Scout Caving doesn’t require a Scout to have any special clothing or equipment, though as you get more experienced you can start to collect your own gear.

For a trip to Llanymynech Ogof you don’t need anything other than old clothes and shoes. We provide a bump helmet and light.

You need to make sure your clothes cover your elbows and knees and that they don’t restrict your movement. You will get a bit wet and muddy but you won’t be cold in the cave as it’s quite physical. Waterproofs will keep you dry in the carpark but won’t help when you’re crawling.

Traditionally cavers wear wellies but any stiff shoes or boots will be OK. You will scuff your toes, so your school shoes or brand new hike boots are probably best left at home!

Wearing gloves is a personal preference, some wear thin work gloves but any gardening gloves or nice yellow dishwashing rubber gloves are OK. Thick gloves are too cumbersome for more advanced caving on ladders and woolly gloves soak up too much water in wet caves. Many cavers prefer bare hands though…

For bigger caving trips we also provide furries (like a thick onesie), over-suits, knee protectors and steel toe-cap wellies. As we usually get wet, thermals would be a good idea if you have them. We don’t use wetsuits as we’d get much too hot but if you have wetsocks they help to stop your wellies falling off when they are full of water!

As trips get more demanding we also have ropes, belts, harnesses etc.