AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2026
What a summer we have had! No rain to speak off for several months in most of England and heatwave after heatwave, with record temperatures. We were very fortunate that the real intensive temperatures occurred in mid week and did not impact any Sunday walks or recces so we were able to walk in reasonable temperatures. As we progress into autumn and early winter, we wait to see whether the developing El Nino brings intense rainfall and stormy conditions. Everyone’s safety is our priority so we will be continually monitoring the situation for the walking programme.
Fingers crossed for the final walks of 2026.
CLUB NEWS
Unfortunately, the take up of coach seats over the last few months has been considerably less than expected The committee has tried to understand this drop in numbers and believe it is a combination of holidays/illness/injuries, that hopefully will be short term. This fall in numbers has caused a considerable loss over the last 4 months of around £1000. Fortunately the club has reserves to cover this, but obviously this is not sustainable. Going forward the pricing will be based on 45 attending and this has caused a significant price increase. We will of course review numbers monthly and if, hopefully, they return to previous levels we can adjust pricing accordingly.
In addition, in August payments made by the cut off date were much lower than expected, to such an extent that the viability of the walk was in question. Thankfully we did eventually have sufficient payments to go ahead but it is really important to make payments by the 10 days deadline before each walk or to let Tom know you can't come or want to come if you haven't previously signed up. We have to confirm travel arrangements with the coach company and the earlier we can do this the better as we are not then liable to charges if we have to cancel because of low numbers. In the event of any coach being cancelled, members who have already paid would of course have a full refund
DECEMBER WALK AND MEAL SUNDAY DECEMBER 13th 2026
The annual dinner will follow the December walk and will be held at the Colwall Park Hotel, near Malvern.
Tom is in the process of sending emails regarding this year’s Christmas dinner. Once received, please request your place, send your menu choices and make your payment as soon as possible. We do require payment in full for the December walk & meal on or before October 31st.
It is also really helpful to let Tom know if you definitely will not be attending.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION AND PLEA FROM TREASURER
Membership fees for 2027 become due on 1st January and will remain at £20 for 2027.
You are welcome to pay these earlier if you wish but it would be really helpful to our treasurer if you clearly indicate with any bank payment what you are paying eg subs, Dec walk, Lakes weekend etc as well as your name to help identify exactly what is being paid for and to aid tracing any payments in the account.
LAKES WEEKEND – FEBRUARY 26th - MARCH 1st 2027
In 2027 we will be returning to the Bower House Hotel in Eskdale for our Lakes winter weekend. Last visited by the club in 2023, we can be sure of a warm welcome.
We already have more than 30 people who have signed up, and rooms for them have been reserved. At the time of writing this, there is still one unreserved double room available in the hotel, and the hotel also has further accommodation available at the nearby King George IV. So, if you haven't signed up, but would like to come, please contact the weekend organiser, Tom Somervell (tomsomervell@gmail.com) as soon as possible (a £60 non-refundable deposit will be required per person).
Balances due will be required in January and Tom will be in touch by email with the amounts to pay nearer the time.
HOT OFF THE PRESS -AUTUMN WEEKEND 2027
We have reserved rooms at the Marine Hotel, Paignton from Friday October 1st -Monday October 4th. Weekend organisers Tess and Paul Bishop-White. More details to follow in the next month or so.
DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR
The dates for 2027 are below. Destinations are yet to be finalised.
January 17th Sunday Walk
February 14th Sunday Walk
February 16th Tuesday AGM
Feb 26th- March 1st Winter weekend, Bower House, Eskdale
March 14th Sunday Walk
April 18th Sunday Walk
May 16th Sunday Walk
June 13th Sunday Walk
July 11th Sunday Walk
August 15th Sunday Walk
September 12th Sunday Walk
October 1st- 4th Autumn Weekend, Paignton
October 17th Sunday Walk
November 14th Sunday Walk
December 12th Sunday Walk & Dinner
PEOPLE NEWS
A WEDDING……..Congratulations to Paul White and Tess Bishop who married at the end of July. We wish them many long and happy years together.
