Reading University Caving Club

Below are details of trips that RUCC are running, along with an outline of what you need to bring.

Upcoming Caving Trips and Events

See our calendar below containing details of our trips and other upcoming club events:

Thu 22nd Sep  all day	RU Cavers @ Freshers Fayre
Sun 25th Sep  all day	Reading Mine trip - Evening Our first trip for the academic year, we're going to the Reading Chalk Mines. This taster trip is aimed at people who have never gone caving before and want to try it out, but anyone can join! Members and non members are welcome at this trip. We have a limited capacity and are operating on a first come first serve basis, so please express interest and ask any questions you have. We will meet at the tackle store at 4:30pm, pack kit etc, then jump in the cars and head off for the mine. The mine does not present any particular technical challenges, and it is regularly visited by scouts and cub scouts. There may be a little bit of crawling, and there is a long ladder at the entrance (we'll attach you to a rope for this bit, to ensure your safety). We will likely not be getting wet. This trip will cost £10 per person to cover the fuel costs, kit hire, and mine access fees. What the club will provide: * Helmet & Light * Oversuit, undersuit & belt * Wellies What you'll need: * Jeans * A change of clothes * A mars bar or similar snack * Some money, in case we decide to go to the pub afterwards Please send an email to [email protected] if you would like to come on this trip, so we can confirm your place.
Mon 26th Sep 8:00pm 11:55pm	Freshers Bar Crawl Come to the first social of the year, meet our members and the committee. We plan to meet at Back of Beyond at 8pm and hoping to finish at Purple Turtle for people to then stay as late as they like. See you all there 😄 The Back of Beyond - JD Wetherspoon, 104-108 King's Rd, Reading RG1 3BY, UK
Wed 28th Sep  all day	Reading Mine trip - Evening Our second trip for the academic year, we're going to the Reading Chalk Mines again. This taster trip is aimed at people who have never gone caving before and want to try it out, but anyone can join! Members and non members are welcome at this trip. We have a limited capacity and are operating on a first come first serve basis, so please express interest and ask any questions you have. We will meet at the tackle store at 5pm, pack kit etc, then jump in the cars and head off for the mine. The mine does not present any particular technical challenges, and it is regularly visited by scouts and cub scouts. There may be a little bit of crawling, and there is a long ladder at the entrance (we'll attach you to a rope for this bit, to ensure your safety). We will likely not be getting wet. This trip will cost £10 per person to cover the fuel costs, kit hire, and mine access fees. What the club will provide: * Helmet & Light * Oversuit, undersuit & belt * Wellies What you'll need: * Jeans * A change of clothes * A mars bar or similar snack * Some money, in case we decide to go to the pub afterwards Please send an email to [email protected] if you would like to come on this trip, so we can confirm your place.
Thu 29th Sep  all day	Reading Mine trip - Evening Our third trip for the academic year, we're going to the Reading Chalk Mines again. This taster trip is aimed at people who have never gone caving before and want to try it out, but anyone can join! Members and non members are welcome at this trip. We have a limited capacity and are operating on a first come first serve basis, so please express interest and ask any questions you have. We will meet at the tackle store at 5pm, pack kit etc, then jump in the cars and head off for the mine. The mine does not present any particular technical challenges, and it is regularly visited by scouts and cub scouts. There may be a little bit of crawling, and there is a long ladder at the entrance (we'll attach you to a rope for this bit, to ensure your safety). We will likely not be getting wet. This trip will cost £10 per person to cover the fuel costs, kit hire, and mine access fees. What the club will provide: * Helmet & Light * Oversuit, undersuit & belt * Wellies What you'll need: * Jeans * A change of clothes * A mars bar or similar snack * Some money, in case we decide to go to the pub afterwards Please send an email to [email protected] if you would like to come on this trip, so we can confirm your place.
Wed 5th Oct  all day	Extreme sports union social (with kayaking, skydiving, and caving) Come meet us at park bar at 8pm to join us to go to union. Make sure to purchase your union tickets beforehand on the Eventbrite website! See you there
Fri 7th Oct to Sun 9th Oct  all day	RU Cavers @ South Wales Caving Club
Thu 13th Oct  all day	Quiz and karaoke
Sun 23rd Oct  all day	RU Cavers @ Thorpe Park Fright Night
Fri 4th Nov to Sun 6th Nov  all day	RU Cavers in Somerset
Fri 4th Nov to Sun 6th Nov  all day	20X RUCC booked by Andrew Bristol Exploration Club, Wells Rd, Wells BA5 3AU, UK
Fri 18th Nov to Sun 20th Nov  all day	RU Cavers @ Ystradfellte (S Wales)
Fri 25th Nov to Sun 27th Nov  all day	RU Cavers @ CHECC (Mendip)
Wed 18th Jan 4:00pm 5:00pm	RU Cavers @ Re-Freshers Fayre
Wed 25th Jan 4:30pm 9:30pm	Taster trip @ Reading Mine
Mon 6th Feb 7:30pm 11:00pm	RUCC Pub Night @ Mojos (on Campus)
Fri 10th Feb to Sun 12th Feb  all day	RUCC @ TSG in Castleton, Derbyshire
Sat 18th Feb to Sun 19th Feb  all day	CHECC Southern SRT training for trainers
Mon 20th Feb 7:30pm 11:00pm	RUCC Pub Night @ Park House (on Campus)
Mon 6th Mar 7:30pm 11:00pm	RUCC Pub Night @ Back of Beyond (Wetherspoons)
Fri 10th Mar 6:00pm to Sun 12th Mar 11:59pm	Southern CHECC
Mon 20th Mar 7:30pm 11:00pm	RUCC Pub Night @ Mojos (on Campus)
Mon 27th Mar to Thu 30th Mar  all day	Easter Lake District trip with RUHAW & RUKA
Thu 21st Sep 11:00am 4:00pm	Freshers Fayre Come and talk to us at the Freshers Fayre to find out more about what we get up to! Our stall is inside the marquee on the meadow outside the Reading Students' Union building. Reading Students' Union, Pepper Ln, Reading RG6 6EH, UK
Fri 22nd Sep 6:00pm 11:55pm	Pub Night in Town A staple in the RUCC caver's calendar. A great opportunity to meet and socialise with some of our existing and potential new members, and ask any questions you may have about us. Travelling from the Reading Students' Union building on campus.
Mon 25th Sep 6:30pm 7:30pm	Find Out More - a Talk What's this caving business all about then? Come along to our presentation, and we'll tell you more! Palmer Building Room G04, Reading University
Wed 27th Sep 9:00pm 11:59pm	VK Union An extra special union made extra specialer with the addition of glowsticks Reading Students' Union, Pepper Ln, Reading RG6 6EH, UK
Mon 2nd Oct 6:30pm 9:30pm	Mine Taster Trip [TBC] A very gentle taste of the underground at Emmer Green Chalk mine. The cost is just £10, and we'll provide all the equipment you need! Ideal if you'd like to try out caving with us before you sign up as a member - no previous caving experience is needed. Spaces are limited, so please get in touch with us beforehand if you would like to come on this trip. PLEASE NOTE: This event is still to be confirmed! Wessex Hall, Whiteknights Rd, Reading RG6 6BQ, UK
Fri 13th Oct 6:00pm to Sun 15th Oct 11:00pm	Freshers Weekend Trip A weekend of caving, partying and amazing views! The cost is just £35, and we provide all the caving equipment you need. This is our first weekend caving trip of the term, and is highly recommended to get a better idea of our typical activities. No previous caving experience is required. Note that spaces are limited, and you must sign up as a club member to go on this trip. Please get in touch with us if you would like to come along, or have any questions. Godre Pentre, Ystradfellte, Aberdare CF44 9JF, UK
Fri 3rd Nov to Sun 5th Nov  all day	12 x RUCC Reading University Caving Club booked by Jess Bristol Exploration Club, Wells Rd, Wells BA5 3AU, UK

