24 October 2009
Dark adrenaline.
Simply breath-takingly amazing. Unexpectedly.
Didn't take a camera down into the caves unfortunately. But I would recommend to take a waterproof, solid case or camera.
A discounted (£15) session included our 2 'leaders', transport into the Peak District, and gear.
The entry required waddling in a stream, then disappearing into the ground via a ladder with the water stream rushing us down. It was followed by crawling, transversing with pitch-blackness between our legs (even with torches/headlamps, we couldn't see the bottom), side-stepping along fine grooves, squeezing through small crevices...and admiring fossils and ice formations. They were beautiful.
You end up soaked. It wasn't too cold - the temperature was higher than ground level, and we were offered cake and thermos tea by our leaders, a bonus. We ended our experience with a celebratory dance.
Not for the claustrophobic or acrophobic. Having some form of climbing/bouldering technique helps - footwork technique, relying more on leg strength instead of arm strength (otherwise you'll just burn out). It was like climbing...but underground and in the dark! So some arm strength definitely is needed.
Difficult in terms of money and time to sustain as a hobby, but definitely would be something to certainly do once, if not twice.
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