Last updated 05:17, Friday, 21 November 2008

Discovering the Caves of the World – RGS (with IBG) lecture, Theatre by the Lake, Keswick Mountaineers are held in high esteem in Britain for their bravery and adventurism, and nowhere more so than in Cumbria.

But, as Andy Eavis proved last week it’s cavers who are charting new territories, sometimes going where no man has gone before.

Delivering a 3D slide show – to an audience kitted out with the cardboard green and red spex – this was the story of Andy’s 40 year journey to the centre of the earth, from China and Borneo to South America and Africa; only a tiny part of which the public had seen before.

There was a lot to learn, in between gasping at the size, colour and structure of these spaces: Sarawak Cave, on Borneo, could easily contain the new Wembley stadium; Niaca Cave, in Mexico, has gypsum crystals that dwarf human beings; Miao Keng, in China, recently seen in the Guardian, is 1km deep. Delivered for the Royal Geographical Society (now aligned with the Institute of British Geographers) Andy delivered a fascinating travelog. Even after 40 years of discovery he still marvels at what the earth holds.

KATE REES