We are a small, friendly club catering for all abilities from complete beginners who want to try caving; those who want to do more, through to experienced cavers.
If you are new to caving and want some more general information, there’s a great website here. This is promoted by the British Caving Association (BCA). CCCC is a member club of the BCA.
The cavers have a weekend club trip usually once a month to one of the caving areas around the UK: Derbyshire, Yorkshire, South Wales, the Wye Valley, the Mendips, and Devon. See the full list of this year’s meets. We typically leave Cambridge area after work on a Friday; returning Sunday evening.
In some years we organise an overseas trip.
The caves we visit vary from vertical potholes in Yorkshire to mainly horizontal caves in the other areas. Most people start with the horizontal caves and then move on to the vertical potholes, which require familiarity with single rope technique (SRT).
Accommodation, Travel, Food and Costs
We usually stay in local caving huts/cottages, which consist of bunkrooms (you will need a sleeping bag), showers and washing facilities, and communal kitchen. The cost for these huts is between £6 and £12 per person per night. While none of them offer hotel comfort; it is low-cost and functional. On most trips, a communal cooked breakfasts are prepared in the cottage plus meal(s) in the evening (normally a curry, chilli or some other similar food; vegetarians accommodated). The cost of food is shared between everyone on the trip (around £10 to £15 for the weekend) and everyone joins in with the food preparation and washing up. You will need to bring your own alcoholic drinks for the evenings, as some of the huts/cottages are not near pubs or shops. Travel is normally via car-share with the fuel costs shared – costs depend on numbers in the car. Typical cost of a weekend away is very cheap relative to other activities with two nights accommodation, food, travel, equipment, and other costs.
Equipment
Kit for caving is fairly simple: a furry undersuit, waterproof oversuit, wetsuit socks, lamp, helmet, belt and boots. We have a communal stock of average-sized clothes that beginners can borrow, as well as lights, helmets and belts/karabiners/SRT kits. However, you will need to bring your own wellingtons or similar boots (these will get wet and muddy so don’t bring your best walking boots!), a towel and dry clothes to change into when you leave the cave. If you decide to take the sport up seriously, you will need to buy your own kit – the newest members get priority for borrowing the club kit. Club members can advise you on the best places to purchase your own kit and approximate costs.
Safety
We operate as a club – not an instructional training facility. Beginners join experienced members and progressively learn through knowledge/skill sharing. There are no charges made (other than cost sharing) as we are not a formal training provider. Caving like other outdoor pursuits carries inherent risks. The BCA advice on risk is stated here.
Other activities of the club
The Cambridge Climbing and Caving Club, as the name implies, is a collection of both climbers and cavers. During the year, the two sections of the club meet for a number of social events, including an annual dinner meet, visits to the Cambridge beer festival and regular pub meets in the centre of town. In addition, any person joining the caving section can attend climbing meets (often in the mountainous regions of the UK) even if they are not climbers.
Finally…
Caving is a fun activity despite the serious points noted above. Laughter during and after a caving trip is normal for those who enjoy strenuous activity.
We hope you will join us.
If you want more details, please contact the Caving Secretary.
There’s some old links here, but some of them might be very outdated!