Thrill-seekers with a visual impairment are to get the chance to go underground in a ‘try-caving’ event in one of Irelands’s most spectacular underground-exploration regions – the Burren in Co. Clare. The Speleological Union of Ireland (SUI), in association with Vision Sport Ireland (VSI), CARA – Sport Inclusion Ireland, Clare Local Sport Partnership and the…
Irish cavers have cleaned up, thanks to a grant from the Geological Survey of Ireland – and may also have found new access points to a cave. The Speleological Union of Ireland (SUI) was awarded the cash to promote cave conservation, which allowed them to support the Student Forum with a conservation theme and organise…
The Annual General Meeting of the British Caving Association is being held in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales caving area this year – at the Village Hall in Chapel Lane, Horton in Ribblesdale. It will begin at 10:30am on Sunday 9 June. It can be expected to last around three hours. There will be…
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,…
An visitor (82, f) lost consciousness whilst going the through lower cave section past the steps. Paramedics from Yorkshire Ambulance Service entered the cave to commence casualty care. Team members then stretchered the casualty to the YAS ambulance at…
Council for Northern Caving Clubs (CNCC) has announced that parking will no longer be allowed at High Birkwith farm, meaning cavers will need to park further back down the road and access the caves on foot, although the landowners have no wish to restrict access to the caves and no permission is required For many…
Numerous reports from the US confirm that Josh Bratchley returned to the surface safe and well around 7pm local time last night after being trapped in Mill Pond Cave near Nashville in Tennessee for over 24 hours. Josh was part of five-man team exploring the cave when he failed to return to the surface on…
In this newsletter… BCRA Field meeting. Saturday/Sunday 29/30 June 2019 in Alston, Cumbria This weekend field meeting is entitled “Hypogenic Caves of the North Pennines UNESCO Global Geopark”. This is a joint meeting of the British Cave Research Association (BCRA) and The North Pennines UNESCO Global Geopark (NPUGG). It will be based at Nenthead Village…
Descent 267 is now available! If a copy hasn’t arrived with you, it’s time to head over to Wild Places Publishing to subscribe now or if you’re lucky enough to have a caving shop anywhere near you, call in and get a one from them. Descent is the best way to stay in touch with…
An international team, led by an archaeologist from the University of Southampton and the University of Bordeaux, has revealed the first example of Palaeolithic figurative cave art found in the Balkan Peninsula. Dr Aitor Ruiz-Redondo worked with researchers from the universities of Cantabria (Spain), Newfoundland (Canada), Zagreb (Croatia) and the Archaeological Museum of Istria (Croatia)…
Yorkshire Ambulance Service asked for assistance, following receipt of a 999 call saying that a walker had fallen and had been feeling dizzy, on the path from Gordale Bridge over to Malham Cove. When the CRO duty controller called the Emergency Operati…
Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation are this week celebrating after receiving more than £30,000-worth of life-saving gas detection equipment donated by Honeywell Analytics. The equipment, including four and five gas personal monitors and calibration equipment, was donated when DCRO’s equipment officer, Pete Dell, contacted them trying to source replacement sensors for their old equipment and the…
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,…
A one-day British Cave Research Association field meeting will be held at the British Cave Monitoring Centre, Poole’s Cavern and Buxton Country Park on Saturday 27 April. The event is courtesy of the Buxton Civic Association, who own the site. It will be led by Professor John Gunn and Dr Andi Smith, with assistance from…
Two Three Peaks walkers (m, 21; f, 21) became detached from a much larger sponsored walk group and, without a map, took the wrong route off Ingleborough. Before the daylight was lost completely, they phoned North Yorkshire Police, who contacted CRO. Th…
Yorkshire Ambulance Service received a call, saying that a walker (m, 45) was fitting ‘on top of Pen y ghent’. YAS deployed both road and air ambulances, calling CRO as an added precaution. From home, the duty controller could see that the …
While trying to take a photograph from the top of a limestone outcrop, on the path from Brackenbottom to Pen y ghent, a walker (m, 13) fell on to rocks, below, sustaining chest injuries (t.b.c.). After attention from a YAS paramedic, it was agreed that…
A Three Peaks walker (m, 45?) rang an acquaintance in Horton, to say that he had taken a fall while descending from Ingleborough and was bleeding significantly from a head-wound. The acquaintance rang Yorkshire Ambulance Service, whose dispatcher, unab…
Alan Jeffreys enjoys a caving classic even if he doesn’t entirely approve of the author’s somewhat cavalier attitude to risk … Ernest Baker was well known in his day as an indefatigable climber, rambler and caver, whose activities embraced Alpine ascents as well as many cave explorations in Britain and Ireland. As a teacher of…
Descent 267 will be with you very shortly! If you’re not up to date with your subscription don’t forget that the lovely folks at Wildplaces Publishing will be only too happy to welcome you back into the fold. And if you’re new to caving, Descent will provide you with news, photos and the best possible…
A climber (m, 55) suffered a medical event, fell from the crux of his climb and was left suspended, semi-conscious, in his harness on a narrow ledge. CRO members were able to lower him off so that YAS paramedics could make a preliminary examination. He…
Two cavers were reported to be ‘trapped’, two hours after entering Roaring Hole, near Southerscales, Ingleton. Ten minutes later they were reported to be on the surface and walking back down to Chapel le Dale, so no further action was requ…
