In this newsletter: Cave Science Symposium, Annual General Meeting, BCRA Review 2019 now in press. Cave Science Symposium Our annual cave science symposium will be an online event this year, taking place via Zoom on Saturday 14 November. Details are being finalised and will be posted to our social media outlets as soon as possible….
Cumbria Police were contacted by the wife of a caver who was apparently overdue after setting off to do a through trip from Lancaster Hole to Wretched Rabbit. Having passed the call to the team, neither the Police nor team controllers were able to call…
Since summer, cavers have been making the most of the relaxation of lockdown rules. However, with local lockdown areas increasingly being established as winter approaches, it is more important than ever to plan activities as safely as possible to minimise the risk of spreading Covid-19. The resources to check are listed below: Current lockdown rules…
A group of five walkers (m 48; m, f, f, f, all 20/21), having started the Three Peaks Walk in Horton in Ribblesdale at 04.00, reached Chapel le Dale at 16.00, then climbed Ingleborough as their last peak, but reported themselves lost on the descent. NY…
The Cheddar caves, owned by Longleat Enterprises Ltd, are currently closed to visitors. Following this, a statement just issued by the Council of Southern Caving Clubs (CSCC) informs cavers that the caves in the gorge on Longleat land are also closed to cavers, although access discussions are now under way with CSCC. The closure of…
Descent 276 has landed – and it’s another issue replete with interesting, informative and exciting content. It’s good to see that even in these times cavers can find much to do – and to write about. There’s much of interest in Newsdesk, from an update on the ongoing legal case involving BCA and the Welsh…
Having taken the temporary diversion path to Ingleborough from Chapel le dale, two walkers (m 37, f 34) reported themselves unable to descend, because of the steepness and apparent instability of the fell-side. The Duty Controller persuaded them to con…
The BCA AGM is fast approaching and acting Chair Phil Rowsell has written to all members encouraging participation in the first online AGM.
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…
As a few team members were involved in incident no 68, a second call came in from a walker concerned about a group of five Three Peaks walkers (3 x m, 2 x f) he believed to be cold and struggling on the descent from Ingleborough. They turned up in Hor…
A Three Peaks walker (m) was reported overdue. He had last been seen, ‘flagging’, on the summit of Whernside at 12.40, when he told his companions that he would not be walking over Ingleborough but would return to the start in Horton in Rib…
In this newsletter: online event, Connecting with Cave Research – Advice for Student Researchers, BCRA Review 2019 available for pre-order now, and details of the Annual General Meeting. Connecting with Cave Research – Advice for Student Researchers ONLINE WEBINAR: Monday 19 October, 19:00 to 21:30 BST This is an online webinar, hosted…
To sign up for this event, please follow the link here, and please pass details of this to your club and any students you know.
The BCA AGM is taking place on Sunday 11th October from 10.30 am on Zoom. The details of how to register to attend and speak can be found on the BCA website. In addition, the AGM will be livestreamed on the BCA Facebook page and anyone can watch this. However, if you would like to…
A walker made a 999 call to North Yorkshire Police, saying that her companion had fallen and was injured, while they (f, f) were walking the Three Peaks. Before any more information could be passed, the call ceased and the NYP Force Control Room was un…
Descent 276 will be on its way soon, and although caving is slowly getting underway again, things are certainly not back to pre-covid levels, so do settle down for a good read, and take a moment to check whether your subscription is up to date. And if you don’t already read Descent, we hope we…
A new date has now been scheduled for the BCA’s delayed annual general meeting – 11th October 2020. It was originally scheduled to take place on 14th June, but was postponed because of the serious impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of ongoing restrictions in force on organising physical meetings, this meeting will be via…
The next BCRA Cave Science Symposium will take place on Saturday November 14th 2020 using an online portal. The meeting will be hosted by Professor Mike Rogerson at the University of Northumbria. BCRA would very much enjoy contributions that discuss how caves have behaved during the lockdown period and are also open to abstracts on…
The latest edition of the BCRA’s journal Cave and Karst Science is wholly dedicated to the reports from the 2019 Greenland Caves Project 2019 expedition. This was the latest and largest of a series of expeditions which started in 2015. It involved an interdisciplinary team, with members specialising in geology, glacial geomorphology, palaeoclimatology and…
Very soon after members returned home from incident number 58, a call was received to a visitor (f, 39) who had sustained a suspected ankle injury on the return half of the Ingleton Watefalls Trail. A hasty search by the first team members on scene at …
