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:
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Thu 26th Sep 9:00am 4:00pm | Freshers Fayre Come along to our freshers fayre stall to find out about caving and what it involves, and hear about all the exciting activities we are planning. Plus sample some FREE confectionery, and enter our 'Guess How Many Krabs' competition!  Reading University Students' Union, Reading RG6 6AZ, UK |
Thu 26th Sep 6:00pm 10:00pm | Freshers Presentation & Pub Curious to learn more about Reading University Caving Club, our previous trips and escapades, and where we plan to head in the coming academic year? Come along to our welcome presentation in Room G25, in the Edith Morley building on campus, at 6pm! Everybody's welcome, and no experience is necessary - if you're even vaguely interested in joining a truly unique society within the university, don't hesitate to pop in! Look forward to seeing you there! Edith Morley room G25, Whiteknights campus, University of Reading |
Sat 28th Sep all day | Taster Day Trip Come and try caving with us, and see what it's like! For only £10, which covers transport, kit hire, and insurance, we will go to the Mendip Hills and take you down some caves which are suitable for novices. It promises to be a fantastic day, with an opportunity to try something new and unique! Due to high demand, places for this trip are very limited, so if you'd like to come, please Get in Touch with us first. Mendip Hills, Wells BS40 7XS, UK |
Mon 30th Sep 6:00pm 11:00pm | Freshers Presentation and Pub Still intrigued by the idea of caving, but couldn't make it to our first fresher's presentation! No fear - come along to room 127 in the Edith Morley building on campus to learn more about the club! Once again, no experience is necessary - anybody with even the slightest interest in experiencing caving for the first time is most welcome! Afterwards we will head to The Back of Beyond, one of our regular pubs in town, for our first official Pub Night social of the year. You are very welcome to join us as we walk from the presentation to the pub, or alternatively feel free to meet us there! Can't wait to see you there! Edith Morley room 127, Whiteknights campus, University of Reading |
Fri 4th Oct 6:00pm to Sun 6th Oct 10:00pm | Taster Weekend trip, staying in South wales Give Caving a Try on our first weekend trip of the Year! We will be staying in a cozy hut in the Swansea Valley and going on Trips down Ogof Ffynnon Ddu (OFD), one of the finest caves in the UK. The Cost is just £35 including food, transport and accommodation. South Wales Caving Club, 1-10 Powell St, Swansea SA9 1GQ, UK |
Thu 10th Oct 6:00pm 10:00pm | RUCC Film Night We're kicking off our (non-pub) socials this year with a film night. We will be watching the classic caving 'documentary' "The Descent" and if time permits we have the further option of watching the acclaimed sequel, the imaginatively-titled "The Descent: Part 2" - in the past we've often turned it into a drinking game, but this is by no means compulsory! Attendance is completely free and open to everyone, just join us at Ice House at 6pm. For anyone new to campus, Ice House is the student bar attached directly to Wessex Halls. Hope to see everyone there! Ice House bar, Wessex Hall, University of Reading |
Mon 14th Oct 7:00pm 10:00pm | RUCC @ The Hope Tap Another Monday evening, another pub meet-up. This time we'll be grabbing a chair at The Hope Tap, just a short walk from the train station. Join us for a little bit of relaxation at the start of the week. The Hope Tap, 99-105 Friar St, Reading RG1 1EP, UK |
Fri 18th Oct 6:00pm to Sun 20th Oct 10:00pm | Taster Weekend trip, staying in South Wales Join us for another weekend of Welsh caving! We'll be staying in the lovely little village of Ystradfellte (gesundheit) where the major attractions include sheep, a pub, and caves! Although in the same general area as where we stayed on the last trip, we'll be visiting different caves so it's still worth coming along if you went on the previous one. Everyone is welcome, regardless of caving experience. The village is very close to a series of impressive waterfalls which guarantee a fantastic weekend. Hope to see you there! Ystradfellte, Aberdare CF44 9JE, UK |
Fri 1st Nov to Sun 3rd Nov all day | FIREWORKS - Weekend trip to Mendip (Somerset) Wessex Cave Club, E Water Ln, Wells BA5 3AX, UK |
Sun 10th Nov 8:00am 7:00pm | Day Trip to Surrey Mines |
Fri 22nd Nov 6:00pm to Sun 24th Nov 10:00pm | CHECC Dolygaer Outdoor Education Centre, Dolygaer, Merthyr Tydfil CF48 2UR, UK |
Fri 6th Dec to Sun 8th Dec all day | Mendip Christmas trip |
Tue 21st Jan all day | RUSU All Student Meeting |
Fri 24th Jan 6:00pm to Sun 26th Jan 11:30pm | Re-freshers trip - Shepton Mallet CC |
Mon 27th Jan 8:00pm 11:00pm | PUB : monks Retreat |
Fri 31st Jan to Sun 2nd Feb all day | Trip to the Peak District - Orpheus CC; Chris Yes, Connor Yes, Duncan Yes,Jo Maybe |
Fri 21st Feb to Sun 23rd Feb all day | Yorkshire - YSS Booked for 12. Chris yes. Jess Yes (driving), Jo yes |
Sat 29th Feb 8:00am 9:00am | Bca SRT training mendip |
Fri 13th Mar to Sun 15th Mar all day | Wales trip with Irish cavers - Westminster |
