Behind the cover

Peter Lord in Sótanode las Golondrinas, Mexico Almost exactly 50 years ago I needed to take a break from cave diving explorations to broaden my horizons. There was so much going on overseas and the area that gripped my attention more than any other was North America. I reflected long and hard about the idea…

Emma Key in Doolin River Cave Back in 1999, Andy Dopson of Rubber Duck Caving Club proposed a trip to County Clare in Ireland, a first for all of us and indeed for the club. We piled five of us into Andy’s Discovery and set off on this superb adventure, making new contacts and lifelong…

Judith Calford in Caverna do Morro Preto, PETAR, Brazil. Cave photography overseas, at the other end of an international flight, has the extra complication of limitations in the equipment that can be taken with you – especially batteries, but also increasingly when having to meet weight and size restrictions. Added to that … This image…

Péter Juhász in Tywarnhayle Mine, Cornwall, by Dave Watts I have visited quite a few different mines over the years – in Mendip, Wales and Derbyshire – but nothing had prepared me for what the mines of Devon and Cornwall had in store. The sheer scale and diversity of minerals and complex geology all contributed…

Daniel Jackson in the White Forest, Redhouse Lane Swallet, by Bartek Biela Over the years, we heard stories about Redhouse Lane Swallet from the Forest cavers, mostly grim and uninviting. In my mind, that painted a picture of a cave in the ‘to be avoided’ category. I was excited to be invited, but also anxious…

Louise Anderson and Joe Sharp in Defiance, Clearwater Cave system, Mulu, by Bartek Biela Since my first visit to Mulu I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the caves that I have attempted to photograph over there. The hate comes from the overwhelming vastness of the passages, which are a bit tricky to light…

Over the last few years, some friends of mine have been exploring an endless maze cave system in the Northern Dales. After several trips to the cave with them, I had come to the conclusion that it was a terrible place and told them so. It consisted of over 7km of passages that were generally…

There’s always a story and (wow!) this cover image certainly has one. Over 34 years ago I had an invite to visit the Forest of Dean and explore a virgin  sump in a place that I had never heard of – Redhouse Lane Swallet. Paul Taylor and team had just made a breakthrough into what sounded like an…

Our cover for Descent 300 is of the main entrance to Sistema Cheve, located in the Oaxaca state of Mexico, taken by Kasia Biernacka. Gosia Skowron-Suchodolska and Yuri Schwartz, visible in the photo, are members of the United States Deep Caving Team that has been exploring Cheve for many years under the leadership of Bill…

Normally trying to take a picture in or under deep water is exceedingly challenging, not least on the part of the model! However, if the water temperature is a balmy 22 or 23C, the process is transformed and becomes far more pleasant, assuming of course that you can keep the camera dry. So it was…