Payment logos
Secure payment
Prices include delivery
We reuse packing materials
IN 2017 BCRA ran a weekend field meeting on Gower in South Wales, during which several separate areas of caves were visited. A companion booklet was intended to be supplied to participants, but this was delayed ... and delayed ... until it has now been published as a very fine ‘walking guide’ to the region.
The booklet’s six parts are each written by different authors: the introduction by editor John S. Cooper is followed by sections on bedrock geology, glacial activity, the caves, archaeology and exploration. The latter section covers six suggested walks, each with a clear map showing the route and marking the many caves and karst-related sites, and amounts to slightly over half the total pagination. The guide closes with a short appendix on Gower’s geomorphological aspects, references and a list of figures; no index is provided, meaning that prior knowledge is required to locate specific site details with any ease.
Gower is not renowned as a major caving area as it lacks extensive caves: for sport caving, perhaps Llethrid Swallet and Tooth Cave in Green Cwm are best known, while Paviland Cave (aka Goat Hole) is world-renowned as a short archaeological site where the Red Lady skeleton was discovered by William Buckland in 1822. Nevertheless, Gower is a fascinating area where records exist for 200 other locations of interest, half of which are coastal caves. This is made evident by the many photographs taken from the sea and, indeed, the guide is extremely well presented with relevant images accompanying the clearly written text. The publication is print on demand, which means that it can be continuously updated with any corrections or additional information (though any major changes will require a new ISBN).
As someone who attended the field meeting and has lived on Gower, I have nevertheless learned about places that I was unaware of. The walks are readily followed and offer a diversion for any caver wishing for a quiet caving-related day after, perhaps, vigorous exercise in the more challenging caves of the Swansea Valley. John Cooper and the other authors and photographers are to be congratulated on their thorough input, as are the late Jerry Wooldridge for the clarity of the maps, Phil Wolstenholme for the layout and BCRA’s other volunteers for persevering to bring the title to print.
Data sheet
Our goods for advertised for sale with postage costs included; selecting the destination other than the UK will alter the price, to take into account the increased carriage charges.
If stock is limited, for example with a single copy of a second-hand book, it will be assigned to UK stock. If you require posting to an address outside the UK, you will not be able to place this order, even though stock is available. We regret this, but the software has limitations. If this is the case, please contact us to enable the options you require.
Please see our FAQs relating to deliveries, and the Delivery page linked from the bottom of each page, before placing your order if time is an important element for your order.
On 1 July 2021 the EU removed all exemptions for tax and customs duty on low value items posted from the UK to the EU, meaning that although VAT is 0% on books and magazines in the UK, VAT is charged within the EU and the tax (potentially plus a handling fee) now apply to all orders to the EU.
We are unable to post any items to the EU with VAT or other duties prepaid; as a small company, it is a long way outside our abilities to engage with an agent to do so. All items are therefore mailed as DDU (Delivery Duty Unpaid). Ordering any item from Wild Places requires that you accept responsibility for paying the VAT applicable in your country and any other local charges on delivery.
To be clear: Wild Places will NOT cover any charges levied by your country; it is your responsibility to accept these when placing an order. We apologise for the situation, but it is outside our control. Refusal to pay charges upon delivery will not be accepted as a reason for refunding in full any returned items.
NOTE: Norway and Switzerland are outside the EU and orders will be filled as normal.
Reference: aquanaut
Aquanaut by Rick Stanton is subtitled 'A life beneath the surface' and concerns the hugely successful cave rescue in Thailand in 2018, as written by one of the lead divers.
Reference: deJoly
Brand: Wild Places Publishing
Memoirs of a Speleologist: The Adventurous Life of a Famous French Cave Explorer by Robert de Joly, translated from the French.
Reference: CCPD
Classic Caves of the Peak District by Iain Barker
Reference: Bedside
Cavers ... Folk with attitude. At least, any that are over seventy years old have attitude (of the good sort!), says John Gillett as he maintains a positive approach to life.
Reference: 13-lives
Thirteen Lessons That Saved Thirteen Lives by John Volanthen is about the incredible cave rescue that involved British cave divers in Thailand in 2018, as written by one of the lead divers.
Reference: PBP
Brand: Wild Places Publishing
Pioneers Beneath the Peak by Martin Wright: the story of cavers who would not be stopped when the passage sumped.
Reference: n976
Here, There and Everywhere - the autobiography of Jim Curran
Reference: MEL
An enchanting hardback storybook about caving pigs, by Tomi Ungerer
Reference: sh-1015
The Modern Explorers by Robin Hanbury-Tenison and Robert Twigger.
Wild Places Publishing uses functional cookies and other technologies to operate the shopping basket and improve the usability of the website. Continuing use of this site indicates your acceptance of these cookies: we do not set third party advertising cookies
