December 2019
January 2020
February 2020
March 2020
S
M
T
W
Th
F
Sa
S
M
T
W
Th
F
Sa
S
M
T
W
Th
F
Sa
S
M
T
W
Th
F
Sa
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
26
27
28
29
30
31
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
29
30
31
             
             
             
April 2020
May 2020
June 2020
July 2020
S
M
T
W
Th
F
Sa
S
M
T
W
Th
F
Sa
S
M
T
W
Th
F
Sa
S
M
T
W
Th
F
Sa
1
2
3
4
1
2
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
28
29
30
26
27
28
29
30
31
             
31
             
                                                             
August 2020
September 2020
October 2020
November 2020
S M T W Th F Sa   S M T W Th F Sa   S M T W Th F Sa   S M T W Th F Sa
1
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
27
28
29
30
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
29
30
30
31
             
             
             
                                                             
December 2020
                                                
S
M
T
W
Th
F
Sa
                                                
1
2
3
4
5
                                                
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
                                                
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
                                                
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
                                                
27
28
29
30
31
                                               
                                                             

 

Sunday 19th January 6:30am The Clee Hills

         The Clee Hills are a range of hills in Southern Shropshire consisting of Brown Clee, at 540m, the highest peak in Shropshire, and Titterstone Clee, seven metres lower. The area has an interesting history with iron age forts, ancient coal mining, quarrying past and present and an air traffic ser-vices “golf ball”! On a clear day, we can expect superb views into Wales, Worces-tershire, Herefordshire and the West Mid-lands.

Maps..……Explorer 217 The Long Mynd & Wenlock Edge

..................Explorer 203 Ludlow

Walk details ……………….…Carol Gosling

Darryls'A walk Pictures 1 Darryls'A walk Pictures 2 Darryls'A walk Pictures 3 Darryls'A walk Pictures 4 Coming down from Rinnenspitz DAY2 iOn the way up to the Hoher Bergstall DAY 1 Looking towards rinnenspitz DAY 1 ALex on the way down from Hoher Bergstall DAY 1 visual ligthboxby VisualLightBox.com v6.1
home
programme
committee
newsletter
safety
Photos
FAQ
history
rules
link weather
All Those Years Ago!
The seed was sown in the Autumn of 1973 when Ken Smithem was asked to arrange walks for a few interested colleagues in the Lucas electronics factory at Mere Green. Having thought he had discouraged them with the scramble up Tryfan they came back for more, so the idea of a club was formed. At an inaugural meeting, which was so well attended that it filled the whole canteen area, the Lucas Fellwalking and Rambling Club was born. Representatives from the nine main midlands factory areas were elected to produce a programme of walks.

The cold, 20 - seater coach for the first club walk, left the Great King Street factory on 17th February 1974, bound for Lathkill Dale. In this first year. members' subs were deducted from their monthly wages. Finding this arrangement less than satisfactory, the club was dissolved at its first AGM in February 1975, and reopened to all-comers as the Hill Walking Club - a double entendre reflecting the Hill Village area of its origin as well as our intention of being much more than a rambling club.

>Ray Siddell was the first chairman, and Stan Patchett designed the first club badge which is still seen on a few rucksacks, and now on the website. Little remains in the club archive from that very early period, but an entry from May 1975 details two walks interestingly described as a 'Ramble' and a 'Fell Walk'. The Ramble led by Joy and Ken Madeley took walkers from Patterdale, along Grisedale to finish at Grasmere. The Fell Walk led by Stan Bellaby and (of course!) Ken Smithem, was over St Sunday Crag, offering walkers a chance to watch fell runners on the Fairfield Horseshoe.

Many friendships, marriages, subgroups for weekly walks and backpacking have been generated from the contacts through the Club – we all have that common interest at heart.

May it long continue.


Ken

How do I contact the club for more information? Use the contact email link at the top of this page, and we will get back to you. It would be useful if you leave a phone number.

Can I come on the next walk?

 

 Use the email link at the top of this page and we will get back to you about coach availability, please leave a phone number
Where do you meet? The coach picks us up from the car park in Mere Green.
How do I become a member? The Club Rules require that a prospective member would normally have to complete 2 "B" walks succesfully to be eligible for club membership.

What fitness level is required?

 

A good level of fitness is required as all walks are in mountainous and sometimes remote areas.An average "B" walk is 18 kilometres in length and 900 metres of ascent, depending on the terrain,to be completed in about 6 hrs

What equipment is needed?

