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AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2018

Our lovely summer has drawn to a close, but we are still experiencing some pleasant temperatures -perfect for walking. Let’s hope this continues for our planned walks for the rest of the year. This is a fairly lengthy newsletter, but there is some interesting information at the end that I certainly was not aware of, that is very relevant to this important centenary year of the Great War.

AUTUMN WEEKEND – NEFYN  Friday 5th –Monday 8th October 2018

The Club’s Autumn weekend took place at the Nanhoron Arms Hotel in Nefyn on the Llyn Peninsula in Wales.  The hotel gave us a warm welcome and provided excellent bedrooms, good food, with menu choices for dinner, and a bar.On Saturday, the weather was windy and dry.  Both walk parties caught the bus outside the hotel to the start of the walks at Tudweillog.  Here the parties split, for the longer walk the party led by Colin Little went down lanes and fields to the coast at Porth Ychain, from there they walked along the Coastal Path over cliff tops with views over the rugged coastline.  Taking in Porth Gwylan, Porth Ysgaden, Porth Towyn before descending to a small cove just before Aber Geirch for lunch on the beach.  Along the way we were fortunate to see seals basking on the rocks and various seabirds.  From there, still hugging the coastline, we walked alongside a golf course, where some of us left the main party to enjoy refreshments at Porth Dinlaen at the Ty Coach Inn situated virtually on the beach. The rest of the group continued on to traverse the extra kilometre around the headland past the lifeboat station before re-joining the drinkers  at the inn!  After a very pleasant hour at the inn, we walked along the beach before heading back inland for the short distance to the hotel.

The other party led by Wendy Price did exactly the same walk but started further up the coast at Porth Towyn.

On Sunday the weather was dry and we used our own vehicles to drive to the start of the walks, at a car park in the middle of nowhere by Llithtaen.  Again, the parties split with the same leaders. Apart from the one route taking in an extra hill at the start, both walks were the same. The main climb was up Bwlch yr Efll to the summit at 564m, from there we climbed up to Trer’r Coril Fort, the remains of the perimeter wall giving an insight into how well fortified the original fort would have been.   We descended down to the coast at Nant Gwrtheyrn, where we followed the Coastal Path, initially along the beach and then climbing inland over the headlands back to the hotel.

On Sunday evening at dinner, Roger Needle gave a vote of thanks to those involved in making the arrangements and leading the walks which was fully endorsed by all those present- a very enjoyable weekend indeed.

AUTUMN SOCIAL EVENT- BREIDDEN HILLS -SUNDAY 28th OCTOBER

Cars meet 9.30am at Middletown SY21 8EL

After the good attendance at the Much Wenlock social walk last October, we are again offering a similar formula this year -a circular walk from Middletown, on the A458. We will climb the three main peaks of Moel y Golfa (403 metres), Breidden Hill (365metres) and Middleton Hill (367 metres) with the added attractions of the Romany Monument and Rodney’s Pillar.

Meet at Middleton, SY21 8EL in the car park adjacent to the Briedden Hotel (GR 302 126) at 9.30 am.

To complete the day, the Breidden Hotel will provide not only a drink but also a full Chinese restaurant menu. There is no need to pre-order meals, but the hotel have asked for an indicative number of those who will be taking a meal. So, if you wish to come, please sign the list on the October coach or contact John Collins directly.

 The meal is optional. If you just wish to come along for the walk, that is fine-and spouses/friends are welcome too.

 DECEMBER MEAL AND COACH

This year, we visit the Rutland Arms, Bakewell, in the Peak District for our annual dinner. John Collins, the organiser, will need to order the meals a week before the event. The board will come around the coach in the next two months for you to make your choice.  Completion of this form does not book a coach seat. The normal booking system does that.

Travel

The meal is open to all members and non-members (at a higher price). If you do not have a seat on the coach, ie if take-up is more than 57, then you will need to arrange a car share. But with the meal and walk it is still good value. It just means that the unselfish driver of the car restricts his or her drinking. The club makes some reimbursement to the car driver for petrol.

Dress for Hotel

Remember to bring change of clothing, towel etc.

Payment & membership

The December walk price has been fixed at £22 for members, with a supplement for non-members. This includes your three course meal. The annual subscription for 2019 is £20 so we are happy to have a £42 payment to cover both.

