The 2023 JRat Digging Award presentation will take place in the Long Room of the Hunter’s Lodge Inn, Priddy, Somerset on Saturday 25th November. The evening will kick off at 7.30 pm and will include talks and presentations from Mendip digging teams before the presentation of the award to the winning team. The winning dig,…
After a long break, Hidden Earth will be held again this Autumn. Hidden Earth, the UK’s major caving event has been missing from the calendar since 2019 when it was held at Glyndwr University, in Wrexham. The 2020 event was cancelled owing to the plague then ravishing these shores and since then there have been…
The Mendip Cave Registry and archive (MCRA) is pleased to announce that the third volume of Somerset Underground will be officially launched at the Hunters’ Lodge Inn, Priddy, Somerset, on December 10th 2022, starting at around 7.30pm. This is the third in a series of impeccably researched guides written by Rob Taviner to the caves…
The 33rd BCRA Cave Science Symposium, hosted jointly with the Manchester Geological Association Symposium – Saturday 8th October, 2022 Field-trip – Sunday 9th October, 2022 Venue – Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Manchester First Circular and Call for Abstracts The British Cave Research Association (BCRA) and Manchester Geological Association (MGA) are pleased…
The BCA’s Youth and Development team have announced the availability of two grants of £500 to help groups of young cavers attend the 19th International Congress of Speleology being held this year in Savoie Mont Blanc, France. Applications are invited from groups of three or more young cavers who meet the following criteria: the groups…
The 2021 JRat Digging Award presentation will take place in the Long Room of the Hunter’s Lodge Inn on Saturday 20th November. The evening will kick off at 7.30 pm and will include talks and presentations from Mendip digging teams before the presentation of the award to the winning team. If anybody does win, that…
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…
, If you want to know why a couple of Aussie cavers have had two new species of cave spider named after them get your mitts on the new issue of Descent, which brings you caving news from around the world. Descent 280 should now have reached you by now, but if not, it’s time…
A BCRA field trip to the karst of the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty will be held on Saturday 17th July, led by Phil Murphy. The striking landscape around Arnside and Silverdale in north west England consists of a series of partially-wooded limestone hills (knolls) separated by areas of water-logged low-lying ground,…
The European Speleological Federation have just released their April 2021 newsletter including news about the 2021 International Year of Caves and Karst and much more. You can download the English version from their website or simply read it below. The French version can be downloaded from here. To navigate through all six pages, hover over…
The European Speleological Federation have just released their November 2020 newsletter including news about the 2021 International Year of Caves and Karst and the UIS Congress to be held in France in July 2021. You can download the English version from their website or simply read it below. The French version can be downloaded from…
Delegates from more than 30 countries came together virtually to take part in the 31st Cave Science Symposium of the British Cave Research Association on 14th November 2020. Peter Burgess reports from the comfort of his armchair … The meeting was arranged and hosted online jointly by Northumbria University and the British Geological Survey. Mike…
The BCRA Cave Science Symposium is being held by Zoom on Saturday 14th November. You can still register for free. BCRA Newsletter In this newsletter: Cave Science Symposium – how to register, Annual General Meeting – how to register, BCRA Review 2019 – now published. Cave Science Symposium Our annual cave science symposium will be…
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 Mendip Cave Registry and Archive (MCRA) are pleased to announce the launch of Volume 1 of ‘Somerset Underground’, at the Hunters’ Lodge Inn at 8 p.m. on Saturday 7th March. Costing a rock-bottom bargain price of just £10, Volume 1 comprises 275 pages and contains details of more than 750 natural caves, sea…
The BCRA’s 30th annual science symposium took place at Keyworth,hosted by the British Geological Survey. I attended the Saturday session and was impressed by the depth and variety of scientific work being undertaken by British cavers. The morning session kicked off with a description of palaeokarst features found in the Pielkhlieng Pouk-Krem Sakwa system in…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Making videos underground is becoming easier with very compact and versatile equipment within many cavers’ budgets, but making GOOD videos is still as much a challenge as it always was. Andy Freem has provided us with a summary of the entries into the video salon competition at Hidden Earth 2018, and most of them are…
Linda Wilson picked up some intriguing tips at the British Cave Research Association’s 29th cave science symposium as well as drinking plenty of tea … If you wanted to find out how to annoy our cross-channel neighbours, which caves you might want to avoid if spiders aren’t your thing and why you might soon be…
31st August 2018 is the tenth anniversary of Tony Jarratt’s death and we would like to calculate how much new cave passage has been found in Mendip and in Scotland in the past ten years. If you have found anything during the ten-year period from 31st August 2008 until 31st August 2018 (however small and insignificant…
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 Darkness Below team will be out in force at Hidden Earth 2018 in less than two weeks time, and we’d love to meet as many of you as possible and get your feedback on the site, and of course we may try and persuade you to help us with contributions in the future! Over…
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…
The Romanian Speleological Federation is organising the 12th Annual Balkan Cavers’ Camp which is being held between the 2nd to the 8th of July 2018. This year’s international meeting will include both the Romanian Speleological Congress and the “Speoarta” International Media Contest. The event is taking place in Baru Mare, in the Haţeg County in…
If you’re at a loose end from the 4th of April – 15th of April 2018, the Pod Raba Caving Club are organising an expedition to Kolkina Dupka cave, the deepest in Bulgaria, and one of the longest. The camp is located just outside of Zimevista village, some 50km away from Sofia, Bulgaria, and anyone…
To celebrate 50 years of pioneering British cave exploration and scientific research, renowned explorers of the subterranean world will come together to share their discoveries and experiences during 4 days at the Royal Geographical Society, London.