 

 Please refer to the "Safety & Kit" link

What do I wear?

 

 Please refer to the "Safety & Kit" link
How much does it cost?

The annual membership at present is £20. The coach costs vary, depending on the distance travelled, but is generally between £12 and £17.
Is there an age limit? We don't have an upper age limit, -as long as you are fit enough to do the walks, thats fine. We do have a lower age limit of 18.
Can I take my dog on the walks? No, we don't have dogs on our Sunday walks.

 

 

 PRIVACY POLICY FOR HILL WALKING CLUB

Hill Walking Club  takes your privacy seriously and is committed to ensuring that all personal information handled by the club is processed according to the legally compliant standards of the General Data Protection Regulations which came into force on 25thMay 2018. As a “controller” of the personal information that you provide to us, this privacy notice sets out how, why and for how long we will use your personal data, as well as whom it is shared with. It also explains your legal rights as a data subject and how to exercise them.

What we need from you

When you join as a member of Hill Walking Club or renew your membership, we may ask you the following personal information:

Contact details – name, address, email address, phone number and emergency contact details.

If you do not provide us with the personal information that we need this may affect our ability to offer you our membership services.

When we collect your data, we will ask your consent to use it in different ways e.g. preferred means of contact.  We will only use your personal data in ways you have given us permission to do so.

Why we need your personal information

Administration

We collect and use personal data solely for administrative purposes in order to help us carry out our services to members.

This includes:

  • Receiving membership subscriptions.
  • Issuing membership renewal reminders
  • Maintaining a contact database of our committee, leaders and members and their contact permissions.
  • Fulfilling coach bookings placed on-line, over the phone or in person.
  • AGM and Committee notices
  • Organising club activities including recces.
  • Reasons of safety on the hills in the event of difficulties or emergency
  • Banking officers will have access to bank details when required.

Legitimate purposes

We may also share personal information with professional and legal advisors for the purpose of obtaining advice.

We respect your privacy and will not sell or disclose your personal information to any third party, including other walking groups locally or nationally.

How we protect your personal information

Your personal information is accessed by our committee, only for the purposes set out above. It is stored by our club in a password protected computer database and paper based filing systems which are securely stored.

How long we keep your personal information

We only keep your personal information for as long as necessary to provide you with membership services. Unless you ask us not to, we will review and delete your personal information where you have not renewed your membership with us for one year.

You have a right to:

  • Change your communication preferences or restrict the processing of your personal data for specific purposes.
  • Request that we correct your personal data if you believe it is inaccurate or incomplete.
  • Request that we delete your personal information.
  • Access the personal data that we hold about you through a “subject access request”.

You can contact us by e-mail at: walking@hwcsc.co.uk

Complaints

If you are unhappy about how we have used your data, you can complain to the Honorary Secretary of the club

If you are not happy with our response, or you believe that your data protection or privacy rights have been infringed, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office which regulates and enforces data protection law in the UK. Details of how to do this can be found at www.ico.org.uk

Notification of change of Privacy Policy

Hill Walking Club reserves the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time. Notice of any change will be posted on our website and will be deemed effective on publication.

Honorary Secretary

Hill Walking Club

August 2018

The following list of clothing and equipment is agreed by the Club Committee, and links directly with the club rules.If committee members are unhappy about your clothing you may be restricted in the walks you can do, or even excluded from the days walk.

Considered to be essential;

  • Walking Boots with a good ankle support and well cleated soles.(Trainers or Approach Shoes are not acceptable)
  • Good quality waterproofs, jacket and over trousers.
  • Hat
  • Gloves
  • Rucksack(do not share)
  • Hot Flasks are needed in winter.
  • Plenty of water in the summer will stop you getting dehydrated.
  • Enough food for the day

Advisory;

  • Extra warm top.
  • Gaiters
  • Spare Socks
  • A change of dry clothing left on the coach is useful.
  • Sun protection cream (all seasons)
  • Map, compass and torch
  • Survival bag
  • Personal First Aid Kit (comprehensive kit carried by walk leaders)

General;

  • Clothes must be able to adapt to changeable mountain weather. Tops and trousers will be more comfortable made from lightweight fabrics designed to keep you warm in winter or cool in summer. These fabrics often draw moisture away from your body keeping you more comfortable. Thick cotton garments should be avoided as they are likely to get very wet, taking a long time to dry. Jeans are not allowed.
  • You will be out for a whole day, with no scheduled visits to food shops.You need sufficient calories to get you up the hills!
  • Please let the walk leaders know if you have a medical condition which could affect you on the walk

