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Welcome to LUUCaS! 🦇

Hi! Welcome to the Leeds University Union Caving Society (LUUCaS). We're an active outdoor club that gets underground and out adventuring regularly, running trips all over the UK.

From South Wales and the Mendips in the south to the Yorkshire Dales and Derbyshire in the north, we travel far and wide in search of adventure and challenge. If you're looking to explore new places, learn new skills and meet a great bunch of people, this is the society for you!

Feel free to join out Whatsapp chat found here: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GXboN0vdNctEXYdAUtAfsI 

FRESHERS 2026

Whether you're completely new to caving or an experienced underground explorer, we've got plenty going on this September and October. Come along, meet the committee and find out what LUUCaS is all about!

Upcoming Events

Welcome Talk 🍻

📅 25th September | 7:30pm | The Fenton

Come meet the committee, find out more about the society, ask any questions and meet some future caving buddies! No tickets required, just show up.

Ladder Meet 🪜

📅 26th September | 9am | The Chapel

Come along to meet the club, check out our gear store and get introduced to the basics of caving ladders and equipment. No tickets required, just show up!

GIAG Training Session 🧗

📅 2nd October | 7–9pm | The Edge climbing wall

Our Give It A Go training session is a great opportunity to try out caving techniques in a controlled indoor environment. No previous experience or membership required, and all equipment is provided. Free tickets are required.

GIAG Caving Trip 🦇

📅 3rd October | Meet at 9am | The Chapel

Fancy heading underground? Join us for a beginner-friendly caving day trip! We'll travel out together and explore caves with experienced members leading the way.

Bring water, lunch/snacks, a spare change of clothes and a towel. Tickets are required, and further details will be shared through Engage.

Mendips Weekend Trip ⛰️

📅 17th–18th October

Our first weekend trip of the year! Join us for a weekend of caving, exploring and socialising in the Mendips. These trips are a brilliant way to get involved with the club and meet fellow cavers.

Tickets are required. Further details, including costs and transport arrangements, will be shared closer to the date.

Keep an eye on our Instagram and Freshers WhatsApp group for ticket releases and updates.

Make sure to consult our Caving Kit List in the Files section of our page before your first caving trip with us!

What is Caving?

Caving is a cooperative sport where a group of people traverse the exciting and varied environments that caves offer. We scramble over boulders, climb walls, ascend and descend ropes, and crawl through squeezes and streams to explore these often-unrealised natural landscapes.

It's a challenging and rewarding sport, offering the chance to explore places rarely (if ever) seen and have experiences you'll never forget.

Gear and Training

New to caving? No problem! We're well equipped to cater to new cavers, with a large gear store containing harnesses, helmets, wellies, caving oversuits and much more.

We also have plenty of experienced student and graduate cavers, alongside regular training in a controlled indoor environment to help you build the skills and confidence needed for real caves.

Our training covers SRT (Single Rope Techniques), which allow us to explore deeper and more advanced caves. We'll cover the basics of safe rope ascent, descent and traversal, general caving advice and even teach you how to rig ropes for cave exploration.

We train twice a week at The Edge climbing wall:

• Tuesdays and Fridays, 7–9pm
• Meet by The Edge reception when our sessions start.

Our first few training sessions of the year are open to non-members, so feel free to come along and say hello!

Trips and Socials

Socials 🍻

We're not just about caving! Every training session is usually followed by a pub trip, and we're often found socialising long into the night. We also enjoy climbing, bouldering, clubbing and plenty of other activities together.

We run ticketed socials throughout the year, with previous events including paintballing, go-karting, trampolining and ice skating. We're always up for trying something new, so get involved and share your ideas!

Day Trips

We generally run day trips once a fortnight, usually on a Saturday. We drive or take the train out to places such as the Yorkshire Dales to spend the day exploring underground. These trips are commonly followed by a pub visit or a curry!

Weekend Trips

Our infamous and hugely popular weekend trips usually run around once a month. We head to cave-heavy regions of the UK, spending the days caving and the evenings socialising at a caving hut (think a chaotic hostel full of cavers!).

We cook communal breakfasts and dinners, play games and make the most of the weekend together.

Expeditions and Holidays

Once university ends for the year, it's time to think further afield. Thanks to the great links LUUCaS members have built over the years, there are opportunities to explore Europe and beyond.

Previous trips have taken us to Spain, France and Austria, with opportunities for caving, via ferrata, climbing, hiking and canyoning, as well as expeditions into unexplored caves.

Membership

Our annual membership gives you access to the society, our equipment and training sessions.

Membership includes:

• Use of equipment from our gear store, including ropes, SRT kits and appropriate caving clothing.
• Free access to our training sessions at The Edge climbing wall.
• BCA (British Caving Association) membership and associated insurance, subject to the terms of the policy.

Membership prices for 2026/27 will be confirmed on Engage.

If you're not a current University of Leeds student, you're still very welcome to come caving with us! We've had students from other universities and non-students join us in the past. Please purchase the appropriate Participant Membership through Engage.

We look forward to meeting you underground!

Stay connected: Follow our Instagram and join our Freshers WhatsApp group for event announcements, ticket releases and updates.

Contacts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leedscaving

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@leeds_caving?_t=ZN-9006c3Om4vO&_r=1 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leedscaving

ULSA Website: https://ulsa.org.uk/

(note that LUUCaS is the student branch of ULSA - the wider caving association for those in the Leeds area)

Thanks for reading, see you underground!