Bagshawe Extra Welcoming Giggletrip

Whilst we can’t gurantee success, we’re happy to help you try get there through a combination of lifts and public transport!

When you sign up, we’ll ask where you’re traveling from and whether you need or can offer a lift.

It helps if you can make your way to central Manchester or train stations like Chapel-en-le-Frith, Glossop, Hope, or Buxton – from these places, we can almost always arrange the final part of your journey.

If you’re unsure, just sign up! We can only arrange transport once we know you’re coming.

We encourage lift-givers and lift-takers to have a friendly conversation about sharing fuel costs between themselves.

• We arrive at the cave meeting point (often at slightly different times)
• Everyone gets kitted up, we give a safety briefing, then we explore the cave together
• We chat, laugh, and enjoy the adventure
• Afterward, we often share picnics and stories

The Messenger group chat is available before and during the trip to answer any questions. Don’t forget to bring a snack, water, and your sense of adventure!

We understand things come up! Please let us know as soon as possible if you can’t make it – ideally before midday the day before the trip.

Last-minute cancellations might prevent others from joining, so please give us as much notice as you can.

The best way to tell us is by messaging us directly.

You can find our full cancellation policy here.

These trips take a team effort to run smoothly! While we have a core team of permanent volunteers, everyone chips in at some point.

For each trip, we have:

• A Cave Coordinator who leads the evening
• A Kit Coordinator who ensures everyone has the right equipment
• A Cave Reporter who shares highlights from the trip

The more you volunteer with us, the more opportunities we’ll send your way to develop your skills and be part of our community.

We visit a variety of caves, adapting trips to different experience levels. Some recent favorites include:

• Bagshawe Cavern (main, lower series, gated series)
• Carlswark Cavern (Big Dig Series, Dynamite Series, Tourist Series)
• Merlin Mine
• Nickergrove Mine
• Mouldridge Mine
• Wapping Cumberland Caverns
• Giants Hole (Upper West/Upper Sumps/Round Trip/East Canal/Boss Aven)
• P8 (many variations to the sump)

First-timers start with beginner-friendly caves, while we explore more challenging options with experienced cavers.

Not on Giggletrips. We keep things simple and fun for newcomers, focusing on horizontal caving and basic techniques.

For experienced cavers who’ve been with us before, we sometimes run trips that include SRT.

After you sign up, we’ll add you to a Facebook Messenger group where we’ll share the exact meeting location and you can ask any questions before the trip.

Our beginner trips are incredibly reliable – we’ve successfully run safe, fun adventures in all kinds of weather conditions!

We may adapt our route through the cave to accommodate different conditions, and we’re constantly monitoring safety, but trips are 99.95% likely to go ahead as planned.

We match people with the right level of challenge for their experience and comfort.

Caving ranges from challenging to very easy, and we cater to all abilities. Whether you’re on your first cave adventure or you’re an experienced caver, you’ll be welcomed and supported.

We create groups based on experience level whenever possible so everyone has a great time.

You don’t need any previous caving experience or special skills!

For fitness, you should be able to climb three flights of stairs at your own pace – there’s no rush at all.

If you have specific concerns about fitness or mobility, just mention this when you sign up, and we’ll find a suitable option for you.

Experienced cavers are also welcome – drop us a message if you’d like to join our community.

These trips are primarily social caving adventures rather than formal training sessions.

You’ll naturally pick up basic caving techniques as you go, and our experienced cavers are always happy to share tips.

The more you volunteer with the Crew, the more training opportunities we’ll offer to support your caving journey.

Not at all! We provide all the essential equipment you’ll need, including helmets, lights, and oversuits.

Just bring yourself, clothes that can get muddy, and a positive attitude!

Absolutely! Cavers love cake!

Since we don’t usually take a break during caving, the best time to share treats is after we return to the cars. Just put the cakes/snacks in an obvious place and let everyone know.

Your fellow cavers will be very grateful and think you’re wonderful.

Pro tip: Don’t take cake into the cave unless you know the cave very well!

Photos & videos are a great way of remembering our adventures. People often take video and photos in accordance with our Photography and Video Policy.

No, this is an introductory trip for people keen to join our caving club – The Caving Crew. In practice, almost all our trips run with around 7 people in total, including leaders. After coming on this trip, you’ll be able to come on any of our other trips that you have the skills for.