 

 

   

Carol the "Chair" (Likes to be addressed as Sir)

Colin the club secretary

  
   

Bob our membership secretary

John our treasurer (and the owner of the fattest wallet you're ever likely to see)

  
   

Wendy, keeps everybody in order

Arthur, our man in the Lakes

  
   

Howard, not the youngest on the committee

Rob  
    Petra, one of our small group of extreme walkers
 

Tony, Our co-opted committee member and another member of the small group of extreme walkers

 
Weather Forecasts

SUMMER 2019 NEWSLETTER

We haven’t had the wonderful summer we enjoyed last year, with above average rainfall and below average temperatures in June. However, we have been very lucky with the weather for our Sunday walks, with perfect conditions in the Lakes, in May, for the Rhinogs in June and again in the Black Mountains in July. Let’s hope our luck continues.

Last evening walk of the year is Thursday 25th July. Meet at 7.15pm at the Dog and Doublet pub at Bodymoor Heath (B76 9JD)

CLUB BUSINESS

Reminders

1. Re parking at St James Church.

We are asked to fill the spaces against the fence first (on the right hand side as you enter), making sure we leave access at the scout hut for the disabled ramp. It doesn’t matter about the red markings on the ground. Please drive into the space rather than reversing in, so exhaust fumes do not fill the gardens of adjoining properties (as requested by church!)

2.Members 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 we ask for it to be paid on line please. 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.

If you do need to cancel a seat, it is helpful if you let Colin know if you wish to go on the waiting list for the next walk.

If you are on the waiting list for a walk, then it is YOUR responsibility to confirm (or reject) that place with Colin, as soon as possible after the preceding walk.

4th EUROPEAN ALPINE TRIP JUNE 28th –JULY 5th 2019

Eighteen members set out from Birmingham airport on Friday 28th July for a week walking in the French Alps. Problems with delayed flight and with the car rental pickups meant we did not arrive at our base for the week, the HOTEL GAI SOLEIL in Samoëns in the valley of Haut-Giffre till 1:30am. A late start was therefore called for the following morning. Two groups walked around and up to the top at “Tête de pre des Saix” (14KM 743m ascent) in temperatures into the mid 30’s. The top offered good views across the Mont Blanc range.

Temperatures were similar for the next few days. Sunday offered various walks around the Chalet de Bostan with the lead group reaching the Col de Bostan and the top at the “Tête de Bostan” (16.km 1300m ascent). Monday consisted of a leisurely walk to the Lac de Gers (12.8km 777m ascent) for most, although some members took the day to ascend the Aiguille du Midi via the Chamonix cable car. Sunday and Monday evening saw some spectacular sheet lighting displays. Monday’s storm was also accompanied by very strong gusts of wind which send the hotel’s pagoda, patio table, chairs and umbrellas across the outside seating areas and into one of the car parks. Many thanks to those members who helped the staff to recover the items.

The temperatures for Tuesday to Thursday were slightly cooler being in the high 20’s in the valley and not much lower on the hills. Three walks on Wednesday centered around reaching the Alfred Wills refuge (Alfred a founder member of the Alpine club originated from Birmingham). Walks varied in distance from 13km to 20km and up to 1100m ascent. Three walks on Thursday provided a varied choice in the Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval nature park. Two walks included a sharp ascent via the pas du boret which was aided by the metal ropes on the exposed rock and narrow path areas. The main group reached the Lac de la Vogealle 17km 1251m ascent. All walks reached the Chalet du Boret for refreshments and returned via Bout du Monde (end of the world). The final walks on Thursday were the nearest to Samoëns. Initially walking up through forest to meadows and the Chalets du Trot for a good view of Mount Blanc and refreshments. The B group continued up to the edge of the ridge at Barme whilst the A group continued up to the Cross at Aouille de Griou (16km 1500m ascent). All groups retraced their steps back to the Chalets du Trot before taking an alternate route through the forest back to the cars. Several members excelled themselves with Dave Arnot’s leadership of the lead group and should now be ready to join the A walks on the club’s monthly outings.

 Evening meals were taken al-fresco and provided a varied and interesting selection of offerings that were well received. Thursday evening saw the start of an American festival in Samoëns which prompted a few members to demonstrate their line dancing skills, the locals were not impressed!