Fri 27th Mar to Sun 29th Mar all day | Southern CHECC - SWCC |
Sat 28th Mar to Sun 19th Apr all day | UoR Easter break |
Fri 3rd Apr to Sun 5th Apr all day | Yorkshire - YSS (booked for 8) |
Fri 12th Jun all day | UoR End of term |
Mon 28th Sep 8:00pm 11:30pm | e-Pub Night - Meet & Greet While COVID-19 prevents us from meeting up as much as normal, we are still having fun! Every Monday, we hold weekly online 'e-Pub' nights, starting at around 8pm. This week, we are running a special "meet & greet" e-Pub night for all new and potential club members. Anyone is welcome to join this - you can learn more about our club and our activities, ask any questions you may have, as well as start getting to know our existing members. We normally use Facebook Rooms for our e-Pub nights - to take part, simply join our Facebook group (www.facebook.com/groups/rucavers/) now, and we'll post a link on there when the e-Pub night is due to start. |
Mon 5th Oct 8:00pm 11:30pm | e-Pub Night - Meet & Greet While COVID-19 prevents us from meeting up as much as normal, we are still having fun! Every Monday, we hold weekly online 'e-Pub' nights, starting at around 8pm. This week, we are running a special "meet & greet" e-Pub night for all new and potential club members. Anyone is welcome to join this - you can learn more about our club and our activities, ask any questions you may have, as well as start getting to know our existing members. We normally use Facebook Rooms for our e-Pub nights - to take part, simply join our Facebook group (www.facebook.com/groups/rucavers/) now, and we'll post a link on there when the e-Pub night is due to start. |
Mon 12th Oct 8:00pm 11:30pm | e-Pub Night - Meet & Greet While COVID-19 prevents us from meeting up as much as normal, we are still having fun! Every Monday, we hold weekly online 'e-Pub' nights, starting at around 8pm. This week, we are running a special "meet & greet" e-Pub night for all new and potential club members. Anyone is welcome to join this - you can learn more about our club and our activities, ask any questions you may have, as well as start getting to know our existing members. We normally use Facebook Rooms for our e-Pub nights - to take part, simply join our Facebook group (www.facebook.com/groups/rucavers/) now, and we'll post a link on there when the e-Pub night is due to start. |
Mon 19th Oct 8:00pm 11:30pm | e-Pub Night - Meet & Greet While COVID-19 prevents us from meeting up as much as normal, we are still having fun! Every Monday, we hold weekly online 'e-Pub' nights, starting at around 8pm. This week, we are running a special "meet & greet" e-Pub night for all new and potential club members. Anyone is welcome to join this - you can learn more about our club and our activities, ask any questions you may have, as well as start getting to know our existing members. We normally use Facebook Rooms for our e-Pub nights - to take part, simply join our Facebook group (www.facebook.com/groups/rucavers/) now, and we'll post a link on there when the e-Pub night is due to start. |
Mon 20th Sep 8:00pm 12:00am | RUCC Pub night @ Monks Retreat |
Thu 23rd Sep 11:00am 5:00pm | RUSU Sports freshers fayre To any and all Freshers (and anyone else who's keen); come meet the RUCC squad at the Sports Fayre on Thursday 23rd. We'll have a booth set up where you can come talk to us, find out just what caving is, and ask any questions. |
Sat 25th Sep 8:00am 8:00pm | Caving Day Trip - Surrey Mines Our first trip for the academic year, we're going to Surrey Mines. This trip is aimed at our new members, but anyone can join! Members and non members are welcome at this trip. We have a limited capacity of 12 and are operating on a first come first serve basis so please express interest and ask any questions you have. As a change from our usual naturally formed cave, we will be popping to some manmade quarries and mines. We shall be exploring some subterranean delights close to home - a mere 1 hour away from Reading, near Reigate. Our guides will take us through 4 different mines throught the day. Bedlams Bank and Godstone Mine are abandoned heathstone (a type of building stone) mines, and we will also be visiting Barons and Tunnel Rd Mines. We will meed at the tackle store at 8.00am, pack kit etc, then jump on the minibus and or cars and meet with our guides about 10am. None of the mines present any particular technical challenge - I am told they've even had 4 year olds visit the site! 😛 There will likely be some crawling and one of the mines is known for its 4ft head-height, which can get a little tiring after a while. We will likely not be getting wet. This trip will cost £10 per person to cover the minibus rental & fuel costs What the club will provide: * Helmet & Light * Wellies What you'll need: * Jeans * A change of clothes * A packed lunch For further info, see our Facebook event: fb.me/e/EUYuoyuH You can purchase tickets for this trip on our RUSU page: www.rusu.co.uk/student.....ving/ Please also mark yourself as 'going' on our Facebook event, or send an email to [email protected], so we can confirm your place. |
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…