA meeting and Stuart joined the P8 trip.
Sunday
Due to time constraints the group split into two teams: one for P8, the other for Giant’s Hole.
P8
Derek had previously visited P8 some years ago and had enough equipment to descend P8 on ladders. Neither Claire, Duncan, Helen or Stuart had visited P8 before and with limited time we opted for P8. The entrance is a sinkhole taking a small stream and we were soaked from the moment we entered!
 |
| The team at the entrance of P8. |
P8 has a Yorkshire pot feel to it as we followed the stream to the first pitch. With the ladder rigged we got a proper soaking as we descended! The second pitch was much nicer as the ladder was out of the waterfall.
 |
| Helen descending the second pitch and this was the dry one! |
Stuart showed off by finding an alternative route down which he free climbed and avoided any soaking!
We then explored downstream and reached a sump after a flat out crawl in a pebble bed. Derek thought there was more to the system so we had not found the other sump which is as far as non-divers can go. Unfortunately time was against us so we decided to exit the system.
So there is definitely more to see and if tackled as an SRT trip I suspect much drier! The topo guide that was lying around at the TSG hut indicates there are several alternative high level routes that can be followed to avoid a soaking.
Giant’s Hole- The Round Trip: Tarquin, Gian, and Morgan
All photos in this section by Morgan
We found the description of the guide book more than a little tricky to decipher. So we sought advice from several TSG members and this was the sketch of the round trip in Giants they came up with!
 |
| The sketch for Giants Hole. |
What an easy start to the trip, less than 10 minutes drive from TSG and a five minute walk to the entrance. £5 per person though!
 |
| Gian and Tarquin at the entrance of Giants Hole. |
 |
| There are some spectacular spaces in Giant’s- this is Tarquin looking up into Boss Aven. |
The first obstacle is Garlands Pot a 9m pitch which leads immediately into the 400m long Crab walk a very a meandering and constricted rift.
 |
| Gian on his first ladder descent using his harness – which he rightly points out is far safer than wearing a belt. |
 |
| Morgan with rock on both sides. It gets even tighter at the Vice, a restriction in the Crab Walk. |
 |
| Occasionally the Crab Walk opens up – Gian patiently posed for me in this “S” bend. |
 |
| The Round Trip offers a good variety of sporting challenges. There are a few tricky climbs in the upper series. |
After the Poached Egg junction you eventually arrive at the Giants windpipe. For those who like crawling on your stomach, through water, this is your place to be! The sign is a bit intimidating but it’s alright. There is a 20 foot wet section. When we went through the water was not too high, if you get your head on the right angle you can still breath with a wet cheek and chin!
 |
| Entrance to Giants Windpipe. |
After the pipe you can traverse above the Crab Walk. We chose to go beyond the fixed abseil ring (as there was no rope), go through a thrutchy calcite squeeze, and over some wider section of rift passage, eventually descending back to the lower route just before reaching Garland’s.
 |
| Gian pictured carefully moving along the top of the rift. |
We climbed back up the ladder at Garland’s Pot, packed up and started to exit the cave. Tarquin climbed up to explore the “Old Upper Cave” on the way out. I decided not to join him as it did require negotiating more tight meandering passages while ascending. He thought it was well worth it.
All in all a fantastic trip. Sporting, wet, clean (unlike Peak Cavern!) and took a bit less than 4 hours!
The Tratman Award 2016 The prestigious Tratman Award, administered by the Ghar Parau Foundation, is given annually to a caving-related paper-based publication in memory of caver and archaeologist E.K. Tratman who died in 1978. The aim of the award is to recognise excellence and to encourage future improvement and it is considered one of the…
The weather wasn’t first class, but the atmosphere and talks were. For those of you yet to visit it, Hidden Earth is an annual conference on caving. Whilst this might sound boring, it isn’t in the least. The talks range from expedition reports, to regional round-ups and videos alongside a caver-run bar, stomp and a caving and SRT obstacle course. In short, it means you can cave around the world from your seat in the auditorium and gain a good idea of where you would like to visit. Fantastic! You also get to meet up with cavers from all over the UK. Hidden Earth is always ably organised by Les and Wendy Williams along with a whole host of helpers from Mendip and other caving clubs across the UK. The conference venue alternates between being in the North and the South. This year it was the turn of the South and Hidden Earth was in Churchill.
We camped on the sports field of the school. It is always interesting to wake up on Saturday morning in a sea of tents in Mendip and then head through a throng of people to listen to a talk on a distant corner of the world such as Mexico, Mulu, the Philippines, Meghalaya or Australia. It’s great. I love it.
 |
| The campsite at Churchill Academy |
SWCC was particularly well-represented there this year. There were plenty of us attending to listen to talks and meet up with friends (nice to see Barbara and Alan at their first HE). But there were also many members with a more deep involvement who helped with the organisation, gave talks, or entered the competitions.
 |
| The trade and exhibition hall. |
 |
| Antonia and Claire on the SWCC club stand |
Jo White gave a talk on the Yorkshire Dales Cave Monitoring Project to an attentive audience.
 |
| Jo giving her talk to a packed room |
We also had plenty of competition entrants. Arwen had 2 entries in the cartoon competition and received a merit for one of those.
 |
|
| Arwen with her winning cartoon – she was awarded a merit. |
Jess Burkey won the cartoon competition with her poster on the joys of being a cave model.
 |
| Jess’ winning entry in the cartoon competition |
 |
| Jo’s entries in to the photo competition; including her winning ice formation one |
And then there was the video salon which was co-ordinated by Andy and Antonia Freem. This year’s winning entry was Keith Edwards’ Opening AV presentation, which you can watch here:
Not forgetting Jo White’s excellent performance in the SRT events in the SpeleoOlympics. Where she was the fastest lady on the SRT obstacle course and also earned the prize for the best woman in the SRT competitions. Well done everyone!
With tough competition from many excellent photos it was pleasing to see Mark Burkey, Jo White and Duncan Hornby win awards across various categories in the Hidden Earth 2017 photo competitions, here they are!
 |
| Category: winner of colour shot and delegate vote print, © Mark Burkey, 2017 |
 |
| Category: winner of monochrome print, © Mark Burkey, 2017 |
 |
| Category: winner of best newcomer print, © Jo White, 2017 |
 |
||
| Category: merit digital photo, © Duncan Hornby, 2017
A special mention goes to Mark Burkey who was awarded the prestigious Giles Barker award, which is the 2nd year in a row this has been won by the SWCC!
So get snapping! |