 On Friday 5th July eighteen members returned via Birmingham airport, (i.e. no losses) to then make their way home.                                                                               

AUTUMN WEEKEND: Bideford 4th-7th October 2019

As usual, Colin Little the weekend organiser, has arrangements for the weekend well under control. Latest information from Colin below.

'We have returned from a few days in Bideford recce'ing the Club's coastal walking weekend in October and I believe, for the quality of the walking and the accommodation, you're in for an enjoyable weekend.

I've sent emails to everyone indicating balances required.  Many thanks to all those who have paid already, but to those who have yet to pay could you please send your final payments by bank transfer to the Club's account at your convenience.

I'll issue a 'welcome pack' in due course. This will give information on the hotel, meal and bus times and details of the walks planned.

I have arranged for a carvery on the Sunday evening. We sampled this for our Sunday evening meal on the recce and it was superb.'

BEER AND SKITTLES NIGHT -FRIDAY OCTOBER 18th 2019

We have booked Lee Marston Hotel for a fun evening of Beer and Skittles and a supper on Friday October 18th. We have enough deposits to make the evening viable, so we will shortly be circulating menu choices and asking for the balances.

We are still able to accommodate more, so if you haven’t already signed up, and you are free on October 18th, then why not come along for a friendly social event. Just pay £5 deposit per person, on line and we will add your name to the list.

Spouses/partners/friends/family are all welcome. The total cost of the evening is £15.95 which includes a two- course supper.

LAKES WEEKEND: February 28th -March 2nd 2020

The club weekend at the Coledale Inn is fully subscribed, but there is the possibility of B& B accommodation in Braithwaite for any latecomers. Please contact Wendy Price for any queries.

FIRST AID COURSES

We have been made aware of some basic first aid courses that are being offered in the Sutton Coldfield area. CPR Counts run training courses in first aid for Heart Attacks, Cardiac Arrests and Choking, and how to use a defibrillator. The courses are FREE and on various dates/venues in our area – the first autumn dates are now available.  You need to register and then you can book onto a course to suit. Have a look at their website https://cprcounts.com/

THE WALKING PARTNERSHIP

Don’t forget, if you do book a Ramblers holiday, please nominate the Hill Walking Club through the Walking Partnership we have with Ramblers Holidays. They then provide a financial contribution to the club.

Take a look at their website on www.ramblersholidays.co.uk

NEW PROGRAMME 2020-DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

The committee have been discussing the suggestions put forward by the members for the Sunday walks and club nights for the 2020 programme.  Although destinations have not yet been finalised, the following dates are confirmed for your diaries.

Sunday, January 19

Sunday, February 16

Tuesday, February 25 - AGM

Friday, February 28th- Monday March 2nd- Club Weekend

Sunday, March 15

Sunday, April 19

Sunday, May 17

Sunday, June14

Sunday, July 19

Sunday, August 16

Sunday, September 13

  Autumn Club Weekend – dates to be confirmed

Sunday, October 18

Sunday, November 15

Sunday, December 13

QUOTE OF THE QUARTER                  

You never climb the same mountain twice, not even in memory. Memory rebuilds the mountain, changes the weather, retells the jokes, remakes all the moves.

                                                  Lito Tejada-Flores - Mountain climber and author

 

The Hill Walking Club, based in Royal Sutton Coldfield, offers a warm welcome to people who enjoy challenging and adventurous walks in the hills and mountains of England and Wales. We are a convivial group and look forward to welcoming new enthusiasts to our club.
Once a month on a Sunday, our walking programme takes us to the best high places in England and Wales. Starting from Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, we travel there and back by coach, replacing the stress of driving with a comfortable journey, -and maybe even a nap and a drink!
We usually offer three walks of varying length and difficulty, and because we take the safety of our members seriously all routes are thoroughly researched and led by the Club’s most experienced walkers. We also have occasional club nights in winter, and weekends away at least twice a year.
The Hill Walking Club has been visiting Britains hills and mountains for over 40 years and many life-long frienships have started on our outings. Our walks are a wonderful way to stay fit and active and a chance to experience the joys of hill walking in the British countryside.
So, explore our website further. If you like what you see and would like to join us, then please use the contact at the top of this page.

Click on photo to expand

gallery makerby VisualLightBox.com v6.1

 

 

 

 

Contact us --
The Next Sunday Walk Is
Programme
 Newsletter Safety&Kit F.A.Q's

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web Counter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crucial Coupon