Lectures, Films & Workshops

Hidden Earth Lectures, Films and 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 2026. 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 2026

Hear's a selecton of confirmed sessions for Hidden Earth 2026. We'll add more as the conference gets closer so keep checking back.

Lecture

UBSS Montenegro Expedition - Kameno More

Daniel Rose

This year the UBSS and friends decided to start their own expedition to the Kameno More region of Montenegro - the 'sea of rock'. This marked a renewal of British exploration to the region which hadn't seen British involvement since 2013. Come along to find out what we found, what we got up to, and how we organised our own expedition...

Lecture

These Things Don't Happen!

Martyn Farr

A blast …. A “wall of water” …. A community inundated… A thought provoking insight into the Gwaelod y Garth flooding incident, July 2026

Lecture

Another auSUSSpicious return to Crete: Gourgouthakas - Liontari 2026

Toby Wheatcroft And Ben Thompson

Following on from the success of the previous year’s expedition, SUSS decided to return to Crete for the 2026 Gourgouthakas - Liontari expedition. This year with determination to actually find new cave and not just resurvey where the French had already been, with a hope to make Keramos (LOC81) in the top ten deepest caves in Greece. But were we...

Lecture

Ario Caves Project Expedition 2026: Fire & Ice in The Picos

Chris Curry & Becka Lawson

The Ario Caves Project continues to work on accomplishing ‘The Ario Dream’ of connecting the highest mountaintop entrances to the resurgence cave at Culiembro, and this year brought us another step closer. Having last year connected Tras la Jayada to The Cave of the Witches Eye, this presented an opportunity to return to the legendary Choke Egbert, the downstream blockage...

Lecture

Valley to Valley in the North York Moors

Matt Ewles

Everyone loves a valley-to-valley through trip. Well, maybe except Rostam. When we first put crowbar to the ground in the North York Moors 19 years ago our hopes weren’t high. A few choked rifts would have scratched our digging itch. What we found was a 1.6 km system with a magnificent and decorated streamway, later to become a 2.8 km system...

Lecture

A New Dales Classic - Scanty Lardos Pot 2026 Extensions

George North

Over the course of 2026 The Misty Mountain Mud Miners have been busy extending the relatively recently discovered Scanty Lardos Pot in Penyghent Gill. So far over 2km of new cave has been explored, but with a distance of over 4km still remaining to the rising, there's a feeling that we could just be scratching the surface of the cave's...

Lecture

Gate or not to gate? Making access bat friendly

Jessica Eades

In this session we will talk about why maintaining access for bats is a good thing. What to consider before you start designing any lid or gate for a site. What information you might require, and who you might need to get involved. Will you need legal permissions prior to works? We will cover key topics such as: Introduction to...

Lecture

Searching for the Stang's hidden subterranean streamways

Fleur Loveridge & Les Brown

Exploration in the Draughting Hole Missed Pot systems continues apace with the last 12 months focusing on the elusive streamway(s) that flow at the base of the limestone beneath the dry hypogenic maze. As well as finding new lower levels to the cave system that carry the water, a dye tracing campaign has also begun. This has encompassed the...

Film

Call of the Unknown - South Garo Hills Expedition 2025

Thomas Arbenz

Throughout the month of March 2025, CORE GEO EXPEDITIONS' second caving expedition to South Garo Hills took place in Meghalaya, North East India. The bare statistics show a successful outcome with 93 caves surveyed within 4 weeks, yielding a total of 13.2km of new cave passage. But beyond the facts, there is more: the Film is looking deeper into...

Lecture

Cave Archaeology in Britain – updates and new discoveries

Rick Peterson

Two years ago, we (Cave Archaeology Group) 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 second of these regular yearly updates....

Lecture

ICCC Slovenia Expedition - Polna Moc

Thurston Blount And Lamya Adam

Imperial College Caving Club returns to System Migovec in Slovenia for their 32nd year of the expedition. This expedition has been named Polna Moc - Full Power; and it has centainly lived up to it's name with almost 1.5km of cave being surveyed this year!

Lecture

FOIBE - Karst as a vehicle of terror post-Second World War

Piper Cusmano

Come explore with me how potholes were used as an instrument of terror and mass murder on the Italian and Yugoslavian border post-Second World War. During this talk, we will look at the “big” and “small” histories connected to the Foibe massacre, taking a deep dive into historical facts while also lending an ear to the victims. In this moment...

Lecture

Caving in Belgium - Ardennes

Iain Crossley

Caving in Belgium - Ardennes The Ardenne UNESCO Global Geopark in southern Belgium is better known for its picturesque medieval towns, castles, craft beer, and chocolates. The Ardennes region is also the heart of Belgian caving, home to the famous Grottes de Han, Pere Noel, and Grottes de Hotton with many easily accessible and well-decorated caves as well as the option...

