Bookings are now open for the National Association of Mining History Organisations (NAMHO) Conference 2017, to be based around Godstone, Surrey, UK over the weekend of 23-26th June 2017. A lively and exciting weekend of underground trips, lectures and social events, hosted by the Wealden Cave & Mine Society, in their 50th anniversary year, so…
Cheddar Gorge has now reopened to traffic – just days after the road was badly damaged by severe weather and flooding. The B3135 through the Gorge was first closed on Sunday afternoon when water, mud and rock began to pour off neighbouring land, turning the road into a river and making it unsafe for vehicles….
It had never really occurred to me that caving instruction could be so enjoyable and simple to arrange. In the summer of 2016, I attended a meeting of the Council of Southern Caving Clubs, to represent my club, the Wealden Cave and Mine Society. This is a very rare event for the club – the…
CSCC DigFest 2016 Ever fancied finding new cave? Now’s your chance. The diggers of Mendip will be opening their digs for you to visit and have a go. ◾ Digging ◾ Photography Workshop with Duncan Simey ◾ Digger’s Question Time ◾ Wessex Challenge (hosted by the BEC) ◾ BBQ ◾ Stomp Friday June 3rd…
In January, Darkness Below reported that work had started on a new dig called Tankard Shaft, an undocumented mine shaft, tantalisingly close to Tankard Hole, itself a promising dig abandoned in the 1950’s. The dig team is happy to report that after a significant amount of shaft stabilisation work, they have broken into a complex series…
Since the completion of the show-cave tunnel to Chamber 20 in Wookey, last year, a number of groups have been digging and exploring in various nooks and crannies that had never been properly pushed by the divers. This work has now borne its first fruits with the discovery of an overland (dry) route to Edmund’s…
An enthusiastic team of cavers, has been given permission to investigate a mine shaft that opened up in a field just east of the Hunters’ Lodge Inn, Priddy. This shaft is quite close to Tankard Hole, which was last investigated in the 1950s. The old dig was in a very large shakehole, and it reached…
We reported in November that St. Cuthbert’s Swallet, on Mendip had been closed due to instability in the entrance series Happily we can now report that the necessary remedial work has taken place and that the cave has now been reopened by the BEC. However, Hannah Bennett, the BEC’s Caving Secretary notes that: “… water…
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…
Correspondent: Nick Harding. Axbridge Caving Group have broken into the long lost Upper Canada Cave in Hutton, near Western-super-Mare. The discovery of Upper Canada Cave came about during the quest for the lost cave of Hutton visited by Alexander Catcott in the 18th century. The discovery of masses of bones helped Catcott with his book “A Treatise…
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…
Four years after the rock falls that not only radically altered the 3rd pitch but also blocked the way on to the 4th and 5th pitches and the bottom of the cave, Rhino Rift has now been completely reopened. Chris Binding and Andrew Atkinson, who had previously re-bolted the damaged pitches have now cleared the…
Due to instability in the entrance series St Cuthbert’s has been closed until work to fix the problem has been carried out. The BEC committee have taken the decision, which they say they have not taken lightly. It is envisaged that the cave will be open again by Christmas. We’ll post more details as we get them….
