An Appeal

BULLPOT Farm - Headquarters of the club

The Future: Following the successful conclusion to our lease negotiations, the club is progressing this summer with a major upgrade to its headquarters which will include better facilities for members and guests. This includes a major re-vamp of the changing room, central heating, complete re-wire of the whole building, new windows and some fire precaution work. To complete this work we are asking members and other cavers to consider a one off Gift Aid donation to help us complete this work swiftly. A new nine year lease with the landlord has been agreed recently. This includes a number of stringent conditions that must be adhered to during the period of the lease. Phase 1 of this work, outlined above which we hope to commence this summer,. It is important to stress that none of this work can go ahead until an agreement has been reached with the owner.More information on the Farm Our Appeal: The club has already allocated a large amount of its reserves to the project but to carry out our plans, we need to raise funds in excess of £45,000. So to ensure the project is completed we are appealing for donations from cavers and others. Are you a current caver who may use the facility? A retired caver who realises the benefits this facility would be to younger cavers? Are you a group that could benefit or a business that could suppport this venture. if so we need your help.

Thank You The Red Rose's conservation and access work on Casterton Fell and its caves is of great importance and the loss of the Farm would be of wider significance than just for the club itself - it would affect caving on Casterton Fell in general. We would like to thank many individual cavers and clubs who have already made financial contributions. We will be continuing to raise money, especially now that we are unlikely to get any large grant. Any help, financial or otherwise, that can be offered towards the cause will be greatly appreciated. Advertising sponsored by Descent Magazine.

Are you a current caver who may use the facility? A retired caver who realises the benefits this facility would be to younger cavers? Are you a group who could benefit? Or a business who feels could support this venture? If so we need your help.

How you can help?

We have various schemes in the pipeline; Raffles, Sponsorship events, Christmas cards, Auctions etc but our main thrust is inevitably a simple appeal for donations.

If you are a basic rate taxpayer, you can use the government's "Gift Aid" scheme and because of the clubs CASC status the Inland Revenue will give us a further 28% of every donation received under the scheme. If you are not at present a tax payer you can still donate.
Link to RRCPC Gift Aid Form

If you can help this scheme, to benefit caving as a sport, to encourage new participation and to enable disenfranchised groups see the wonders of caving - please help us.

Donations should be sent to the:-"Red Rose Cave and Pothole Club Appeal" and sent to:-

The Gift Aid Co-ordinator: 7 Broadacre, Caton, Lancaster. LA2 9NF

All donations will be gratefully acknowledged. Thank you.

History:

The Red Rose Cave and Pothole Club was formed in 1946 and is based around the town of Lancaster in the North of England. Since then it has become one of the country's leading caving clubs with a growing membership of over 200 living all over Britain, as well as a number of overseas members. Membership is open to anyone with a genuine interest in caving and the club has recently been granted the status of a "Community Amateur Sports Club".

The RRCPC holds regular caving meets at weekends and organises expeditions to other caving regions in Britain and abroad. For example since 1996 members of the Club have been active in expeditions to Sardinia, Spain, France, China and Crete. As well as the normal club caving, we have a wide cross section of members interested in all other aspects of caving.

The Farm:

Most of the Red Rose's activities are based around Bullpot Farm situated near Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria. This remote farmhouse has been the headquarters of the club since 1967 when it first took up a lease on the premises. And its members are present most weekends. The farm is also available for use by visiting groups or clubs. It is located above Ease Gill Caverns, Britain's longest cave system which boasts over 80 Km of passages. The Red Rose have always been actively involved with the continued exploration and scientific study of this cave system. At present the whole system is being resurveyed and the data put on to computer. This data has recently been published in the form of two A1 size surveys with companion guides. Others will follow as surveying is completed.

A Community Amateur Sports Club. (CASC)

Recently as part of its policy of community involvement, the club applied for and was granted by the Inland Revenue CASC status. This allows the club to take advantage of several tax saving schemes, enabling the club to re-invest funds into community sport, whilst ensuring that the club remains committed as an "amateur run" club not using funds to pay members to participate, but using its resources to support the sport in the community.

Members of the Red Rose Cave and Pothole Club may use the building at any time as part of their annual membership. Other groups and individuals may request to visit by arrangement. See link on how to book Bullpot Farm

Other users of Bullpot Farm: The clubs facilities at Bullpot Farm enables university groups, school groups and other sports units to participate in caving by sharing its facilities with them whilst they are visiting caves in the area. The headquarters of the club is also used to facilitate visits from scientific groups from the British Cave Research Association, British Caving Association and the Council of Northern Caving Clubs at nominal cost, to undertake study sessions. These subjects include Cave Surveying, Cave Radio & Electronics, Hydrology, Geomorphology etc.

Other activities at Bullpot Farm:

Sporting:

The main purpose and use of the building is as a centre for members of the Red Rose Cave and Pothole Club to stay overnight, and make use of the building on a day basis whilst carrying out sporting activities in the area.

Scientific:

The club has an active programme of educational activities related to caving and potholing. The science of speleology includes all aspects of cave study from Surveying to Hydrology, Geomorphology to Underground Radio Communications.

Club Library:

The club has a vast collection of scientific books, magazines and periodicals dating back over 100 years for the use of members and other interested parties.

Conservation Work:

The Red Rose Cave and Pothole Club have a Conservation Officer and regularly we have major clean ups of the local cave system. The club actively encourages all cavers to remove used carbide from the cave and take it home with them. Lengths of rubber inner tube are available at the farm for this purpose. Other clean ups will continue to be held in the future and we continue to tape off formations and clean stalagmites and stalactites. Surface conservation work is also carried out including the replacing of stiles and footpath erosion repairs.

Social Activities:

The club also holds regular social events at its Headquarters, both as fund raising events to help in the running costs of the farm but as an benefit to members and other like minded people to socialise, discuss their sport and initiate or debate current scientific work.