September 30th will see members of the Earby Pothole Club joining friends to raise money for the Preston based Specialist Mobility Rehabilation Centre (SMRC) in a ride that starts in Preston, stopping overnight in Clapham in Yorkshire before returning the following day. SMRC is part of Lancashire NHS and donations will go to a trust…
The Hellenic Federation of Speleology has invited all cavers to join them in the 11th Balkan Caving Camp. The event is being held from August 28th to September 3rd 2017 in Leonidio in the Peloponnese in Greece and is being organized by the Hellenic Federation of Speleology together with the Balkan Speleological Union. The registration…
The Grand Project – The Pont d’Arc Cavern – Syndicat Mixte is pleased to announce that the 1st Symposium “To know and share caves and karst – Understanding, conservation and geotourism” will be held in Ardèche (South of France) from March 6 – 9th, 2018. Caves and karst are specific ecosystems that represent important environmental…
The finale of Mendip Rocks! 2016, which has been celebrating the 450 million year history of the Mendip Hills is taking place at Wells Museum on Saturday 29th October 9.30am – 4pm – “Underground and Overground in the Mendip Hills” Come along and enjoy a day of lectures and lunch, Morning 09.30 am Coffee &…
This year the MCR will be 80 years old, and to celebrate they are having a party, to be held in Priddy Village Hall on Saturday the 19th November. The annual J-Rat Digging Award will be held on the same evening. All cavers will be very welcome to come along and help them celebrate! A…
We’re just a month away from the start of the EuroSpeleo 2016 event, “Caves and Caving in the Mendip Hills”, and we’re really looking forward to welcoming delegates/cavers on 6th August at the Open Day at the Wessex Cave Club, Priddy, Somerset. We’ve added a simple schedule of events, featured caves, local info and more…
The latest edition of the British Caving Association’s Newsletter for July 2016 is now available. The contents include: a message from the Chairman, Andy Eavis, about the recent AGM which has information on the newly appointed officers and other council members; details of Council meetings for the rest of the year and information on some…
27th British Cave Research Association Cave Science Symposium, Saturday 22nd October, 2016 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford Call for Abstracts The response to the first call for abstracts has been very positive and it already looks like we will have a fascinating collection of talks on archaeology, biospeleology and hydrology. We still welcome…
This year’s Irish Student Caving Forum is being hosted by the Dublin City University Caving Club in Kiltyclogher, Co. Leitrim on the 25th – 28th March 2016. The ticket cost is €50 per person. Accommodation is available in the Community Centre Kiltyclogher There’s a Facebook page for the event here. In addition the forum are looking…
As part of the Wilderness Lectures series, cave scientist Gina Moseley talks about a ground-breaking expedition to the caves of North East Greenland. The talk is being held in Bristol on 17 February at 7.30pm. For further details, visit The Wilderness Lectures site here. Thanks to Dick Willis for providing these details.
The latest edition of the Cambrian Caving Council Newsletter for January 2016 is now available. The Newsletter contains reports from all over Wales, including a report on the finds at Ogof Marris (described here by Darkness UK), details of the permit system for access to the Castlemartin Range for new exploration, an account of the…
Mendip clubs are highly competitive but also very sociable – a winning combination for having a great time! As an example of this, on the 12th March 2016 The Wessex Cave Club will be hosting a Ceilidh at Priddy Village Hall. The music will be provided by by The Back Room Bar Band (Band website) The…
The current Secretary of the British Caving Association, Damian Weare, will not be seeking re-election at this year’s AGM in June, due to other commitments. Those who have worked with Damian over the years will appreciate he will be a hard act to follow, having served UK cavers and caving clubs very efficiently for some time….
In what promises, along with Eurospeleo 2016, to be one of the biggest events of next year the 2016 National Speleological Society are holding their convention in Ely, Nevada from July 16th to July 23rd. If you’re wondering where to spend your summer holidays next year what better place to start? Quoting the NSS web site:…
Congratulations to the Soggy Bottom Digging Team for their magnificent effort in Home Close Hole during the past year. They are worthy winners of the 7th Annual J-Rat digging award, for the most cave found – and surveyed – in the last year in Somerset or in Scotland. Their finds for the year totalled 309.21…
Eurospeleo are tempting us to the Dales next year with Gavin Newman’s film titled Eurospeleo’1. Does the “1” in the title suggest more films may follow? Let’s hope so!
From 13-20 August 2016 the European Speleological Federation meeting (‘Eurospeleo’) is coming to the Yorkshire Dales. The event is being jointly organised by BCA and the Hidden Earth team and, as it will be everything that is normally Hidden Earth but on a much bigger scale, it will replace next year’s Hidden Earth. Planning has…
