November North Wales Slate Mines Weekend

Our weekend trips are social, fun adventures where we all stay together, usually in a caving hut.

The typical format is:

• Arrive Friday evening and get settled in
• Saturday morning: plan the day’s caving over breakfast
• Saturday: Go caving in small groups based on interests and abilities
• Saturday evening: Share a meal together and plan Sunday’s activities
• Sunday: More caving!
• Sunday afternoon: Pack up and head home

The atmosphere is relaxed, friendly, and supportive throughout.

We don’t pre-determine specific caves before the weekend. Instead, we decide together based on:

• The skills and preferences of everyone who’s signed up
• Current weather conditions
• Local cave access arrangements
• Available transport and equipment

The beautiful thing about our weekend trips is the flexibility to choose the perfect caves for the group once we’re there. We typically have multiple groups going to different caves to accommodate various experience levels.

We’ll do our best to accommodate trips for everyone who signs up. If you don’t sign up, we definitely won’t try to accommodate you – but if you are coming, we’ll do all we can to find options that work for the entire group including you.

Our weekend trips typically have multiple caving groups going to different locations based on experience levels, interests, and abilities.

Be sure to note your experience level and any preferences when you sign up so we can plan accordingly.

We’d prefer to have caved with you before or at least know you in some way before you join a weekend trip.

If possible, we recommend joining one of our extra-welcoming trips first to get a sense of our group and whether you’ll enjoy caving with us.

If that’s not possible but you’re keen to join, please get in touch and we can discuss options.

Not at all! We’re keen for everyone to feel comfortable in our group.

We pair people new to Caving Crew trips with an experienced “buddy” who helps them find their feet and answers any questions.

Everyone is extremely welcoming, and you’re likely to make firm friends very quickly. Many of our closest friendships began on these weekend trips!

Absolutely! While we can’t guarantee transport for everyone, we work together as a community to help people get to and from our trips.

When you sign up, let us know where you’re traveling from and that you need a lift. For those who can drive, please indicate if you can offer lifts and how many spaces you have.

We’ll do our best to connect drivers with those needing lifts based on locations. Different people bring different contributions to our trips – some provide transport, others help with cooking or organizing – it usually balances out in the end.

For lift sharing, we encourage lift givers and lift takers to have a conversation about sharing fuel costs. It’s up to you to work out something mutually agreeable, but most find this straightforward. As a rough guide, many people use a contribution of around 20-25p per mile.

The earlier you sign up, the better chance we have of arranging suitable transport for everyone.

We typically stay in caving huts with bunk rooms.

We don’t segregate sleeping arrangements based on perceived differences – simply put your sleeping bag on a bunk to reserve that as your place to sleep.

Some huts have a mix of smaller and larger bunk rooms, but most are dormitory-style accommodation.

Yes, food is provided for most of the weekend:

• Breakfast will be provided each morning
• On Saturday, we’ll have a group meal cooked in the hut
• Food will NOT be provided on Friday evening or Sunday evening

We recommend bringing cave snacks and evening snacks for the times when meals aren’t provided.

We’ll recruit volunteer chefs and helpers for meal preparation and cleanup.

Tea, coffee, and milk will also be provided (though the coffee might only be instant – you might want to pack your cafetière!).

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

Yes! All dietary requirements and allergies will be catered for – vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, kosher, halal, food allergies, etc.

Please specify your dietary needs on the signup form so we can plan accordingly.

If you have complex requirements, we might reach out to discuss the best way to accommodate you.

Caving is often a perfect activity when the weather isn’t great above ground!

However, we always prepare contingency plans in case of truly challenging conditions (such as flooding). These might include:

• Visiting different, weather-resistant caves or mines
• Going for a scramble or walk
• Visiting indoor climbing facilities
• Exploring local museums or attractions
• Enjoying the local pubs

We’ll always find something fun to do regardless of the weather!

Primarily caving! That’s what brings us together.

There’s always the possibility of walks or other non-caving activities, but these are usually arranged spontaneously if weather affects our caving plans.

The evenings are spent socializing, planning the next day’s caving, sharing stories, and often playing games.

Absolutely! Part of the trip cost covers borrowing any equipment you may need, including:

• Light and helmet
• Oversuit
• SRT kit
• Ropes and technical equipment

We may also be able to lend a limited number of wellies and undersuits, though having your own is preferable if possible.

Just let us know what you need when you sign up.

SRT (Single Rope Technique) isn’t essential for our weekend trips. There are plenty of caves in most areas which don’t require rope work.

If you’re keen to try SRT caves:

• Beginners can do intro SRT trips with experienced cavers
• Those with some experience can practice their skills
• More experienced cavers can tackle challenging pitch work

We’ll organize into groups based on SRT experience, with options for everyone.

This usually doesn’t work well for several reasons:

• Plans are made the night before, usually changing several times
• Morning departure times can shift with typical caving “faff”
• It’s difficult to coordinate meeting points without being at the accommodation
• You’ll miss the social aspect where the group really bonds

If you’re determined to come for just one day, you’d need to arrive at the accommodation very early (around 7am) and be prepared for uncertainty. Most people find the full weekend experience much more rewarding.

You’re very welcome to join for part of the weekend, but unfortunately we can’t offer a discount.

This is because most of our fixed costs (accommodation, food purchases, equipment transport) remain the same regardless of how long each person stays.

Everyone plays a part in making these weekends happen – that’s how we keep them affordable and build our community.

You can indicate your preferences for helping (cooking, washing up, organizing gear, etc.) on the signup form, and we’ll do our best to accommodate your choices, though this may not always be possible.

The tasks are generally light and shared among everyone, making for a real team atmosphere.

We’re a BCA-affiliated club of supportive, friendly people who enjoy encouraging each other to cave and eat cake – sometimes simultaneously!

We foster an open, inclusive, and accepting atmosphere for all members, whatever their ability or ambition.

Our focus is on creating a positive community where people can develop their caving skills in a supportive environment.

No. The Caving Crew is fully run by volunteers. No one is paid for sharing their caving and rope skills with the group.

Nobody is using or assumed to be trained to professional qualifications unless they explicitly tell you otherwise in writing.

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.”

As a community organization, we need to generate income to cover our overheads and invest back into the group for everyone’s benefit.

We add 10-30% to the cost of each event to fund equipment purchases, tackle maintenance, and subsidized training opportunities.

All funds go directly into improving the Caving Crew’s resources and opportunities for members.

We understand plans sometimes change. Our full cancellation policy can be found at our Cancellation Policy page.

In general, earlier cancellations receive more substantial refunds, while last-minute cancellations may not qualify for refunds as we’ve already committed to costs.

Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to cancel.

We’re happy to help! You can reach us through Facebook Messenger or through our contact page.

The trip organizer’s contact details will also be shared when you sign up.

You will need to bring a sleeping bag, pillow (optional but recommended), any caving kit you own, alcohol, snacks, and several changes of underwear as whatever you wear caving will get wet and dirty.

Part of the cost includes hiring use of the special equipment you’ll use. 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
• Wellies

We’ll also be carrying the appropriate group equipment.

Arrive at the hut, drink, be merry. Look up the weather forecast and make plans for Saturday.

Plans are always dependent on weather and hangovers, but Saturday is typically when we’ll head out for a longer caving trip. SRT training, trawling the local cafes and cheese shops, and general aboveground activities are also options.

Sunday typically involves waking up, having breakfast and cleaning the hut. Typically we’ll run a shorter Sunday trip once the hut has been cleaned, then part ways and head home.