Hi all,

Our second trip of the year is coming up in two weeks! You do not need to have been to rope training at all to come on this trip.

When: Friday 28/10/2022 at 17:00 to Sunday 30/10/2022 at 23:45

Where: South Wales

Membership: you need membership to join weekend trips (£30.00) (membership lasts the entire year)

Price:  Capped at £45 however if this is your first trip with us, the membership fee will be subtracted from the trip cost, making it £15 for the entire weekend. More details regarding where to buy the tickets will be sent out once your place is confirmed.

Please only buy the trip fee once your spot on this trip has been confirmed. We aim to confirm spots by the end of this week and an email with more details will be sent out then. 

Sign up: You must read and understand the statement below before signing up: Please reply to this email if you would like to come! Spots will be given on a first-come-first-served basis. Please tell us your full name, any dietary requirements, any medical conditions, an emergency contact number for your next of kin and anything else you think we need to know over the course of the weekend. If you came on the Wales 1 trip you are welcome to sign up, but priority will be given to novices who haven’t been on a trip before to let as many people try it out as possible.

“By signing up to this trip you understand that there is an inherent risk involved with the activity, and although the club takes every precaution possible to bring the danger its members are put in to as low as reasonably possible, it cannot take responsibility for accident or injury during the trip; ultimately you are responsible for your own health and wellbeing over the course of the weekend.”

(Members who have access to our accounts spreadsheet, please add your name there, no need to reply to this email.)

We will meet in stores on Tuesday (25/10) at 17:00 to pack kit. You do not need any equipment of your own, we will provide everything you could possibly need in a cave. A thermal base layer is beneficial in the winter though, if you happen to own thermals. Please also remember a sleeping bag for the hut – if you don’t have one, let us know on Tuesday and we can provide one. 

How the trip works:

We will set off in the minibus on Friday evening around 17:30 from outside Beit Halls and return there on Sunday evening around 23:30. COVID restrictions are very relaxed by now, so it is not a requirement to show a negative LFD test, however it is recommended that if you have symptoms resembling COVID you do a lateral flow test before leaving on Friday. We will stop at a supermarket somewhere on the way to buy all the food we need for the weekend and also for you to buy Friday's dinner as well as snacks or drinks. Saturday’s and Sunday’s meals will be cooked as a group at the hut, and the cost is included in the trip cost. Accommodation, transport and all equipment are also covered by the trip cost. On Saturday we'll usually wake up around 8:30, cook breakfast and plan our trips in an open discussion while we eat. We can have a fairly long caving trips on Saturdays for those who want it, but sometimes a few of us decide to have a nice day on the surface instead. We'll aim to get underground right after midday, lest we anger the gods. Trips can range from 3 to 8 hours, depending on the cave chosen and how people are feeling. Sunday will run much the same, only trips will be shorter since we need to drive back to London in the evening as well.

This trip we’ll be at the enormous SWCC , and since its basically Halloween we’ll do some pumpkin carving as usual - no-one’s allowed to roast me for my lack of artistic skill this time though. We’re likely to go into the caves Ogof Ffynnon Ddu and Cwm Dwr if anyone would like to have a look at those beforehand (not required at all). As usual, come find us at the pub or send us an email with any questions.

Our future trips dates are:

04/11-06/11:   Mendips 1 (bonfire night)

18/11-20/11: Yorkshire 1 (rope training required)

25/11-27/11: CHECC

16/12-23/12: Winter Tour - Yorkshire (rope training Required) 

Sign up emails for these will be sent out the Monday after the previous trip – it won’t be possible to reserve spots ahead of the sign up email.

Also: Pub every Tuesday (around 6pm at the union bar/568), and board game social 7pm this Thursday (7 Ashfield Road, W3 7JE). Tree (rope) training runs every Wednesday 1-5pm (but you can stay as long as you like) in Princes Gardens.

Yours till we get banned from OFD again,

Matti Mitropoulos

ICCC Committee