A walker (f, 45) landed heavily, coming off a stile in Malham’s ‘Dry Valley’ and sustained a suspected broken ankle. With no signal on her party’s mobile phone, another walker used his phone to call 999, for an ambulance. Unfort…
A visitor (m, 25), with a medical condition, collapsed just after the steps at the top of Malham Cove. Arriving first, the air ambulance paramedics assessed the patient, then handed him over to team members, who walked him gently across to Cove Road, w…
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…
Descent 275 is now with us. Yet another issue compiled during this plague year, but still packed with interesting and informative material – and there is even news of new exploration in England! Newsdesk starts with an update on how the pandemic is affecting caving in the UK and cautiously welcomes the reopening of caves…
Three hours after completing incident number 51 we returned to Ingleton waterfalls walk to give help to a 32 year old woman. She had slipped on a wet rock and banged her head; she was reported to us as being confused and not being able to remember what…
A ten year old boy slipped and fell circa 3 metres on a steep grassy slope above the refreshments cabin near Pecca Falls, on the Ingleton waterfalls walk. During his tumble he had banged his head and also said that he had hurt his knees. The boy was ch…
This is the second volume of a planned four volume set covering the caves, mines and associated features of the county of Somerset. Volume 1 was published earlier in 2020 and features Bristol, Broadfield Down, the Bristol Channel and West Somerset. Volume 3 will cover Central and South Mendip, and Volume 4 will complete the…
A visitor (f, 55) was reported to be suffering from heat exhaustion, with complications, on the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail, ‘near Beezley Farm’. The first team vehicle was able to follow the road ambulance all the way to the casualty site on…
As team vehicles were returning from Malham, a visitor on the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail expressed concern that his wife (72 and diabetic) was feeling faint and dizzy and was sweating. He suspected low sugar levels. Returning team members were diverted …
A visitor (f) was reported to have fallen, at the foot of the Malham Cove steps and was complaining of pain in her side and neck. As team members responded, this was updated to back and neck pain with numbness in her legs. After attention from YAS para…
Four Three Peaks walkers (all f) called NYP, saying that they were ‘lost’ on the descent from Ingleborugh towards Horton in Ribblesdale, despite being able to describe the signpost on their path (‘Horton 2 miles’) and provide a …
Male 12 yr old, fallen and twisted his knee on the steps to the side of Malham Cove, couldn’t bend or straighten it, the team splinted and stretchered him to a waiting CRO vehicle and transported him down into Malham, where the young lad was tran…
In this newsletter… Covid-19 and Caving Periodicals BCRA Science Symposium Cave Biology SIG Cave Studies Booklets 2021: International Year of Caves and Karst BCRA’s Facebook page British Cave Science Centre Research Fund Annual General Meeting For news and information, go to… Facebook Our Calendar Our News Forum UKcaving Covid-19 and Caving It seems that…
A Three Peaks walker (m, 56) collapsed on the path to Pen y ghent, above Brackenbottom Scar. Although he seemed still to be confused, three other walkers – all nurses – abandoned their own walk and assisted him back down to the road and han…
A walker (f, 68) took a fall, high on the path from the summit of Whernside towards Bruntscar, sustaining an apparent head injury. By chance, an off-duty paramedic (also a member of a neighbouring mountain rescue team) was walking nearby and was able …
Here we go with our latest round-up of news and views from around the world. If you see anything you think we might have missed, do drop us a line. Many thanks to Herman de Swart for his continued support sending in links! Cave Art Ancient Origins: Ancient Cave Found in Egypt with Unique Predynastic…
A guidebook on Irish caves has won the prestigious Tratman Award for 2019. The Caves of Mid-West Ireland, edited by Graham Mullan on behalf of UBSS, was the unanimous choice of the judges for the award in memory of EK Tratman, an influential figure in British and Irish caving, who died in 1978. The SWCC…
Les Williams has resigned as BCA chair with immediate effect. Phil Rowsell has been co-opted into the role and joins Howard Jones as Treasurer and Russell Myers as acting Secretary on the BCA Executive. Les has worked with both BCA and its predecessor NCA in a variety of roles over a long period. He will,…
Gear manufacturers Petzl are warning cavers to check their ropes after two critical defects were found on a low-stretch kernmantle rope. A customer unpacking new Petzl AXIS 11mm ropes found a deep cut in a rope manufactured in June 2019 and a 2.1m scrap of rope found taped to one end of a rope made…
The Ghar Parau Foundation is on the lookout for a new secretary to take over from Phil Rowsell. Nick Williams, the interim acting secretary, said: “After many years of excellent and dedicated service, Phil Rowsell has decided to stop down. “As most cavers know, the foundation has been responsible for sponsoring many international expeditions over…
