Descent 255 is on its way! Make sure your subscription is up to date so you don’t miss out on all the latest caving and mining news from around the regions!

The new issue will have a story on the HOG Assault, the tale of how the Peak District has given up yet another of its secrets with the rediscovery of Hall’s Old Grove, a mine with a challenge. The Mendips feature too, with Hobnail Hole, and a description of the perseverance needed to dig open Hobnail Hole and attempt to connect this with Thrupe Lane Swallet. Get your copy of Descent and find out if the team were successful!

Abroad, a new area of Malaysian karst has been researched for the first time and over one hundred recorded entrances now await proper examination.

On the science side of things, explanations of how caves form was once so simple … but modern research has moved the emphasis from geology to biology. In the first part of an important series of articles, Hazel Barton introduces us to the life found beneath the earth. And no, we don’t mean the type found in the magazine’s namesake film!

At home, the British Caving Association is facing several constitutional issues with respect to the campaign to see caving recognised as a right on open access land. Bob Mehew looks at the pros and cons in advance of the association’s AGM. Wherever you stand on this debate, take the time to read this article to inform your own vote, if it comes to that stage of the process.

In sad news, John Gunn bids farewell to another stalwart of the caving community, visionary researcher, Trevor Ford.

The latest competition draws to a close with some entertaining captions, and in the Write It Down slot, Pam Fogg recalls times with Farrell McGourty and the friendly welcome he offered to passing cavers. You can also take a step away from ‘normal’ urban exploration, into remote tunnels where you can imagine someone uttering the phrase: ‘My name is Bond …’

Come on, folks, have all this and more landing on your doorstep six times a year for only the price of a couple of pints of beer an issue. We’ll be bringing you a full report on the issue as soon as it hits our mat, but in the meantime, we hope the above is enough to whet your appetite and send you over to Wildplaces Publishing subscriptions page to ensure yours is up to date!