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About Our Trips

If you want to go on any of the trips, please let our secretary or president know. We may charge a deposit or ask you to make a full upfront payment to confirm your place prior to our trips, as they can be very popular.

For day trips, we usually leave Reading in a minibus at approximately 8am and return in the evening at about 9pm. For evening trips, we usually leave at around 6:30pm and return at around 9:30pm. The day trip or evening trip fee covers all transport, equipment, and any cave entrance fees.

For weekend trips, we usually leave Reading in a minibus at approximately 6pm on a Friday evening and return late on a Sunday, so it’s a pretty intensive weekend, but great fun. The weekend trip fee includes accommodation, travel, equipment, breakfast and Saturday dinner.

Trips will normally start from our tackle store, near Wessex Hall.

If you want to join us or have some questions, then please come to one of our regular pub meet-ups and sign up – please see our Instagram page, our Facebook group or the calendar above for the location of our next pub night. To accompany us you need to have Club membership (£15 for students and £20 for non students) and Reading Students’ Union Sports Federation insurance (prices from £18 per year).

What to Bring

Caving Abroad

Our more enthusiastic members sometimes go caving further afield… In recent years, we’ve enjoyed some fantastic caving (along with various other activities such as hiking, rock climbing, via ferrata and swimming) on club trips to Southern France, Ireland, and Austria.

If you are really keen, there are even opportunities to join the Dachstein Caving Expedition and/or the CUCC Expo in Austria – and explore some of the deepest, most exciting, and least visited caves in the world!

If you’d be interested in going on one of these trips and/or expeditions abroad, or would like to know more, please get in touch with our committee, and we can provide you with all the details.

In previous years our club has travelled even further afield – travelling as far as Spain, Romania, Slovenia and China to see some truly spectacular caves! To read more about some of these historic expeditions, please see our old site…