Join with us and enjoy the physical and social benefits of caving!

Membership Benefits

  • Use of Whitewalls, our club cottage on the Llangattock escarpment. Members may stay without booking at any time and also pay a reduced rate.
  • Access to caves. Not only do we have a choice of caves within easy walking distance of Whitewalls, but CSS also has keys for the following caves: Agen Allwedd, Ogof Cnwc, Ogof Craig a Ffynnon and Ogof Draenen, available for members’ use.
  • Regular club meets to suit cavers of all abilities with caving weekends based at Whitewalls and other karst areas both in Wales and further afield. Take a look at our meets calendar for this year.
  • Access to the club tackle store and free use of all club kit, including ladders, handlines, SRT ropes, tackle bags and everything else needed to safely rig a variety of different caves.
  • Club Newsletter produced on a quarterly basis. This is a high quality glossy magazine full of club news, photographs and articles written by members. See the newsletters page for a taster.
  • Use of the club library in Whitewalls with an extensive collection of cave and mine literature, guidebooks, newsletters and magazines all available for loan to club members.

How to Join

Download our application form and send a fully completed and signed copy to our secretary at the address shown on it. Alternatively you can email a scan or photograph of the completed form to csssecretary@chelseaspelaeo.org if you prefer. You may either pay by cheque, or make an online payment to the bank account as shown on the membership form. The latter method is certainly more convenient for us!

The application form also contains two pages of useful information for prospective new members with more details of club activities and benefits as well as some explanation of the different membership types and fees. Hopefully this should answer any questions you may have, but if not feel free to get in touch with our club secretary with any queries.

What Happens Next

The first six months of CSS Membership is on a provisional basis and costs a reduced rate, during this time new members are encouraged to attend club trips and meet other members. Provisional members that have done this will then be granted ‘Full Membership’ on the next committee meeting after the six months have elapsed; if you’ve not been able to make yourself known to club members you’ll be invited to extend your provisional membership for a further six months. Only ‘Full Members’ have access to the library, tackle and key store via their own key. Provisional Member will have access to a Whitewalls key only.

Membership Costs

Club membership runs from October to September, so fees are due annually on 1st October. However members may join at any time of the year and pay only what is due for the amount of time remaining. New members pay a flat fee of £10 for six months of provisional membership then pay whatever may be owing for the remainder of the year once full membership is gained. BCA insurance is also required.

Full Member: £30
Joint Members: £40 (for 2 people)
Only Full Members can have Joint Membership and both people must live at the same address and share one copy of the CSS Newsletter.
Associate Member: £18
Primarily intended for former members who are no longer active cavers but wish to continue to receive publications. Associate members staying at Whitewalls pay guest rates.

BCA Insurance

All Members (including Provisional and Associate) must also have British Caving Association (BCA) insurance. From January 2025 this costs £24 for ‘Active Caver’, £10 for ‘Student Caver’ and £8 for ‘Non-Active Caver’. The latter is for members who wish to be part of the club but not venture underground. New provisional members who join part way through the year pay a reduced rate – more information about this can be found on the application form.

If you have BCA insurance via another club you need not pay twice, but should reference your BCA number and membership club with your application.

Not yet ready to join?

If you’ve never tried caving before, are not sure whether or not it’s for you, or perhaps you would like to try an introductory trip, that’s fine – just get in touch with the membership secretary, and we’ll take it from there.

Additional Info

Our Club Constitution and Club Policies are available to read for reference. See also our club Promotional Leaflet.

Download Membership Application Form