Kate Mosse is better known for Labyrinth and other books, but Alan Jeffreys recommends taking a look at her novella, The Cave, set in the Pyrenees Quick Reads, as outlined on the publisher’s promotional blurb, are ‘bite-sized books by bestselling writers … for people who want a short, fast-paced read.’ Novellas by authors as diverse…
A large concentration of ritual protection marks have been discovered in caves in Creswell Crags, a limestone gorge on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border. Darkness Below editor Linda Wilson visited the site with researcher and archaeologist Alison Fearn and gives an account of the find. On Sunday 21st October 2018, cavers Hayley Clark and Ed Waters of…
It’s birthday cake plus cheese and pineapple on sticks all round this issue as Descent 266 celebrates 50 years in print. And it’s a visually stunning issue to mark the special anniversary. Caving hut clubs and student bedrooms are likely to be decorated with the gorgeous double-sided poster that’s the free gift with this issue…
BCA Newsletter no 37 for January 2019 is now available. Editor David Rose has produced a bumper issue starting with a few words from him as well as from BCA chair, Les Williams, who recently represented the BCA at a reception in London in the Speaker’s residence in the Houses of Parliament to honour the…
In his quest for vintage caving books, Alan Jeffreys has delved into his bookshelves again, and has come up with a northern classic from the early 1960s … Following the publication of‘Underground Adventure in 1952 there was something of a hiatus in northern cave literature. Specialist titles from various clubs and societies kept cavers informed…
Thanks to Gina Moseley we have some more dates on speleothems sampled from Hallowe’en Rift. 230TH Age (yr BP) Corrected HR1-T 215,221 +/- 2476 HR1-B 219,378 +/- 2429 correlates with MIS7 HR2-T 125,341 +/- 1532 HR2-B 126,834 +/- 2197 correlates with…
Students interested in undertaking a cave-related dissertation will get the chance to talk to experts on in-cave monitoring next month. The BCRA (British Cave Research Association), in conjunction with CHECC (Council of Higher Education Caving Clubs), are holding a workshop on in-cave monitoring on 16th February 2019 at the British Cave Monitoring Centre, Poole’s Cavern,…
Descent 266 will be with you very shortly! If you’re not up to date with your subscription don’t forget that the lovely folks at Wildplaces Publishing will be only too happy to welcome you back into the fold. And if you’re new to caving, Descent will provide you with news, photos and the best…
Alan Jeffreys continues his look at classic caving books with a review of a classic text that captures the excitement of underground exploration in the 1930s and 1940s as war raged and some of those involved were fighting on a secret front. Occasionally a writer with deep spiritual affinity for his subject produces a work of almost lyrical…
As part of our ongoing series of reviews of classic caving books, Alan Jeffreys looks at the groundbreaking Pennine Underground. With the plethora of UK caving guides at present available, it is easy to see a pattern of presentation common to all which is now taken for granted. What is not generally appreciated, however, is…
In the final part of her report for Darkness Below, Rising Star Angharad Brewer Gillham looks back on her adventures underground in South Africa, and has advice for all would-be explorers – grab your chance when you can. I’m writing this on my way back to Switzerland and my day job, and a parcel of…
A walker (f 69) slipped and fell on the limestone pavement at the top of Malham Cove. Visibility was very poor due to low cloud and the pavement was extremely slippery. The casualty was located by CRO team members and treated for a suspected lower leg …
Third year PR students at UWE Bristol were asked to come up with ideas for raising the profile and diversity of the British Caving Association (BCA) in the wake of the Thai rescue. Darkness Below editor and UBSS member Linda Wilson reports back on the second week of presentations and is surprised to hear that…
The December 2018 issue of Caves and Karst Science is now available. Volume 45, Number 3 carries six articles. The first is a report on the distribution of deposits of cool freshwater tufa, which are ubiquitous on the calcareous island of Lismore in Loch Linnhe, Argyll. Tufa deposits are rare in Scotland but at this…
Mike Moore reviews a valuable addition to any mine explorer’s book collection. This new book is a detailed study of the lead, silver and zinc mines of the Cwm Rheidol and Ystumtuen orefield, covering the history of all 40 mines in the valley, with archaeological descriptions of the surface and underground workings, and is supported…
Honoured … Rick Stanton, Connor Roe and Chris Jewell (Photos by Linda Wilson) The British divers at the centre of the Thai cave rescue have been recognised in the New Year’s honours list. Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, who reached the stranded boys first, have both been awarded the George Medal, which is the second…
A walker (m, 52) reported himself (and dog) ‘lost in fog and pitch black’, near the Ingleborough summit shelter. He was escorted down to a team vehicle, near Crina Bottom, to be brought off the hill. Avoidable. Volunteer time: 17 hours
A walker (f, 46) slipped on mud, on the path from Lower Winskill down to Langcliffe, hearing a ‘snap’ as she injured an ankle. Having given her pain relief, team members put the patient into an insulated casualty bag then carried and sledge…
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 European Speleological Federation have just released their December 2018 newsletter including news of Hirlatzhohle extensions in Austria, new board appointsments, the 2018 Italian cavers meet which attracted 2490 cavers, next year’s 13th Eurospeleo Forum in Bulgaria and much more. You can download the English version from their website or simply read it below: Hint:…
Angharad Brewer Gillham found herself a world away from her comfortable desk job in Switzerland when she joined the Rising Stars expedition in South Africa’s Dinaledi Chamber. Here’s her second report from the excavation.
