Beginner Caving Day (Horizontal)

YOUR BEGINNER CAVING DAY

9:30 - 16:30

Get ready to have a great adventure exploring the underground environment of the Peak District.

ARRIVE AT THE ADVENTURE HUB
Your instructor will welcome you and discuss the aims of the course and you own aspirations over a great cup of fresh Italian coffee or tea.

COLLECT AND CHECK YOUR EQUIPMENT
You will be provided with an over suit, wellington boots, helmet, knee pads and lighting. All you need do is check your food and drink for the day and pack a change of clothes and your towel.

TRAVEL TO CAVING VENUE
The exact location will depend on the weather and the aims and abilities of the group. Typically this is a 15 minute drive from the Adventure Hub. Some Peak District caves charge a modest trespass fee of up £3 payable at the venue.

PRACTICAL CAVING SESSION
Once kitted up and ready to head underground, your instructor will brief you on general caving safety and the specifics of each cave visited. Underground, you'll learn about cave formation and development; safe, efficient movement skills and try your hand at navigating using a cave survey.

BACK TO THE ADVENTURE HUB
Once back on the surface and in fresh socks we will return to the Adventure Hub. Over coffee we'll review the key learning points from the day’s adventure.

We provide the over-suit, boots, knee pads, harness, helmet and head torch.... you bring the rest!

Please bring some spare change as some of the caves we use require a trespass fee of approximately £3 per person which is not included in the price. Bring a change of clothes and a towel in case you get soaked! As you can probably imagine Caves and Mines can be hostile environments, with an average temperature of 10 degrees celsius all year and often wet. To protect ourselves from this and help us enjoy the experience underground each person will need to provide themselves with the following minimal personal clothing, to be worn underneath the specialist caving equipment:

One or two warm/fleece tops
Synthetic (non cotton) trouser - Synthetic track suit bottoms / thermals will suffice
Warm base layer
Thick warm socks
Warm hat

Please do not wear cotton tops or bottoms (inc jeans) as the material stays cold and heavy when wet. Don't forget you'll also need a change of clothes and possibly a towel after the session.

A reasonable level of fitness to keep you going for a day underground.

• Our well-equipped training centre, The Adventure Hub, is Carbon Neutral.
• We encourage car sharing wherever feasible.
• We encourage the use of public transport on all our courses. Bamford Railway Station is 5 minutes' walk and we enjoy direct bus connections to Sheffield and nearby villages.
• We offer free camping kit for guests staying locally and looking to cut down on luggage.
• Our staff are trained to prolong the life of equipment used on this course, where it is possible to recycle equipment at the end of its life, we do so appropriately.
• We operate in small teams at low ratios to reduce our impact on the venues we use and other countryside users.

• The physical and mental benefits of outdoor activities are numerous and well documented, we firmly believe that those benefits should be available to as many people as possible.

• If you are interested in experiencing any of our activities but feel unable to do so then please contact us to discuss your specific needs, we will always try to find a solution that works for you.

• There are a range of simple adaptions we can make to our scheduled courses such as choosing venues with minimal walking or easy access to toilet facilities, providing cold storage facilities for temperature sensitive medications, allowing additional time or arranging for participants to be accompanied by a trusted aide.

• When participation as part of an open group isn't appropriate we can arrange private tuition. This allows for a more tailored approach and a much wider range of adaptions such as assisted climbing and abseiling techniques for participants with significant physical or mobility issues.

• If private tuition is unaffordable then we can sometimes offer subsidised places to bring the price back in line with our scheduled courses .These are provided by the Pure Outdoor Foundation whose goal is to bring as many people as possible into the outdoors, please enquire about availability.

• Clear communication before the activity is crucial so, as well as telephone and email conversations, we can also arrange to meet participants directly at a venue days or weeks beforehand to identify any specific barriers and begin addressing any anxieties.