There are regular club meets to suit all abilities, with something going on at least once a month. We have a number of ‘home meets’ based at Whitewalls, our club hut in Llangattock, plus a selection of ‘away meets’ to a variety of caving regions all around the country and sometimes abroad.

The calendar of events below shows club trips planned for 2024, and is updated throughout the year. Other trips also happen on an ad-hoc basis, so check out the members’ Facebook page and message board to see what else is going on.

Latest Trip Reports and Photos

January

26th-28th January – Annual Dinner and AGM

The Annual Dinner is now confirmed for Saturday 27th at The Bear in Crickhowell. There’ll be a variety of caving trips going on beforehand, including the traditional Annual Aggy Bat Count. The AGM will take place on Sunday morning at 11am.

February

23rd-25th February – Whitewalls Meet

Weather permitting; a trip to Dan yr Ogof is planned for the Saturday. This will include the classic round trip with an optional diversion to Dali’s Delight. A wetsuit/neofleece is recommended (but not essential) for the entrance lakes and Green Canal. An alternative caving trip will be arranged if conditions are too wet.

On Saturday evening members are invited to bring a bottle of fortified wine for sharing (Port, Madeira, Sherry, Marsala, Vermouth… and not forgetting British specialities like QC or Buckfast); though participation is not compulsory! Llanelly Quarry Pot is suggested for the Sunday, so bring your SRT kit if you’d like to do this by rope (or alternatively the pitch can be rigged with a ladder).

March

22nd-24th March – Mendip Meet

A weekend staying at the Shepton Mallet Caving Club hut in Priddy, which is conveniently close to many of Mendip’s fine cave systems and The Hunters’ Lodge Inn too. A short trip to St Cuthbert’s Swallet is on offer for early arrivals on the Friday evening. Saturday’s trips will include Upper Flood Swallet and GB Cavern and a Wookey 24 trip is scheduled for Sunday.

Numbers are limited for Cuthbert’s, Upper Flood and Wookey, so please contact Andy if you’d like to join these trips. Additional caving trips will be decided closer to the time.

April

19th-21st April – Whitewalls Weekend

A bit of a change from the usual trips on offer, we’re proposing a digging session in Midnight Passage (Spider Chamber), Aggy. There may be members who’ve not been digging before and fancy getting involved, or those who have been digging and just fancy a grovel somewhere different. Virgin passage not guaranteed!

A trip to Slaughter Stream Cave (Wet Sink) in the Forest of Dean has also been organised for the Saturday and other trips may also take place over the weekend.

May

30th April-5th May – Whitewalls with WKTJ Poznan

We have around 10 Polish cavers staying at Whitewalls from Tuesday to Sunday and a few club members have already agreed to act as guides to some of our local caves. If anyone else would like to help, please let the Meets Secretary know. Accommodation in Whitewalls will be limited, but camping is also available and who knows, maybe the Sunday School will be finished by the end of April.

June

6th-10th June – Yorkshire Meet

Four days of caving in the Yorkshire Dales, with accommodation at the YSS hut at Helwith Bridge booked for Thursday to Monday. Trips are yet to be decided, so all suggestions welcome. Contact the Meets Secretary if you’d like to come along.

24th-28th June – Whitewalls Working Week

With all the work going on in the Old Daren Sunday School, Whitewalls is starting to look a bit neglected. A working week is planned with a range of jobs from deep-cleaning to landscaping, general repairs to decorating. A list of jobs will be made available nearer the time. All are welcome to help for as much time as you can spare.

28th-30th June – Whitewalls Summer BBQ Weekend

The working week will end with annual Summer BBQ, with caving trips beforehand to work up an appetite. As usual BBQ accompaniments including buns, salad, spuds, and sauces will be provided (for a small fee). Just bring your own meat or veggie lumps to cook on the BBQ.

Sunday will also be a good time to finish the Eglwys Faen clean-up. This won’t require too many people, so we could also collect rubbish from other local caves (Pwll y Gwynt, for example).

July

August

2nd-4th August – Whitewalls Weekend

Otter Hole is booked for the Saturday. Numbers are limited so other trips will also be available.

24th August-1st September – Slovenia

Joe Duxbury is organising a week of caving in Slovenia and has booked the bunkhouse at the Speleo Camp, Laze, just SW of Ljubljana. As well as many interesting caves in the area there are the wonderful show caves of Postojna, Škocjanske and Križna Jama. The manager of the campsite has established a walk through the immediate area that takes in several caves. Wild proteus, or olm (an aquatic salamander), can be found in some of these caves. Anyone interested should contact Joe directly.

September

6th-8th September Portland Meet

A weekend of caving fun beside the seaside in Dorset. If you enjoy rifts and crawling on sharp stones you’ll love caving on Portland!

Hidden Earth Caving Conference

Date and venue are yet to be confirmed. See the official website https://hidden.earth for further details.

October

4th-6th October – North Wales Meet

Matt Chinner will be leading a trip to Britannia Copper Mine, which is not for the faint-hearted. This will be a big day out with lots of SRT plus a two hour walk-in up the Snowdon Pyg Track. Other trips for this meet are yet to be decided.

November

3rd-5th November – Bonfire Weekend at Whitewalls

There will be two trips running in OFD on the Saturday, to cater for all abilities. The annual bonfire party is planned for the Saturday evening with a huge bonfire to enjoy and members are asked to bring one big firework to add to the display. A feast of dinners and puddings will also be provided for a small fee.

December

6th-8th December – Whitewalls Curry Night

The ever-popular Annual Curry Night will take place on Saturday, with an evening of home-made curry dishes. Bring along your culinary delights to share, be it a pot of curry, a spicy side-dish or some tasty sundries. Caving trips for this weekend are yet to be decided.

January 2025

24th-26th January Annual Dinner and AGM Weekend

Venue TBC.

More trips may be added during the year, so check here and on the members’ ProBoards and Facebook groups for updates.

Archive

Club Events for 2023