Descent Caving Magazine

06/08/2025

Check the Starless River calendar to see when the shop will next be near you: https://starlessriver.com/calendar

04/08/2025

A caver is always prepared to go underground, even on holidays!
Thank you to everyone who has purchased issue 305 so far and we just wanted to remind you that we are away on holidays/expedition, but we will post your copies as soon as we are back.
You can still buy it online (https://www.descentmagazine.co.uk/shop/descent-305-august-2025/) or at our fabulous stockists Starless River and Inglesport.

28/07/2025

Our August/September issue is published this Saturday, with eight extra pages and articles on the perseverance of cavers, expeditions to India and Laos, the tribulations of surveying and a photographic trip to mines in South West England, as well as the unmissable regional and international news of the last few months.
Subscribers and stockists will receive their copies soon. Individual issues can be ordered now from our website, but, as we are away on holidays/expedition, they won't be posted until the 19th of August. So, why not subscribe to receive your copy early next time?
The cover image is of Péter Juhász in Tywarnhayle Mine, Cornwall, by Dave Watts
https://www.descentmagazine.co.uk/shop/descent-305-august-2025/

26/07/2025

Two months to go. We hope to see you there!
Some of the confirmed lectures have already been announced. Check https://hidden.earth/lectures/ for more info.

17/07/2025

If you are not a subscriber, don’t forget to pre-order issue 305 by tonight if you want to receive it as soon as it is published.

https://www.descentmagazine.co.uk/shop/descent-305-august-2025/

Our August/September issue has a publication date of 2 August, and it is a special summer bumper issue full of stories of exploration and wonder from the underground world. In fact, with eight extra pages (in addition to the four extra pages we introduced as standard from issue 298), this could well be the biggest ever Descent.

As the team is going to be away on holiday at the time of publication, if you need to renew or take out a subscription make sure you do so before 17 July. Pre-orders are also now open for the issue, if you want to receive it on publication day. And remember, any orders received after 17 July will be posted at the end of August. Follow this link to order and see the contents: https://www.descentmagazine.co.uk/shop/descent-305-august-2025/

In the photo: Bartek Biela using bamboo stakes to traverse in Gandrak Kol, South Garo, India, by Andy Harp

14/07/2025

'It seemed we had reached a predicted but inevitably disappointing sump. However, with an aqueous investigation along the Canal a few days later we found a dramatic right-angled turn in the passage that led through a duck into another deep canal.'
In Descent 304, Andy Freem reports on the discovery and exploration of Ogof New Park on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales.
In the photo: Sarah Garlick in Ogof New Park's Canal, by Andy Freem.

https://www.descentmagazine.co.uk/shop/descent-304-june-2025/

09/07/2025

Our August/September issue has a publication date of 2 August, and it is a special summer bumper issue full of stories of exploration and wonder from the underground world. In fact, with eight extra pages (in addition to the four extra pages we introduced as standard from issue 298), this could well be the biggest ever Descent.

As the team is going to be away on holiday at the time of publication, if you need to renew or take out a subscription make sure you do so before 17 July. Pre-orders are also now open for the issue, if you want to receive it on publication day. And remember, any orders received after 17 July will be posted at the end of August. Follow this link to order and see the contents: https://www.descentmagazine.co.uk/shop/descent-305-august-2025/

In the photo: Bartek Biela using bamboo stakes to traverse in Gandrak Kol, South Garo, India, by Andy Harp

08/07/2025

📸 SpeleoFotoContest 2025 – Registrations Are Open!

Explore the underground beauty through your lens! 🦇📷 Join SpeleoFotoContest 2025 and showcase your best cave photography.

✨ Featured archive photo: "Fakr Teins"
📍 Author: Christian Roustan
📅 Edition: SFC 2023

🔗 Sign up now! Download the competition rules and complete your registration form here:
👉 https://www.speleofotocontest.com/en/sentry-award/registrations/

The registration page is in English, but it is also available in Italian and will soon be translated into Spanish!

Don’t miss this opportunity to share your vision of the underground world! 🌍✨

07/07/2025

'After five hours and 2m progress along the tube, we all decided this would be a 'goer' and worth persevering with. What followed was a digging frenzy of 20 sessions in a six-week window.'
In Descent 304, Dan Sandford writes about a surprising find in the Forest of Dean.
In the photo: Jon Maisey in Yat Grotto's Not Sandstone Series, by Paul Taylor.

https://www.descentmagazine.co.uk/shop/descent-304-june-2025/

04/07/2025

Help South & Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team and South Wales Caving Club renovate their headquarters.

01/07/2025

'The Darenathon would consist of between 12 and 20 cavers going back and forth through the Daren Cilau entrance crawl to Box 10, 500m each way, covering – in total – the distance of a marathon.'
Most cavers breathe a sigh of relief when they make it to the end of Ogof y Daren Cilau’s arduous and tortuous entrance crawl. However, as Elin West reports in Descent 304, sometimes you just have to go through again and again.
In the photo: The Darenathon camp at the Daren Cilau entrance, by Nathan Torres.

https://www.descentmagazine.co.uk/shop/descent-304-june-2025/

17/02/2025

There's a fine new pothole in the Yorkshire Dales. In Descent 302, read about the exploration of Aka Hole, as told by Chris Scaife and George North.
In the photo: James Carlisle in the enlarged passage in Skyscraper Rift, Aka Hole, by Chris Scaife

https://www.descentmagazine.co.uk/shop/descent-302-february-2025/