hello all! i am new on this forum. a colleague of mine heard about my caving and wanted to join me with his 10 year old son (who is really keen) to go to a cave. I noticed on here photos of Jug hole with children exploring. I gater the lower series then is good trip for that? also, although i am a member of a club, father and son are not. anyone have any info whether it is restricted access or can the public (with right caving gear) just as easily go to jugs and explore? any info appreciated! thanks all ! :thumbsup:

Hi cavemonkey, firstly welcome to the site 🙂

With regards to places safe for children to explore your opening a huge can of worms really. As long as the parent or guardian is happy taking there child into a place then the responsabilty lies with them as to safety. Your prob best getting the father to go with you for a trip first and see if they are happy to take the child.

Various mines are openly explorable and generally just a nod from the landowner is all you need but as far as caves are concerned your better asking on Uk Caving or a similar site.

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Hey thanks for that! I thought the same 🙂 I hope to visit jugs anyway ,so i suppose yes, parent can come with me and assess it as well. good idea! cheers !

There have been quite a few discussions on childrens' caving clothing and equipment, and - I think - some discussions on suitable caves too - on ukcaving forum. Mine started when they each turned eight; wetsocks and an oversuit were the first things we bought the eldest - made a huge difference to his enjoyment; by the time the youngest started caving there was a full set of clothing to cascade to him. Keeping little 'uns well topped up with food and drink is key when underground. When picking a trip, remember that boulders you can step over tunr into a demanding assault course for small children, so flattish floored passages are to be preferred at first. We did their first mine when they were 9 and 12 - the standard Cwmorthin round trip.

I took my lad into Jugholes when he was aged three and he really enjoyed it. Since then he has enjoyed trips into Mouldridge, Wapping, Cumberland and Brightgate. The access is fine, just have the confidence to take them.

Dependent on your geographical location, I would obtain a copy of the local guide book and read up first, find something suitable for novices. Its always worth having a few extra bodies around to encourage/help small folk over obstacles, along with a tackle bag that has a few essential items, rope, slings, crabs first aid kit and the like!

Round here (Mendipshire), the snappers have so far visited: Compton Martin Ocher Mine, 5 Buddles Sink, Box Quarry, Swan Mine, Sanford Levvy, Goatchurch Cave, Fairy Cave and Aveline's Hole.

As others have said, "fine tune" your trip don't make it too long, have lots of big boulders to traverse, or in my son's case: too many "scary drops", make sure they have adequate clothing (and something to change into afterwards), plenty of food and drink (this can be used as a "carrot" - on one occaision we took those decoratable gingerbread men underground so they could turn them into "Mine Explorers", my daughter's 10th birthday party was held in the Catherderal in Box complete with cake, glowing balloons, party poppers, and a few small sparkly pyros! ) and re-assure them that at any point if they feel "uncomfortable" that you'll return to surface - after all you want them to enjoy it and come back for more!

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One thing to think about. Do be sure that your children want to go freely, not that they go because you expect them too.
My father was heavily into football and expected me to follow - I have disliked it all my life!
My two sons have been taken underground since around 3 or 4.
They asked to go and were rewarded with quick trips into various places. At that time I was working on mining contracts around the country so they came to visit and had a look in after work as well as weekend trips.
In their 20's now, both still come on trips, mining is not their main hobby but they do enjoy it.
We all hate football.

Thank you all of you for your advice 🙂 very helpful ! :thumbsup:

I'd agree with all the comments above. My Daughter has been coming with me since she was 6.

I'd also recommend going somewhere you are familiar with or at least with someone else who is familiar with the system. You don't want to be seen as dithering as to which is the correct route etc. as kids will pick up on that quickly!

Pleanty of food and drink, hot chocolate in a flask always seems to go down well.

Quit whilst you are ahead, come out whilst they are still enjoying it. 🙂

Young T in Jug Holes (I think Zomjon may have taken this photo?)

[photo]Jug-Holes-Fluorite-Mine-User-Album-Image-36018[/photo]

You may want to check the stability of the climb out of the lower series, I recall reading something regarding this a while back, someone more local will no doubt be able to advise?

I've never known either of my sons take the least interest in caving or for that matter, what I do at work.

I grew out of football when I was about 13.....

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Certainly for my daughter I think that the underground trip is only a part of the enjoyment. The night away from home in a club cottage and the associated suspension of normal "home rules" the different company, the picnic/pub meal etc. etc. is looked forward to just as much.

I recently discovered that the highlight is in fact travelling home in the dark in the car watching all the lights........ ::)

Everything said above is good advice. Children are amazing at just getting on with it but when they've had enough both metal and physical stamina can come to an end quickly. Pick somewhere that you can exit quickly if need be. Swan (Kingsdown) mine is great for beginners and this is where I took my daughter when she turned five. It's nice and varied, has a lot to see, but nothing lasts for too long if you don't want it to. After a couple of hours my daughter had had enough and moments later we were in daylight.

Children have very mixed abilities and you'll need to have a very flexible approach to guiding them around somewhere underground. It's a delicate balance between encouragement and pushing.

My 15 year old likes going underground but rarely comes along as girls and guitars are more important to him.
My 12 year old loves it underground and this will be a life-long hobby for him.
My now 6 year old daughter sadly lost her bottle and won't go anywhere near a cave or mine.
My 3 year old has said he'll go underground when he's five!

Bottom line, every child is different.

Hi cavemonkey - are you the same cavemonkey from Ukcaving forum by any chance?????

I first took my nephew underground when he was just 1 and a half, he loved it, we went a few more times and he just thought it was one big adventure playground with lots of slides and crawls and squeezy bits mixed with climbs. we still go every now and again, and my neice aged 6 has also been down under and climbing as well. They seem to love every minuite of it. In my experience of leading children underground, very few seem not to enjoy it as long as you make it fun but safe and take hot chocolate, glow in dark lizards etc. They just love - bit like all of us really! Big kids at heart :lol:

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as a tastea why not go to a tourest attraction underground tour for the kids to gauge how they react to it?

as a tastea why not go to a tourest attraction underground tour for the kids to gauge how they react to it?

A good idea if you're not confident for your first time out.

I haven't got kids so can't really comment, apart from looking at it from the other way around...

My first time underground was with an outdoor centre called The Towers in Llanfairfechan. We had a day in Rhiwbach slate mine (which a lot of centres use still). I think I was about 12 at the time, and it was an absolutely awesome day. Will remember it forever!

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