Lectures, Films & Workshops
The weekend is packed with lectures, with two or three parallel sessions running both days. Topics include new and old exploration from the UK and overseas as well as workshops covering cave science, research, technology and photography.
We wouldn't have an event if we didn't have lots of exciting lectures so we encourage all cavers to submit a talk, film or workshop. You can submit your abstract online any time throughout the year - even if you haven't been on that expedition yet!
Lecture secretary: Gary Douthwaite - lectures@hidden.earth
Giving a lecture? Please read our information for lecturers.
Submit sessions online
Submissions are now open for Hidden Earth 2025. It really helps if you can get your submission in sooner rather than later. You will probably also get a better time slot!
Get started...Confirmed Sessions for 2025
Hear's a selecton of confirmed sessions for Hidden Earth 2025. We'll add more as the conference gets closer so keep checking back.
Resurveying and discoveries in the Coolagh River Cave: Recent UBSS Ireland expeditions
Ash Gregg
The UBSS have been conducting caving expeditions to Ireland for many years, gathering lots of data, culminating in the publishing of a series of guide books, the latest being Caves of Mid West Ireland 2019. From 2012 to 2016 the focus of expeditions was the Cong isthmus in Co Mayo and the neighbouring part of Co Galway. In the even more recent years...
Read more
Buda Believers: new caves in Sarawak, Malaysia
Louise Korsgaard
In July 2025 a small team returns to Gunung Buda National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia. We will focus on finding new caves in the Northern - and less visited - part of the park also known as Assam Hills. The last American expedition in 2003 left a large going lead in Assam Hills Cave. At least so it says in...
Read more
Tasmania: Exploration Efforts in Australia's Deepest Cave System
Ben Honan
The temperate rainforests of Australia's smallest state host caves of staggeringly different personalities. The north of the state has some of the most decorated caves in the world, filled with speleothems the size of aeroplanes, and pristine expanses of glittering gour pools. The majority of the exploration potential, however, lies in the southwest, beneath the 500-hectare Junee-Florentine (JF) karst system....
Read more
The Pig Palace and Temple Caves of Southern Thailand
Andy Goddard
Join Shepton Mallett Caving Club on a 3,000km reconnaissance journey down the southern peninsular of Thailand, surveying over six kilometres of often highly adorned Buddhist temple caves. The journey will culminate in the first recorded exploration by western cavers of 'Pig Palace Cave', an ancient phreatic cave with a large active river. The presentation will also a provide an update...
Read more
How to Make a Competition Winning Video
Paul Taylor
In this day and age filming and making videos is actually quite a simple and easy job. However, making a video that will win a competition needs that extra mile to be added. The Video Salon / Competition Team will be running a session to pass on some of the tips and ideas regarding how to make a wining video...
Read moreVideo Salon Workshop
Paul Taylor
Presentation of the videos that have been entered into this year's Video Salon / Competition. For many of the people who enter a film into a video competition it is unlikely that they will see their film on possibly anything bigger than a large TV. This is the opportunity to see it on the Big Screen and have the opportunity to...
Read moreForest of Dean Round Up
Paul Taylor
The Forest of Dean Caving Area is not the largest in the UK but it certainly punches well above its weight. The discoveries at Redhouse Lane cave continue to dominate and without a doubt are spectacular. However, that's only part of what is going on in the area. There is always plenty of other things to report on.
Read moreDachstein Caving Expedition 2025
Andrew Mcleod
The Dachstein caving expedition has been exploring the high Alpine plateau of the Dachstein in Austria for over 50 years. It is an international expedition mostly led by cavers from the UK, Germany and Ireland but with cavers from other countries such as Poland, the Netherlands, Czechia etc. We focus on training for new cavers, offering discounts for young cavers...
Read more
Redhouse Lane Swallet Extensions
Tim Nichols
At Hidden Earth 2024 we reported a breakthrough into a major system extending the original cave from 1.6km to 4km. Since that time the system has been extended to the south, north and north-west. The extremities of these passages extend from the northern limit of Slaughter Stream Cave to almost the River Wye, passing under known cave in the Mailscot...
Read more
Demonstration, a painting from a sketch done underground
Robin Gray
Robin will start by showing sketches done underground and decide which one to base a painting on. He will then working on an A2 sheet of black paper, develop a painting of a stream passage in oil pastels with figure of cavers included. He will describe the technique while relating interesting stories concerned with making pictures of cave and caving. Robin...
Read more
Cave Archaeology in Britain - new discoveries
Rick Peterson
Last year we ran a very successful workshop exploring collaboration and communication between everyone involved and interested in cave archaeology. One of the planned outcomes from that discussion was that we should run a regular session at Hidden Earth to showcase new archaeological discoveries from caves. This will be the first of what we hope will be regular yearly updates....
Read more