This area of the website is aimed at journalists and editors who have are trying to find out about the British Caving Association and Caving in general.
Media Contact: Russell Myers
About Caving
What is caving?
Put simply, caving is the recreational exploration of caves and potholes. A typical caving trip may involve climbing, abseiling, crawling, swimming and walking. Caves may vary hugely in size and shape – some caves in the UK have chambers large enough to fit a cathedral, whilst in other places cavers may need to crawl on their bellies.
Some caves may have an abundance on calcite ‘formations’ (stalactites, stalagmites etc.) while others have none. Caves can be dry or wet, clean or muddy, horizontal or vertical, with large waterfalls, streamways and lakes or dry, sandy ‘fossil’ passages and chambers.
Why do people go caving?
Caving gives people the opportunity to see things that few people have experienced. It is an exciting, challenging and rewarding pursuit which can be undertaken by anyone who is reasonably fit.
Some cavers may just choose to visit well- known caves while others want to discover places where no one has been before.
Caving is one of the only forms of original exploration left and more accessible than most, with caving areas in many parts of the UK. In addition, British cavers go on many expeditions worldwide to explore previously unknown caves.
For many, caving can become a lifelong pursuit, with people starting as sporting cavers and developing other interests such as exploration and digging, cave diving, research and cave science, photography, art, surveying and mapping, conservation, archaeology and historical research.
How can people get involved?
Training and safety are of paramount importance – what to wear, what equipment, lights, emergency procedures. In order to learn to cave safely people should get help from experienced cavers. The easiest way to do this is to join a caving club. There are many caving clubs in the country. Most of the big clubs are based in areas close to caves but there are also caving groups in many cities.
There are also organisations who offer cave training on a commercial basis and these can be found easily on the internet.
All the information on how best to get started can be found on the BCA’s ‘New to Caving’ website – newtocaving.com
More information
More information about caving and the BCA can be found on our about page, and specific information about cave conservation can be found on our conservation page.
Images for Press and Media
The BCA has put together a Flickr account where a number of excellent photographs can be found. These images can be viewed by journalists and editors but cannot be used without the express permission of the photographer. The purpose of this group is to provide a place for press and media to view possible images and contact the photographers to obtain the necessary permission.
The BCA Logo
BCA logos are available to use in several forms and formats. Please read the logo usage document before use. It is considered reasonable that the following people/groups may use BCA logos without specific permission:
- Member Clubs can use the ‘member club’ logo only as long as a fully paid up Group/Associate member.
- BCA Council Members and appointees only as part of BCA correspondence or agreed business.
All other use of the BCA logo must be approved by BCA Executive (contact )