As lockdown eases and caving resumes in most places, don’t forget that you can still take a break from the mad scramble to get back to your favourite dig and relax with your tipple of choice and a copy of Descent magazine. Our friends at Wildplaces Publishing have worked as hard as ever to bring…
A walker (f, 59) slipped on wet limestone, at the edge of Malham Beck, at the foot of the Cove, sustaining a suspected mid-shaft fracture of her left femur. YAS paramedics administered pain relief, then immobilised the limb and CRO members stretchered …
A visitor (m) was reported to be ‘fallen and injured at top of waterfall at Malham Tarn’. It was further reported that he had gone for a walk on his own and was missing for a couple of hours before family members found him. There was no rep…
A walker (m) was reported to have fallen, sustaining a suspected head injury, in the Watlowes (‘Dry Valley’), above Malham Cove. The YAS paramedics on the air ambulance, arriving first, assessed the patient and began walking him up the step…
BCA have issued a new coronavirus update for cavers: BCA notes that travel restrictions across England, Scotland and Wales will, by the 6th July be removed. It is also noted that the various governments have introduced different limits on the numbers of people who may congregate as a ‘gathering’. BCA now considers that the risk…
One of the oldest and largest cave rescue teams in the country has put out an urgent plea for fundraising help to modernise important kit. Several of the South & Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team members played important parts in the Thai cave rescue and the team has helped in mining disasters, searched for missing persons and…
A report was received of a sheep ‘stuck down a hole . . to the right of Pillar Holes’ on Newby Moss, Ingleborough. Four members, including two new members, carried out the rescue as a training exercise during the evening, rescuing the sh…
Naughty boys, grand follies, an underground control centre for a railway and a Quaker congregation falling through the floor into the cellar … Peter Burgess gets to explore Dorking below the surface in a book that went underground in his own house for a while! It is with some embarrassment that I am finally writing…
The British Caving Association (BCA) and the Speleological Union of Ireland (SUI) have issued more advice about how to make a safe return to caving. BCA secretary Russell Myers has sent the following: BCA notes that both the Scottish and Welsh governments have indicated a possible relaxation of their 5 mile local travel restriction scheduled…
A visitor (f) rang 999 for YAS, following a fall and sustaining an ankle injury ‘between Baxengill and Snow Falls, at the viewing bridge’ on the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail. With no response to a PhoneFind message, team members set off to mee…
YAS requested assistance when their ambulance paramedics were unable to locate a visitor (f, 20), reported, by a friend, to be having a panic attack on the outward leg of the Waterfalls Trail. With the location still uncertain, team members divided up …
A report was received that there was a sheep trapped in a pot-hole in the Long Kin West area of Ingleborough. A small team located and rescued it, noting that it was soon grazing again. Volunteer hours: 12
YAS requested assistance when their ambulance paramedics were unable to locate a visitor (f, 55), reported to have been taken ill on the return leg of the Waterfalls Trail. She was found, a little way downstream of the Snow Falls footbridge, assessed b…
A report was received that there was a sheep in Hull Pot. A rapid search revealed only a recently deceased lamb. Volunteer hours: 2
In the UK, the British Caving Association (BCA) has issued clubs with some guidance on cleaning tackle. As yet it’s not known how – if at all – the latest easing in lockdown restrictions affects caving or whether this is still classed as a ‘non-essential’ activity. Keep an eye on the BCA website for the…
A spaniel dog fell the 12m into Hull Pot (Described by the caller as “100′ “.) and could be seen moving on the floor of the open Pot. A small team attended and cared for the dog, before hauling it out on a Bell stretcher. The owner an…
North Yorkshire Police advised of a Three Peaks walker (m, 22) who said he was lost but uninjured, after ascending the third peak. Six minutes later, Yorkshire Ambulance Service reported a 999 call from the same number, requesting assistance for someon…
Descent 274 has now arrived! This is the second copy to appear since lockdown so as can be imagined recent exploration doesn’t figure highly but nevertheless Chris and Judith have put together a readable and informative issue. Newsdesk has had to go to Mars to speculate on new cave discoveries – otherwise it is largely…
Members had just returned from incident no 20 when YAS asked for assistance again, after a walker (m, 82), out with his wife and two terriers, was seriously injured by cattle near the bridge over Winterscales Beck. When the first CRO members arrived, p…
Following the recent resignation of Matt Ewles as Secretary of the British Caving Association, we are very pleased to inform our readers that a keen interim replacement has stepped forward and has asked us to introduce him. Matt has received much praise for his efforts recently to introduce changes to the BCA, and will be…
