Pioneers Beneath the Peak front cover
  • Pioneers Beneath the Peak front cover
  • Pioneers Beneath the Peak softback
  • Pioneers Beneath the Peak softback back cover
  • Pioneers Beneath the Peak open book
  • Pioneers Beneath the Peak hardback back cover
  • Pioneers Beneath the Peak
  • Free laminated bookmark with your order
  • Delivery included

Pioneers Beneath the Peak

PBP

Pioneers Beneath the Peak by Martin Wright: the story of cavers who would not be stopped when the passage sumped.

WINNER OF THE 2023 TRATMAN AWARD

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Description

Pioneers Beneath the Peak

by Martin Wright

We have a limited supply of signed copies (signature only: this cannot be personalised) in both hardback and softback. If you would like a signed copy please indicate this during checkout; we will only send a signed copy on request (and while stocks last).

From the cover

The caves beneath the Peak District have intrigued humankind for thousands of years. As people explored further into the caves, they would often reach a point where the roof sloped down into a pool of water and they could go no further. This book tells the story of those who would not be stopped by the water and who, by a combination of determination, resourcefulness, technical innovation and a good measure of courage, sought to dive through those pools, to enter the unknown passages and to discover what lay beyond. This is a tale of true adventure and exploration, told by one of those involved.

The hardback edition has a limited print run and is produced with head- and tailbands, cloth covered cover and laminated paper dustjacket. The softback edition has a laminated card cover. Both are supplied with a caving-related bookmark.

Martin is donating all royalties from the sale of this book to his chosen charity, the Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation. In August 2024 he presented DCRO with its first cheque, amounting to £1,186 representing royalties and profits from personal sales.


DCRO presentation

Photo: Karen Wright

Winner of the 2023 Tratman Award

The Tratman Award is presented annually to the best caving-related publication; it is considered to be hugely prestigious. Pioneers Beneath the Peak won the award for 2023 against a very strong field. The trophy, a hand-crafted model of the book, was presented to Martin Wright at the annual caving conference, Hidden Earth, on 21 September 2024.



Author

MARTIN WRIGHT started caving in 1982 and undertook his first cave dive in 1991. He went on to qualify as a cave diver with both the Cave Diving Group of Great Britain and the National Association for Cave Diving based in the USA. He was the first cave diver to use helium mixtures for deep diving in a Peak District cave and has dived to explore new cave passages in the UK, France and Mexico. Martin and his family live in the Peak District; his wife Karen is a former diver and their daughter, Lydia, is a history teacher.

Martin is donating all royalties from the sale of this book to his chosen charity, the Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation.

For the contents page click here

For the Pioneers index click here (opens new window)

For reviews of Pioneers click here (opens new window)

For the Pioneers flyer click here (opens new window)

To download a Pioneers cover file suitable for printing click here (opens new window: save the file from your browser by right-clicking)


Wild Places Publishing is environmentally aware and supports the work of the World Land Trust, an international conservation charity helping to protect threatened habitats, by using the services of certified local companies and suitably sourced materials. Our printer, Gomer Press, is a Certified Carbon Balanced Printer that offsets carbon impacts through the World Land Trust. The paper we have chosen for this title, Claro Silk, is certified Elemental Chlorine Free and accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council as a paper manufactured from sustainable sources and carbon balanced.


Postage costs within the UK are included in the purchase price.

IMPORTANT NOTE

For posting destinations outside the UK please read the notes under the ‘International Orders’ tab, or contact us direct.

Product Details
PBP
New

Data sheet

Binding:
Hardback and softback
Dustjacket:
With hardback
Size:
17cm x 24cm
New or used:
Book: new
Pages:
224
Illustrations:
226 colour & B&W photographs, 34 surveys and maps
Publication date:
16 September 2023
ISBN:
978-1-8382628-0-8 (hardback); 978-1-8382628-1-5 (softback)
Postage:
Included
Stock no:
PBP
Other:
HB: dustwrapper, head- and tailbands; sb: laminated cover
EU / USA orders
We regret we are no longer able to post to the EU or USA (without direct contact with the customer first). Please see under the International Orders tab for more information
Author:
Martin Wright
International deliveries
Please enquire if you wish to order an item for delivery outside the UK, to ask for a quote for the additional postage. We are no longer able to post items to the EU or USA with direct customer contact.
Postage costs
Postage within the UK is included in the price. Additional postage costs for overseas destinations are calculated by adding the difference between UK and international postage prices

Tratman Award 2023

The Tratman Award is presented annually to the best caving-related, paper-based publication in memory of E.K. Tratman, to recognise excellence in writing and presentation, encompassing aspects such as the subject’s importance, readability, the quality of the photographs and surveys, the printing and binding and – in short – any aspect that the judges consider applicable.

For 2023 the judges were presented with so much fine work there was much dissent over which title should gain the final accolade. As one of the judges commented of the winner: ‘this is an excellent book, informative, lively, well-presented, thoroughly engrossing and extremely enjoyable, with a commendable layout, production values and image reproduction.’ The accolade goes to Pioneers Beneath the Peak by Martin Wright.

For the full list of citations click HERE and for past winners click HERE (opens new windows).

Ordering for destinations outside the UK

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

 

Orders outside the UK

 

Although Wild Places used to offer ordering options for worldwide destinations, changes to taxation in the EU and USA (and potentially elsewhere) have curtailed these.

 

We regret that increasing costs and difficulties with posting goods to destinations outside the UK mean that we have removed the option to order from other countries from the product pages, other than for our own books. However, if you wish to purchase any item and no option shows for your delivery destination, please ask and we will quote for the additional postage.

 

Further explanatory notes are given below. 


 

EU customers

 

Following Brexit, in 2021 new customs documentation came into force and the EU removed exemptions for tax and customs duty on low value items posted from the UK to the EU. VAT at your EU country’s current rate plus a post office handling charge is now applied on delivery.

 

In 2025 the required documentation added an Entry Summary Declaration / Safety and Security Declaration, requiring a risk analysis and contact details of an EU-based agent – while the former is easy (do not drop book on foot, beware of paper cuts) the latter is simply too expensive to comply with. In short, we are no longer able to post goods to the EU.

 

Nevertheless, and bearing in mind the additional VAT and handling charges (which, to be clear, Wild Places is unable to cover; you will have to pay these on delivery), if you still wish to make a purchase please contact us for the latest information and options in this area of constant change.

 

USA customers

 

In May 2025 President Trump cancelled tariff exemptions for small parcels entering the USA, meaning that an additional tax became required. Wild Places has been left with no option other than ceasing to post goods to the USA. However, if you still wish to make a purchase and accept any charge upon delivery, please contact us.

 

Other international customers

 

The restrictions on posting to the EU and USA do not apply to other international destinations. However, if any customs or tax is applicable in your country, you are responsible for this on delivery (Wild Places cannot advise on local charges or laws).

 

International postage charges from the UK have increased enormously in recent years and this is a continuing trend. Please ask and we will quote on an individual basis for non-EU/US destinations and where possible combine books to obtain the best rate possible. To arrive at this price we take off the (otherwise included) UK postage charge then add the international postage charge at cost.


Definitions

 

The timing of placing goods on sale and their definition has a bearing on which of these we are permitted to post to some destinations. To satisfy any enquiry, please note that all new products on this website were placed on the market before 13 December 2024. Our second-hand books are considered to be collectable items and exempt from the latest EU legislation relating to documentation.

 

Delivery

 

Please see our FAQs relating to deliveries, and the Delivery page linked from the bottom of each item’s page, before placing your order if time is important.

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