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…
Third year PR students at UWE Bristol were asked to come up with ideas for raising the profile and diversity of the BCA in the wake of the Thai rescue story. BCA newsletter editor David Rose reports back on the opening presentations.
If it looks like you’ll be restricted to armchair caving over the festive season, make sure you get the latest copy of Descent to keep you in touch with the underground world. And congratulations are due to editors Chris and Judith, as October marked 30 years since they started editing the publication, and 20 since…
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…
High Birkwith Farm is now under new ownership and potentially this could cause problems for access to Calf Holes, Browgill, Old Ing, Birkwith, Dismal Hill and other smaller caves in an area used quite heavily for novice trips by clubs and outdoor groups. One caver who has met the new owner explained that that he…
The Speleological Union of Ireland has warned of safety concerns after two trips into Cascades Caves in Co. Fermanagh were cancelled on Saturday. The boulder entrance squeeze is quite loose and there appears to have been movement in the soil above the entrance. A crack in the soil is visible. Scrape marks on a large rock in the…
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).
The tenth J’Rat digging award has gone north of the border – for the third time in ten years. The 2018 winning entry was Uamh nan Clachan Dubhan (the Cave of the Black Rock) in Sutherland, with a total surveyed length of 151.2m. It was handed over on Saturday 24th November at The Hunter’s Lodge which…
One moment Angharad Brewer Gillham was sitting behind a desk in Switzerland. The next, she’s in South Africa on the prestigious Rising Stars expedition helping to excavate the Dinaledi Chamber. Here’s her first report … There are times in your life where you find yourself wanting to question all your life choices, but you only…
Descent 265 will be winging its way to you very soon! If you’re not up to date with your subscription now’s the time to remedy that. The lovely folks at Wildplaces Publishing will be only too happy to welcome you back into the fold. And if you’re new to caving, Descent will provide you with…
As part of a new series on classic caving books, both fact and fiction, Linda Wilson reviews Styx, a 1982 adventure novel with a surprisingly up-to-date twist … Two Japanese geologists on a visit to the Yugoslavian karst stumble on the find of the century, a previously unknown cave containing a roof decorated with what…
The Ogof Draenen landowners have spoken for the first time following Cadw’s announcement of the closure of a controversial access into the cave system. The statement from Peter Jones and Brian Lewis of Pwlldu Conservation says: “From the outset it had been our wish that this hole, known as Twll Du, was closed permanently…
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.
As part of a new series on classic caving books, both fact and fiction, Alan Jeffreys takes a look at Underground Adventure by A Gemmell and JO Myers. Before the Second World War, the quantity of British caving books was minute: several volumes penned by Herbert Balch and Ernest Baker attempted to provide narratives to…
British cavers suddenly found themselves on the front pages of the world’s media through the Thai cave rescue drama. Journalist Sharon Wheeler takes a look at some of the issues raised by the coverage over the past few months. Summer is known in the media as the silly season for a good reason. Schools and…
Last night the latest BCA newsletter should have popped into your inbox, but the chances are it didn’t. Despite earlier appeals here and elsewhere only 8% of the BCA membership are currently signed up to receive the newsletter by email – some 520 members. The good news is caving clubs are doing rather better, with 170 so far signed up. If you didn’t receive it and would like to in future read on.
Darkness Below’s roving reporter Peter Burgess provides a flavour of the busy weekend at the 2018 Hidden Earth conference which boasted a wide range of lectures and a busy trade hall – and he even managed to almost stay within his budget! Opening It is the usual custom for the opening ceremony to conclude with…
