This was the shortest drive we had done to a cave all week- only 44 minutes including a fun bit of off-roading nearing the cave. After a surprisingly small amount of faff, we made our way to the entrance and were overjoyed to find the rigging still in place from the previous group’s trips. The cave gets its name from the fig tree whose roots go deep down into the rift which gave it quite a temple run feel when we dropped in. The descent was uneventful if not a bit annoying, with some large flies mysteriously appearing halfway down and annoying us to the bottom. These were quickly forgotten about when we saw the start of the gorgeous formations. We stripped off our SRT kits and, having forgotten the survey, went for a poke around the right-hand path first. This ended very quickly with a beautiful view of a …

After much debate as to who would go on this trip, the mad-dogs piled into Dr Cock’s rental for the 30 minute drive from our base at Federación de Espeleología de la Región de Murcia. After several failed attempts at finding the spot to park in, the doctor exasperatedly announced that the car would not be capable of driving up the gentle slope ahead. A long hike in the midday sun awaited. Shorts, t-shirts and SRT kits donned we set off on the pine forest lined track, which soon turned into a path up the hill. Arriving at the trig point Monica announced that the cave key had been left at the car. Whilst the rest of us enjoyed the Spanish sun and mountain views, Monica set off back down the hill. Once back, we quickly made our way down the far side of the hill and located the entrance …

After an ungodly amount of faff in the morning involving a diverse set of breakfasts, hefty car discussion (and test drive of Bens new volvo), and a minor amount of route planning we made it to the SWCC hut to start gearing up circa 13:00. After some more (minimal) faff we quickly set off for top entrance of OFD on possibly the sunniest day of the year yet, only stopping to complete the essential pre-trip admin of stashing beers in the grass for the return journey. We began our descent confidently, with Ben attempting to retrace Martin’s route towards shale chamber. Within minutes however a tactical retreat had to be made in order to protect WSG’s reputation in front of the prospective member. Instead we made our way into Gnome Passage with Orry audibly noting that Welsh caves were offensively warmer than Yorkshire ones. After viewing the Gnomes we slithered …