Lecture

Loser Plateau Expo 2026

Todd Rye

This year marks the 50th year of this expedition, nominally the CUCC expo, but has evolved to include a multitude of friends. Exploring the SMK and pushing it to ~140km long, plus >1000m deep has really put the plateau on the karstic map. What did we get up to in this years expedition, what did we find, and what is...

Lecture

Dachstein Caving Expedition 2026

Andrew Mcleod

As usual, this talk will be hot off the press with the expedition only ending 12 days before Hidden Earth begins! This year in the Dachstein we will as usual be searching for new caves, as well as pushing a 250 m deep cave called Thundergasm that has been neglected in recent years, but our most exciting leads remain in WUG...

Lecture

Mae Hong Son, Thailand: Caves, Hill Tribes, and the Promise of New Exploration

Andy Goddard

For cavers travelling to northern Thailand, 'Cave Lodge' in Mae Hong Son is an obvious place to visit: affordable accommodation, guided adventure trips, and accessible caving in a spectacular karst landscape. But even in a relatively well-known caving area, there is real scope for new exploration and surveying. This talk will cover Shepton Mallet Caving Club’s February 2026 expedition to this...

Workshop

Looking for new areas for cave exploration..?

Peter Talling

This informal workshop aims to gather people together who are interested in finding new areas for cave exploration. It will provide inspiration and some practical tips for finding new expedition areas, and generally aims to support people who want to set up new trips. Such trips may be to less costly areas closer to home, such as for student...

Lecture

North Peru 2026: 2,800 m of limestone above one of the largest resurgences in South America

Pete Talling

This presentation continues the story of the search for deep caves on the rim of the Amazon Basin in August-September 2026. The expedition is to a high altitude (up to 3,700 m) and unusually remote limestone plateau that is underlain by ~2,800m of limestone. It has an extremely large (up to 34 cumec) resurgence of the Rio Negro at its...

Workshop

GPF expedition leader support and mentoring

Rachel Turnbull

Interested in starting your own caving expedition? Come for a group discussion, on how to go about getting permissions, contacts, funding and managing logistics, team members, objectives. All experience levels welcome. We'll be introducing a mentoring scheme and would love to hear from old-hands who are keen to pass their experience onto future leaders.

Lecture

Ghar Parau's expedition round up

Rachel Turnbull

Not sure what expedition talks to see this weekend? Come to the expedition round up to hear about expeditions from around the world that have been supported by Ghar Parau this year. Hear first-hand the adventures from Alex Pitcher Award winners who went on expedition for the first time with Ghar Parau funding. Come if you're interested in what Ghar...

Lecture

Anatomically correct 3d mapping: Introducing the Tactical Frog

Phil Underwood

Surveying caves is tedious - what if you could just wander around and your helmet creates the map for you? Phil Underwood (creator of the Shetland Attack Pony) introduces his newest creation, the Tactical Frog. This is a helmet mounted cave scanner, which allows no fuss cave mapping. He also discusses how to enhance the accuracy using a Shetland Attack...

Lecture

Perlis, Malaysia: From the Nakawan Range to the Towers of Chuping

Zarris Kem

Perlis, Malaysia, hosts a distinctive and often overlooked karst landscape, spanning from the Nakawan Range to the limestone towers of Chuping. These formations include some of the oldest limestone in the country and feature caves historically associated with tin mining, reflecting both geological and cultural significance. The Perlis Caves Project 2026 focused on exploration and preliminary documentation across the Setul and...

Lecture

How Caving Organisations are Changing

Rostam Namaghi

It's a very dry title but a fascinating subject. Caving is undergoing a demographic shift, a cultural shift and a legal/financial shift. We face a lot of challenges and in this lecture I hope to capture some of the changes, what people are doing to weather the storm and how we protect our unique community and help bring it forward...

Lecture

Mulu: Return to the black square km

Rostam Namaghi

An update containing significant discoveries in White Rock, Clearwater Cave in Mulu, including an update on logistics, survey methods, unexpected finds and plans for future exploration.

Lecture

A Tale of Two Rescues

Rostam Namaghi

After a caving career spanning over 17 years, 1200 trips and 19 formal expeditions this colossal pillock got in 2 rescues in the space of 6 months. Deliverance from Providence and the Escape from Elysium provide the perfect keys to staying humble, learning from mistakes and shredding egos. All while respecting the adventure our sport can deliver. Heckling encouraged.

Lecture

Congo Update - Did we succeed with the new African Master Cave?

Michael Laumanns

At Hidden Earth 2023 an international expediton to the Mbanza Ngungu area in the province of Congo Central (Democratic Republic of th Congo) has been presented. Some important caves were partly surveyed, e.g. Grotte de Ngovo at 4.8 km and Grotte de Ngungi at 2.1 km, and it looked like these caves could be linked. This presentation provides an update...