The simplest way to make this payment is online - please contact John Collins for the bank details, if you don’t already have them. The payment must be made by Wednesday 5th December and, please, because extra monies are involved for the dinner and/or annual subscriptions, John Collins notified at jandpcollins@hotmail.com to enable him to confirm the payment prior to the Sunday.

If you pay online for yourself and somebody else, please let the treasurer know who else is covered by your payment.

THE NEW PROGRAMME

The 2019 programme is well on the way-it is ready for printing and should hopefully be distributed on the November coach. The dates for 2019 are listed at the bottom of the programme page on the website.

CONGRATULATIONS TO

…....Bob and Wendy who have finally completed all the 541  Birketts –( A hill is classified as a Birkett if it is one of the 541 Lake District fells described in Bill Birkett's book Complete Lakeland Fells).

……Dave Arnott for walking part of Offa’s Dyke Trail for charity, in some very wet weather

…..Matt, Petra, Tony and Dave L for completing the 100k Peak district challenge -see below

The MaD PaT's Brigade (Matt, Dave, Petra and Tony) managed to complete the 100k Peak District Challenge at the end of September. 

First pic at start with our additional team mate Isabella (Doc. no 3 in the team) who we acquired just before the start. Matt and Dave interviewed/filled her in with our plans before deciding she could be part of the MaD PaT's Brigade.

Luckily for us the rain stopped about 15 mins before we set off at 21.00 Friday.   At around 4.00 we acquired another trekker called Pete who stayed with us for approximately 3 hours (I think our relentless pace was his undoing, we found out later that he retired a few hours later). Dawn broke at around 6.30 and saw us 2 hrs ahead of target time. Scenery throughout the day was lovely although we had scant time to enjoy it. During the afternoon fatigue set in so the pace slowed. We had 18 checkpoints to go through. They were manned by volunteers who kept our spirits up with conversation, filled our cups with water and bellies with food. Dusk fell at around 19.30. We still hoped to finish by 21.00 but with the few extra kilometres we had plotted on our gps's and fatigue we finally finished at 21.10 and for some of us 21.16. Without Tony's impeccable route finding we would have been a lot slower.

Second picture taken at HQ about 30 mins after finishing the Challenge. We were very tired and some of us had suffered injury but kept this quiet until the end. Matt, had chaffed the back of one of his knees, Tony will lose some toe nails and had very painful soles, Isabella had 'tweeked' something and only managed to complete by using my walking poles, Dave had a blister. I got off lightly this time with just a painful shoulder.

Third & fourth pic. The next morning relaxing outside our bijou pod where we had snoozed the night away post event.

Thank you to everyone at HWC for the tremendous donations which has raised £450 for S.A.L.V.E. In all we have raised approx. £1000.

One week on. Tony, Matt & Dave are more than keen to revisit the event next year and complete in less than 24 hours. That team wouldn't be complete, so I also hope to revisit the event next year. Gold Challenge. We travelled 106K in 24 hours 10-16 mins and climbed around 3400m. Of 17 that started 11 completed. Isabella and I were the only 2 women to compete/complete.

Petra Knowles

HILL WALKING CLUB MEMBERSHIP ANNIVERSARIES

Bob Price, our membership secretary, has again been reviewing the club records to find those who have reached a significant anniversary (multiples of 5 years) in their years of membership. Still no gold watches to be had!

In 2018, the following members will have completed:

40 Years Membership

Colin Little

25 Years Membership

Bob Price

Wendy Price

15 Years Membership

Howard Hill

Christopher Moore

Dennis Wills

10 Years Membership

Natasha Atkinson

Ranjit Bindarh

Paul Burns

Peter Williams

5 years Membership

Yolande Barbe

David Benton

Anne Farmer

David Lloyd

Gareth Williams

THE GREAT GIFT FOLLOWING THE END OF THE GREAT WAR

2018 is the centenary year of the end of World War One. While Armistice Day, commemorated annually in November, was the ceasefire, it was 19th July 1919 when both sides signed the official peace treaty. A beacon was lit on Scafell Pike on Peace Day in 1919 to signal the end of the war, and shortly after, Lake District landowner Charles Henry Wyndham, the 3rd Baron Leconfield and honorary member of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club, gifted Scafell Pike to the National Trust “in perpetual memory of the men of the Lake District who fell for God and King, for freedom, peace and right in the Great War.” A few years after, a memorial made of Buttermere Slate was introduced, remembering the fallen.

