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Mike Wooding - His early caving on Mendip and in Yorkshire

Mike Wooding (1943-2006) started caving whilst at Bristol University, and he soon built up a considerable reputation, being involved with a number of new explorations in Swildon's Hole. In 1964, together with Dave Drew and Dave Savage, he co-founded the Independent Cave Diving Group, a short-lived group which met with considerable success. He later continued his caving career in the Yorkshire Dales. In this interview Mike describes how he graduated from climbing into caving. He goes on to talk about his early trips in Mendip, and then in Yorkshire, and his introduction to Gaping Gill in 1964. This is one of a series of recordings made in 1983 by Geoff Yeadon and Lindsay Dodd who were researching a book about Gaping Gill, which was to be a follow-up to the link up with Ingleborough Cave. The book was never written, but these valuable records remain.

Interviewee: Mike Wooding
Interviewer: Geoff Yeadon
Title: Part 1 - His early caving on Mendip and in Yorkshire
Date of recording: 1983   (published 19 Feb 2009)
Sound recordist: Lindsay Dodd
Copyright details: Geoff Yeadon & Lindsay Dodd
Duration of recording: 10 minutes 45 seconds
Recording details: Sampling frequency: 44,100 Hz;  Channel mode: joint stereo
MP3 file details: File size: 10,100 kB;  Bit rate: 128 kbit/s constant;  Compression: 91%
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Listener comments on this recording

Contributor: Collette Date: 13 September 2010 14:50

What an exceptional bloke Mike was.. focused, charming, intelligent, determined, and caring... a sad loss - but he died doing what he loved.