WINTER NEWSLETTER 2026

Happy New Year to you all and welcome to another year of walking. Hope you’ve managed to escape all the cold and flu viruses that are circulating or have recovered if you did succumb.

Our programme begins in January with walks in Shropshire, then the Chilterns in February and in March we visit the hills around New Radnor in mid-Wales. Hope you can join us.

Please be aware of the weather forecast for the area we are travelling to- this may be different to home – and wear appropriate clothing. Micro spikes are recommended for ice and snow (especially hard packed snow) and are considered essential for mountain areas such as the Lakes in winter conditions.(Kahtoola Microspikes have good reviews)

ANNUAL DINNER DECEMBER 2025

This was our third visit to the Wild Pheasant in Llangollen, which was preceded by four walks in the hills around Llangollen. The weather was kind to us and we all managed to have views on the tops north of the river, though I believe the B2 party had one misty top on the hills south of the river.

The three course meal was excellent with good service from the staff throughout the event.

On the journey home we had sweets, courtesy of Roger Needle and a sing along of Christmas Carols and songs organised by Paul and Tess. Thank you all.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

Membership subscription of £20 for 2026 is now due if you haven’t already paid. Please pay into the club bank account as a separate payment and use a reference of Subs to aid our treasurer.

CONTACT DETAILS

Please remember to keep your contact details (ie address, phone number, email address and emergency contact details) up to date with Bob Price, our Membership secretary bob_price@sky.com

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TUESDAY FEBRUARY 17th 2026

This is the yearly opportunity for members to discuss any matters regarding the running of the club with the committee. Come along and air your views and any suggestions you may have. The AGM will be held at 7.45 pm on Tuesday 17th February at The Plough and Harrow on Slade Road.

LAKES WEEKEND 27th February – 2nd March 2026

This year we are returning to the Glaramara Hotel in Borrowdale. Tom Somervell has emailed you with your balance and requested payment by January 16th. He will be sending out more details to participants in the next few weeks. Due to a couple of late cancellations, there are a few places available for anyone interested who hasn’t already signed up. Please contact Tom for further details or if you have any queries tomsomervell@gmail.com

AUTUMN WEEKEND TENBY 9th-12th OCTOBER 2026

This year, we will be staying at the Belgrave Hotel in Tenby, a lovely seaside town in south west Wales. We will be walking parts of the 300km Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail.

Places may still be available so if you would like to come please contact Wendy Price wendy_price@sky.com as soon as possible.

PEOPLE NEWS

I am sorry to say that Keith Richards has decided to resign from the committee with immediate effect. Although much improved, he is still suffering ill effects from the shingles and it is looking likely that Elaine will be having a hip replacement this year so he feels he needs to step down in order to concentrate on their family needs. Keith, thank you for your help and support in the past and we all hope that you will both be able to join us on the walks as often as you can.

We have a few other members who are awaiting treatment or recovering from surgery/illness. We wish you all well and hope that you will be back with us before too long.

THE CLUB WEBSITE

Richard has decided to step down in the very near future from his position of Web Master after almost 20 years and Paul White has offered to take over the role. Richard started the website in the summer of 2006 after a chance remark at a club evening walk, beginning from scratch, with no formal training and has maintained and updated it on a monthly basis ever since. He has always tried to keep the website relatively simple so that it was easy to find the required information and we have fielded all the emails that come from potential members -as well as the stream of emails offering to run the website, supply accountancy and business leads and of course various scams.

The website had been added to over so many years, with various software and security updates and although Richard was able to update it pretty easily, it proved too complicated to transfer to another webmaster in its current form. Richard has spent many hours over Christmas setting up a new website with a different provider which should enable a smoother transition to Paul. The committee have been checking out the layout on various devices to make sure everything looks correct and we are almost ready to go live once we set up the payment process with the new provider. Hopefully the change will go so smoothly that you don’t notice (apart from the sparkly new appearance!) but please bear with us over the transition period if there are a few hiccups.

Thank you Richard for almost 20 years as webmaster, for your dedication and for being patient with me nit picking over the layout and making requested changes to the website at 10.30 pm on a Thursday night after the committee meeting!

Thank you for volunteering Paul and good luck!

FUND RAISING

RAMBLERS WORLDWIDE HOLIDAYS- WALKING PARTNERSHIP

If you are planning your holidays for 2026 and onward, have a look at Ramblers Worldwide Holidays https://www.ramblersholidays.co.uk They offer a wide range of holidays worldwide, catering for all trekking and walking abilities and also special interests such as bird-watching, flora, cooking and walking or cruise and walk. As the holidays are taken with small guided groups they are great way for solo travellers to experience different countries and cultures and some holidays attract no single supplement. The added bonus is that as a walking partnership nominated club, we will receive funding every time you holiday with them and nominate Hill Walking Club Sutton Coldfield.

EASY FUNDRAISING

Can you help to raise funds for the club doing your normal on line shopping? There are many companies who will donate to us if you shop on line with them. Some well known ones are Tesco, Sainsburys, Ocado, Amazon, Marks and Spencer, John Lewis, Go Outdoors, Booking.com etc. It really is very easy to use. Some donations are only pence, but they all add up.

Use the below link to have a look at Easyfundraising, join up and lets see if we can make some money for the club. There is also a link button on the top right of our website.

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/hillwalkingclubsc/?utm_campaign=raise-more&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gs-e1

QUOTE OF THE QUARTER

The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy, walk and be healthy.

Charles Dickens, author

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 10 days 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 should be paid into the Club bank account by 8pm on the Thursday, 10 days before the walk. Booking is not confirmed until payment is made. If the seat is cancelled later than 8pm on the Thursday 10 days prior to the walk, the fare will still be payable unless the coach is full and the seat is resold.
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.