Then Castle Crag was given to the National Trust as a memorial to 'the men of Borrowdale'.

In 1923, the Fell and Rock Climbing Club in memory of their fallen, bought and gifted 3000 acres of land to the National Trust -the twelve summits of   Lingmell, Broad Crag, Great End, Seathwaite Fell, Allen Crags, Glaramara, Kirk Fell, Great Gable, Green Gable, Base Brown, Brandreth and Grey Knotts.

In 1924, the final dedication ceremony was held on top of Great Gable, led by author, poet and renowned British mountaineer Geoffrey Winthrop Young. (Even after being wounded and losing a leg whilst working as an ambulance driver at the Battle of San Gabriele in Italy, Young continued to tackle famous peaks). The ceremony was affectionately described at the time as a 'service in the clouds'.  Young’s tale of the difficult climb in bad weather on the day and being revived by “cups of genuinely hot coffee” is something we can all relate to today!

There is a plaque set on the summit rock commemorating those members of the Fell & Rock Climbing Club who died in World War I; an annual memorial service is held here on Remembrance Sunday. The bronze memorial, weighing 70 kg, was removed on 10 July 2013 by 13 soldiers and carried down the hill via a stretcher. A replacement, with spelling errors corrected, was installed by Royal Engineers in October 2013!

In this centenary year, the National Trust is organising a series of commemorations and exhibitions to show gratitude for these amazing gifts. The commemorations include rebuilding a summit cairn on Scafell Pike. Rangers will camp out on the peak to carry out the work and will resettle the memorial plaque within the walls of the cairn. Additionally, the work will include repairing paths on Scafell Pike and Great Gable.

 

On Armistice Day 2018, 100 years since the ceasefire, the National Trust will light a beacon on top of Scafell Pike, just as Lord Leconfield did on Peace Day – 19th July 1919 and they intend to rededicate the peaks- “By re-dedicating the peaks, not only are we remembering the past, but looking to the future to ensure this inspiring landscape can be enjoyed by generations to come."

QUOTE OF THE QUARTER

Nothing more fitting this centenary than the dedication speech from 1924 -

" Upon this mountain summit we are met today to dedicate this space of hills to freedom. Upon this rock are set the names of men – our brothers, and our comrades upon these cliffs – who held, with us, that there is no freedom of the soil where the spirit of man is in bondage, and who surrendered their part in the fellowship of hill and wind, and sunshine, that the freedom of this land, the freedom of our spirit, should endure."

- Geoffrey Winthrop Young

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hill Walking Club

Constitution

1 The Club shall be called the Hill Walking Club, hereafter to be referred to as ‘the Club’ and shall be affiliated to the Ramblers’ Association.
2 Objects: To foster and promote challenging walks in hill country, providing opportunities for recreation and leisure.
3 Membership: The following are eligible for membership:
3.1 Membership of the Club shall be open to any person of 18yrs or above, completing a membership application form and paying the relevant subscription as determined by the Annual General Meeting, and who has completed two walks with the Club, to the satisfaction of the Committee.
3.2 There shall be 2 classes of membership available. These are:
3.2.1 Full Member
3.2.2 Honorary Member
4. Expulsion of Members: Members of the Club whose conduct is inappropriate or who decline to abide by any of the Club Rules may be expelled or suspended by a resolution passed at a meeting of the Committee where their subscription may be forfeited. Members shall have a right to appeal in person to the Committee with regard to any decision affecting them, provided that notice of such appeal is submitted to the Secretary, in writing, within seven days of the notification of the decision.
5. Officers and Committee Members: There will be nine members of the Club committee, three of which shall hold the offices of Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer.
6. Election of Officers and Committee:
6.1 All Committee members shall be elected for a period of three years. The elections shall be staggered in order to maintain continuity within the Committee.
6.2 Each year, any member of the Club may offer him/herself for election to the Committee, provided that a proposed and seconded application form is received by the Committee 60 days prior to the AGM.
Elections shall take place at the Annual General Meeting.
6.3 The officers shall be decided by the Committee.
7. Duties of the Committee:
7.1 The affairs of the Club shall be controlled by the Committee. The Committee shall meet at agreed intervals, and not less than twelve times per year.
7.2 The duties of the Committee shall be:
7.2.1 To control the affairs of the Club on behalf of the members.
7.2.2 To keep accurate records of the finances of the Club through the Treasurer. These shall be available for reasonable inspection by members, and should be externally reviewed before every Annual General Meeting. The Club shall maintain a bank account and the following officers shall be authorised to sign Club cheques: two from the Chairperson, Treasurer, and Secretary.
7.2.3 To co-opt additional members to the Committee if the Committee feels this is necessary. Co-opted members shall not be entitled to a vote on the Committee.
7.2.4 To make decisions on the basis of a simple majority vote.
8. General Meetings:
8.1 The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Club shall be held not later than the end of February each year. At least 60 days written notice of the AGM shall be given to members. Members must advise the Secretary in
writing of any business to be moved at the AGM at least 30 days before the meeting. A copy of the Agenda shall be sent to members not less than 7 days before the meeting.

