Presented by Petzl; supported by UKCaving and Yorkshire Dales GuidesCaving is all about exploration.

A typical caving trip might involve climbing, abseiling, crawling, swimming and walking… and caves can be dry or wet, clean or muddy, horizontal or vertical, with large waterfalls, streamways and lakes or dry, sandy passages and chambers. It’s another world, which is why it’s so exciting.

Steered by the ever-psyched Steph Dwyer from Yorkshire Dales Guides, Steph chairs a light-hearted panel discussion with Diane Arthurs, Holly Bradley, Fleur Loveridge and Adele Ward; cavers with different, albeit interconnected caving experiences, exploring how lives are just better when you’re underground. Steph also catches up with Olivier Testa, globe-trotting cave explorer and filmmaker, who will update us on his recent trips to Haiti and Mexico.

Plus we have a great new film lined up about an exciting breakthrough in New Zealand, including an interview with the film director.

Arguably, Olivier Testa is one of the most well-travelled cavers in the world. He trained as an engineer, but Olivier’s passion for cave exploration soon became full-time. Among many highlights, he can list discovering the orange cave crocodiles of Gabon and exploring the forgotten wells and tunnels of Dumat Al-Jandal in Saudi Arabia, the sacred caves of the Bamileke people in Cameroon, plus discoveries across the Dominican Republic, Madagascar, China, Mexico, Congo and Chilean Patagonia. In particular Olivier has been exploring caves in Haiti since 2009 with four expeditions to date. He also often works on development and humanitarian projects in these locations. “Cave exploration fascinates me because of the unknown”, he says. “Will we find archaeological remains, unusual animal species, or a network several kilometres long? Caving is a constant journey of discovery.”

Holly Bradley first started her underground adventures in 2003 and has never looked back at being a part of this strange and rewarding activity. Her underground adventure playground is the Yorkshire Dales where she contributes to the caving community through cave surveying and conservation. She has supported numerous expeditions in Europe and China, from being a supporting sherpa and general dogsbody, to original exploration; going where no-one has set foot before.

Fleur Loveridge has been caving for 25 years. Initially drawn to the welcoming alternative community she soon got hooked on exploration: first in South Wales, then deep caves in Spain and beyond. Fleur thrives on the personal responsibility involved in caving, the need to rely on yourself and your team in remote places; she has been up to 6 days and 1.4km below ground. She has explored in China, Yemen, Timor Leste and Myanmar; her most recent expedition mapped the longest cave in Myanmar, and her next project is co-leading the Gates of Hell Expedition to West Papua.

Adele Ward loves to use nature and the outdoors to engage clients; she was a mental health nurse working primarily within the community and found it a powerful means to recovery and resilience. Enthusing others to be active and engage in outdoor activities such as caving has been a major source of inspiration. Adele took up caving at the age of 39 four years ago, but her enthusiasm has resulted in gaining experience in the ‘harder’ northern Dales caves and is involved with many local caving and mine conservation projects. Enjoying the more off-the-beaten-track type of caving, with support from Natural England Adele has been exploring an extensive system in Weardale; this interest in exploration has led to her joining the Cave Diving Group, where she is currently a trainee diver.

Diane Arthurs started caving at school and is still regularly found beneath the Yorkshire Dales. She’s a member of the Misty Mountain Mud Mining Corporation (MMMMC) a collection of Yorkshire-based diggers looking to connect Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria underground; Diane was involved in both the Two Counties Lancashire/Yorkshire connection and later the Three Counties connection. Interesting things she has encountered include a 2,000-year-old human skull in a Lancashire cave, plus a 30,000-year-old ice-age leopard skeleton in Spain. Diane considers herself extremely fortunate to have participated in some monumental international expeditions and exploration, including Italy, Spain, France and Borneo, and Diane is a regular contributor to the Matienzo caves project in Northern Spain.