Yes, to make sure you’re insured with 3rd party liability insurance, we’ll pass your name and some basic details to the British Caving Association. This is done in accordance with our privacy policy.

Yes, it’s here.

Yes! We welcome newcomers enthusiastically.

Just make sure they sign up through our website so we have all their details and can prepare properly for their first caving adventure.

If they’re over 18, absolutely!

Our events are specifically for adults (18+) in accordance with our policies.

Everyone needs to sign up individually through our website so everything is organized properly.

While we love dogs, caving trips aren’t ideal for our four-legged friends. We generally suggest leaving them at home or safely in your car during the caving portion of the trip.

We do our best to support cavers with diverse mobility and accessibility needs.

When you sign up, please note your specific requirements in the comments section.

If you’d like to discuss your needs before signing up, feel free to message us.

We’re continually improving our knowledge of different venues’ accessibility, and while we’re not perfect, we genuinely want to help everyone enjoy caving safely. In the past, we’ve successfully supported pregnant cavers and people with various requirements.

Our approach allows us to support more cavers of different skill levels and help people discover caves best suited to their abilities.

We can also visit a wider variety of caves, reduce our environmental impact through lift-sharing, and send small groups to caves nearest to them.

While our style isn’t for everyone, we’re fortunate to be in an area with many caving groups offering different approaches.

Membership isn’t required, but it significantly reduces the cost of this trip and all future trips!

Members also get priority booking for popular trips and other benefits throughout the year.

As a club, we add 10-30% to the base cost of each event to cover our overheads. Any surplus goes back into the club — maintaining and improving our safety-critical equipment (which is regularly inspected and recorded), paying cave access and trespass fees, and covering the cost of group gear.

After each trip, we send out feedback forms – and we genuinely read every response!

Your feedback directly shapes how we improve future trips, so please share your thoughts, whether they’re glowing reviews or constructive suggestions.

Even simple comments like “it was okay” can be surprisingly helpful as we plan future adventures.

The Caving Crew is entirely run by volunteers. No one is paid for sharing their caving knowledge and skills with the group — in fact, our trip leaders pay their own trip fees just like everyone else. This is set out in our constitution: no member may accept payment for sharing skills within the club.

We’re enthusiasts helping other enthusiasts enjoy caving safely, not professional guides.

Everyone who joins our trips acknowledges “that caving, cave diving and mine exploration are activities with a danger of personal injury or death, and by taking part acknowledge they are aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement.”

Here’s what you should bring:

• Some warm older/less nice clothes to wear as a base layer underneath the caving-specific clothes we will provide. Some examples
  • Fleece jumpers
  • Leggings
  • Thermal base layers
  • Outdoorsy t-shirts

Avoid anything made from cotton or untreated wool (such as t-shirts or wooly jumpers); synthetic fabrics that keep their warmth when wet work best here. You will be provided with a thick fleece layer and a protective outer layer to wear over this, so if all you have is cotton you’re better going without.

• Change of socks/underwear/replacement clothing. Anything you wear into the cave will likely be too wet and dirty to wear afterwards in the car, so make sure you have spare clothes for the drive home.
• Wellies (we do have spares if necessary, but the sizes and stock are limited). These aren’t special wellies – £12 wellies from go-outdoors or sparkling pink wellies with fur linings are great for caving.
• Towel
• Any important medicines you take
• Contact lenses or string for your glasses.
• A full sealed snack you enjoy eating (eg a mars bar)

What will I be borrowing?

If you don’t already have them:

• Caving Oversuit to go over your undersuit
• Caving Undersuit to go underneath your oversuit
• Caving Helmet with Caving Headtorch and fully charged Batteries
• Gloves
• Kneepads
• Wellies
• SRT Kit

We’ll also be carrying the appropriate group equipment.

This is what we’d expect from experienced cavers:

• Undersuit
• Oversuit
• Helmet + Light
• Wellies
• Kneepads
• Gloves

• At 12:00, signup will close and we will review the skills  everyone who has signed up.
• Before 7pm, you’ll receive a Facebook Messenger Message confirming the location you’re headed to.

• We arrive at the cave meeting point – often at slightly different times.
• We get kitted up and head to the cave
• We have a fun trip together

• The Cave Reporter will share a post from your cave about what happened