8.2 The business of the AGM shall be to:
8.2.1 Receive and confirm the minutes of the previous AGM and any Special General Meetings held since the last AGM from the Secretary.
8.2.2 Receive the externally reviewed accounts for the year from the Treasurer.
8.2.3 Receive the annual report of the Club’s activities from theChairperson.
8.2.4 Elect Committee members as necessary.
8.2.5 Transact such business received in writing by the Secretary from members 30 days prior to the meeting and included on the agenda.
8.2.6 Accept, from members, items of Any Other Business which do not require a vote.
8.3 Special General Meetings may be convened by the Committee or on receipt by the Secretary of a request in writing, from not less than 5 Full Members of the Club. At least 30 days notice of the meeting shall be given.
8.4 At all General Meetings, the chair will be taken by the Chairperson or, in their absence, by a deputy appointed by the Committee.
8.5 Decisions taken at a General Meeting shall be by a single majority vote.
8.6 A quorum for a General Meeting shall be 16 members.
8.7 Each Full Member of the Club shall be entitled to one vote at
General Meetings.
9. Alterations to the Constitution: Any proposed alterations to the Club Constitution may only be considered at the Annual or a Special General Meeting, convened with the required notice of the proposal. Any alteration or amendment must be proposed by a Full Member of the Club, and seconded by another Full Member. Such alterations may be passed subject to conditions 8.5 and 8.6.
10. Dissolution:
10.1 If at any General Meeting of the Club, a resolution be passed calling for dissolution of the Club, the Secretary shall immediately convene a Special General Meeting to be held not less than 30 days
thereafter to discuss and vote on the resolution.
10.2 If at that Special General Meeting, the resolution is carried by a simple majority, the General Committee shall thereupon, or at such date as shall have been specified in the resolution, proceed to realize the assets of the Club and discharge all debts and liabilities of the Club.
10.3 After discharging all debts and liabilities of the Club, the remaining
assets shall not be paid or distributed amongst the members of the Club,
but shall be given or transferred to some other organisation or organizations having objectives similar to those of the Club.

Hill Walking Club

Rules

1 The annual subscription is set by the Committee and will run from 1st January to 31st December.
2 The Club requires that all members participating in full day walks are equipped according to the requirements outlined in the document which they receive when accepted for membership. Failure to do this could result in being excluded from the walk, and possible expulsion from the Club.
3 Members will have priority booking up to 2 weeks before the day of the walk. After that any remaining seats will be made available to non-members. The fare for the day becomes due in full at the time of booking, and can preferably be paid on line, or failing that, be collected on the day of the walk. If the seat is cancelled later than 7pm on the Thursday prior to the walk, the fare will still be payable unless the seat is sold.
4 The coach will leave Mere Green at the time stated in the programme. Refunds will not be available for those who miss it.
5 In the event of the coach being oversubscribed, members who sign on waiting lists for a walk must accept the Committee’s decisions re priority. It is the member’s responsibility to contact the Secretary before the walk to confirm or reject their place on the coach.
6 Visitors and guests are welcome on full day walks at the discretion of the Committee, having given prior notice. They will be charged a visitor’s fare and be expected to adopt the rules regarding walking and equipment.
7 During the walk, it is the responsibility of all walkers to accept the guidance of the leaders, respect the countryside codes and maintain a corporate responsibility which ensures a safe and successful day for all participants.
8 Members on walks must inform the leaders if they are aware of any medical condition or other reasons which might affect the successful completion of the walk.