AND A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT…. By Steve Fellows (and his wife) in completing the South West Coastal Path in one go with almost 7 weeks of daily hiking and a total ascent equal to climbing Mount Everest almost 4 times! Mission accomplished-well done!
Below is a synopsis from Steve as a possible taster……….
We, my wife Lesley and I, arrived in Minehead, 26th May, on the steam train from Bishops Lydeard after travelling from Sutton Coldfield by train to Taunton and bus to Bishops Lydeard. It was an extremely hot day and our first night of 48 and 46 different beds.
The first four days were gruelling in the heat, 91 kilometres with 4126m of ascent and 4122m of descent, until the heat broke in Woolacombe. Cooler temperatures and damp conditions followed until days 8 to 10 when we had to contend with 50mph winds as we went from Clovelly to Boscastle via Hartland Point, 73 kilometres with 3118m ascent and 3122m descent.
The weather and terrain quietened down slightly for the next few days until day 20 when we had what turned out to be our toughest day, Sennon Cove to Mousehole. 26 kilometres with 1883m ascent and 1883m descent with a lot of scrambling over rocks and 9 hours of walking. Days 22 and 23 the fog came in as we went from Porthleven to Porthallow via Lizard Point and it was so thick that we couldn't see the sea and sometimes no more than 10m ahead. Porthallow is the official halfway point of the coast path and as it turned out was the start of the second heatwave, 19th June. It lasted for about 8 days but we were now in our stride and although the terrain was still demanding it didn't feel as tough. Day 38 was our longest in distance, 32 kilometres with 1146m of ascent and 1134m of descent, Paignton to Dawlish, and, the start of the third heatwave. This heatwave lasted for the rest of our walk but from day 40, Sidmouth, to the end, Poole, was probably the most scenic.
This is just a synopsis of what was a wonderful experience.
All the measurements were taken from my Garmin and in total we did 1,112 kilometres with 35,145m ascent and 35,164m descent.
FELLRANGERS ALL COMPLETED by Bob and Wendy Price. They’ve ticked off all 231 Lake District hills listed in the Lakeland Fellranger Guides by Mark Richards and received certificates to prove it!
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.
In 2026 the following members will have completed:
5 Years
Tess Bishop-White
Malcolm Hoare
10 Years
Tom Somervell
15 Years
Anne Fennell
Mike Harris
25 Years
Roger Needle
30 Years
Arthur Drinkwater
John Collins
FUND RAISING REMINDERS
EASY FUNDRAISING
The club has now received around £300 in donations since we signed up to Easy Fundraising, an encouraging amount from only 9 supporters. It could be more if more of you signed up and requested donations for us.
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 and it costs you nothing. 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.
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
QUOTE OF THE QUARTER
Familiar feeling for anyone?!!
“………..I found the deceptive cairn and followed the instructions to find the real summit over a slight drop in the ridge. However, it barely mattered if this was the summit or not since the view barely extended to my feet. It’s at such times, as you sit eating a damp sandwich as water drips from your nose, as you scout the map for all the things you can’t see, that you wonder why the hell you do it. But then the majority of hill walking is done in less than satisfactory weather, and somehow, no matter how foul and inclement it is, you cannot wait to get back up the hills and do it again. Sometimes, when a party of you are trudging through boggy ground, battered by wind and rain, you catch somebody’s eye and the whole thing seems ludicrous. I can’t begin to explain why such a pursuit should be enjoyable. Perhaps it’s the moaning you can do at the top, or the relief of getting down and into the warmth. Whatever the reason, you will have to take my word for it that a hill-walk is still an exhilarating day out even when you can’t see a thing”
At the top of Beinn Dorain
Taken from “The First Fifty, Munro -Bagging without a beard” by Muriel Gray, author and broadcaster.