When we received an unexpected Christmas present to Wild Wookey, we didn’t really know what to expect. When we delved a little deeper, to find it included caving, abseiling, climbing and a zip line all kind of thoughts ran through our minds – including panic but, when we arrived our worries were pushed to the back of our minds and it quickly became one of the “best things ever”.

Craig, our guide, met us at the ticket office as the main attraction wasn’t yet open. He was knowledgeable, thorough and enthusiastic, spending time to explain how the caves would work for us before taking us in. The entrance to the cave was approximately three metres above the entrance to the ‘show cave’ and we entered through a narrow crack in the rock face. Almost immediately, we were needing to be on our knees and stomachs to navigate the first tunnel: the first icy puddle that I lay in was a definite shock to the system. Thankfully, we were paired with another couple who were fairly similar to us in terms of build and agility, which meant we could encourage each other through the tighter spots.

Craig definitely knew how to motivate and allow fears to be overcome. Apart from the tunnels, the first knee trembler (for me atleast) was a short abseil down into a chamber. If there had been any other way down, I would have taken it but I was thrilled to have overcome my fear and reach the cave floor safely – and upright. From there, the route took us adjacent to the show caves, where regular visitors either marvelled at our adventurous activity or thought we were absolutely insane. We had to climb up vertical rock faces, traverse over deep pools and slide on our stomachs through really tight spaces. This was before the 102ft abseil…

I thought I’d be OK at the second abseil after conquering the first, however this time we were hanging in the middle of a chamber and did not walk down the rock as we had done previously. There was no point of reference and, after a short descent, I made the mistake of looking down! Colin, on the other hand, was very calm and collected throughout and looked like he spent his life abseiling into unknown spaces, in the dark, with little knowledge of where he was going.

From this point we crossed a small lake in a boat and completed a further network of tunnels. We saw bats, appropriately placed skeletons and collections of fern growing in the darkness (the seeds had been brought in by bats and the artificial lighting was enabling them to grow).

After a couple of hours though, we emerged into daylight to be greeted by tourists at The Wookey Hole who watched our zip line descent back to reality. From the outside it appeared crazy how far we had travelled within the cave network but also to know that people like Craig were excited by even the smallest crack or hole – “It must go somewhere”. Despite not being something we would have booked ourselves, the whole experience is quickly becoming one of the best things we have ever done together. I think it will be hard to beat for a while.