Descent is now 300 issues old. Founded in January 1969, it has outlasted the Beatles, the Apollo moon missions and pre-decimal currency and is now as strong as ever, thanks to everyone who has supported the magazine along the way.

The publication date is 5 October, so subscribers will soon be enjoying the best writing and photography that the underground world has to offer. If you need to take out or renew a subscription, or buy individual copies, please visit the website:

Issue 300 includes a healthy dose of reports from the UK’s caving regions, including news of the discovery of a maze cave in the Yorkshire Dales that exceeds 7km in length, plus breaking news of a major find in the Forest of Dean – a seemingly endless natural cave passage 30m wide and 20m high, with much more still to be found. There are accounts of one hundred hours of solitude investigating the caves of an uninhabited Scottish island, a sporting adventure in a Sardinian cave used as a training ground for astronauts, and an international team’s expedition to Laos. The dramatic cover image is of the 11th deepest cave in the world – the 1,529m-deep Sistema Cheve in Mexico – taken by Polish photographer Kasia Biernacka.

There is also a report from the British Cave Rescue Conference, the results and judges’ comments for the Tratman Awards 2022 and 2023, news of extensive work in Ogof Agen Allwedd, finds in the North Pennines, a new entrance to Lancaster Hole, expedition reports from student clubs, an ongoing mine in the Peak District, work in Sludge Pit Hole, a Descent retrospective by former editor Chris Howes, an obituary for the great film-maker Sid Perou, a look at the legacy of Yorkshire cave pioneer Christopher Long, and the results of an underground fact competition judged by the writers of comedy panel show QI.

And there is a promise of some more great articles in the future for which there simply wasn’t room in the current issue!