September 1999 Newsletter
Chairman's Introduction
Greetings! Welcome to the UWS Hiking Club. Many of you will be joining the club for the first time this year, and an especially warm welcome goes out to you! And welcome back to those who have been here before. As your "esteemed" chairman (not my description), it is my duty to say a few words or even pages, as a way of introduction. So hopefully my wise words, as well as those of the rest of the committee, will give you an idea of what we get up to.
Central to the Hiking Club, of course, is the Walks Programme. We've spent a lot of time putting to-gether a programme with a lot of di-versity, in an (possibly vain) attempt to please everybody! We've got two new walks on our programme this year. The Glamorgan Heritage Coast is a really quite spectacular stretch of coastline a little south of Bridgend, and is one of only three Heritage Coasts in the UK. Meanwhile, the Vale of Neath is barely 30 minutes away, yet provides some very attractive and challenging walk-ing, and this area makes a wel-come return onto the Walks Programme. Most of the new walks from last year also make it onto this year's programme Pembrokeshire Coast, the Melincourt Falls night hike and the New Forest weekend away. All this results in the most di-verse walks programme for this year. Lucky you!
The best events are always the weekends away. They allow us to get much further afield and do walks in areas we can't get to in a day. More importantly, they allow us to spend more time in the pub! The first term sees trips to Cadair Idris (in southern Snowdonia) and the Peak District, which is in England, somewhere north of Watford.
No walks programme would be complete without an equally hectic and diverse social calen-dar. Our first event is an equip-ment trip where you can buy all the equipment you suddenly re-alise you need, and save loads of dosh at the same time. Our first big event is the Round-the-World pub-crawl in Mumbles, where the aim is to have a drink from a different country in each pub that we go to. Everyone, inevitably, ends up drinking far too much (most of the world, in fact) with hilarious results!
The highlight of the term is the Annual Christmas Dinner and Dance, held somewhere posh. It's great because it's the first decent meal we get to eat all year, al-though the general mix of music, good company, the festive spirit and alcohol does also add something to the event. See opposite for full details of this term's so-cials. Get that diary out now!
So this hopefully serves its purpose as an introduction to the Hiking Club; if not, then at least it's filled up a couple of pages! The contact details of the committee are above, and you're always wel-come to give us a ring if you have any queries or need help with anything. We'll do our best to help, although for advice on your essays you're better off talking to your tutor.
Hope you find this newslet-ter interesting and useful. If not, it's cheap bog roll! We look for-ward to seeing you on a walk or social event soon.
Daniel Ross
New Forest Weekend Away - 7th-9th June 1999
Deepest, darkest Burley was the destina-tion for 15 hardy souls after enduring three hours of Robert Miles' electronic keyboard fingerings with only the reas-suring driving skills of Liz and Alan to console them. Need less to say we were all glad to arrive at the rather sumptuous looking Youth Hostel and even willingly strolled off for an hour, to kill time till the hostel opened. However, all was not as smooth as it seemed as two officers from Hampshire police ar-rived and proceeded to privately interrogate Dan our bemused chairman: yes he is in charge, no not in charge of the Youth Hostel and no he is not wearing stilts. Eventually they managed to understand these simple replies and confirm that we were not outlaws on the run from the law and presently went away. The stroll was pleasant, albeit uneventful, apart from a bit of confusion by some who were disappointed not to find a naked man as marked on the map, but an old stump of a tree - no pleasing some people nowadays. After getting back we found that there were a number of demons disguised as children also staying at the hostel. However, they did have their uses in instructing one or more of our members in the art of using the hob - who then eventually managed to cook something resembling food.
After a quick, futile Frisbee lesson in the garden by the predominantly female class, it was down the muddy track to a rather posh country pub. For some reason, the staff did not seem overjoyed to see us until we opened our wallets and went to drink in the pub garden (until the midges forced us in again). Luckily we lost no one in the dark on the way back and even managed to go to bed in some semblance of order. (except for those over six foot who found that Youth Hostel beds were apparently only for short gits like Andy).
The prevailing myth that an A-weekend would mean more time in bed was shattered at about seven the next the morning by Beelzebub and his satanic hoards, who for some reason re-peatedly descended and ascended the stairway in rapid succession. Nonetheless, a couple of hours of fruitless sleep and several pints of long life milk later we were raring to go on what was looking like a scorching day. We bundled into the bus and soon found ourselves walking in glorious New Forest sunshine with practically no trees in sight (a bit odd you might think, but that's what comes of letting a local ginger plan the route).
There were no great hills to climb (which was nice) and even the paths were good - i.e. there most of the time (except certain people complained that they were too wide, boring, and blah blah blah). The only scary mo-ment came when an old man came driv-ing from the middle of nowhere, stopped, and pro-ceeded to give a short spiel about bouncing bombs, the war and how in his day forests had trees before driving away again. We eventually found some trees and promptly got lost (denied by the leaders of course) which was not surprising as we were following our noses. Thankfully, this did not prevent us from finding a nice spot for lunch next to a lake.
A few rain-threatening hours later, we arrived back at the bus and headed home to the hostel. We got back to a thankfully child-exorcised hostel and consumed inconceivable amounts of food that literally didn't all fit on the meagre hostel chinaware. We then all adjourned to a different pub, naturally after more Frisbee lessons (concentrating on how to avoid hit-ting the port-a-loo).
The pub was much better than the night before, and we all got thoroughly intoxi-cated. The agenda for the second day was decided by a classic example of democracy in action and more importantly, how far the drivers wanted to go. The result was an unanimous clamour to head for the sea (or more precisely Milford-on-Sea). What looked like being a drizzly day, soon turned out several shades of pink skin sunnier as we fol-lowed the Solent Way along Hurst Spit. After a while enjoying the warmth and the views of the Needles on the Isle of White, we conned our way into Hurst Castle (free) to reap some great views of the estuary and the beach. Having decided that 2 miles was far enough to walk in one day, we relaxed aboard a luxury pleasure cruiser (old ferry) and nautically sauntered back towards Milford. After several productive hours sunning and paddling on the shingle, we headed back to the bus fully rejuvenated and prepared for the reverse journey to Swansea. All in all, a great new weekend away with un-demanding but rewarding walks that will almost certainly be a must for next year.
Richard 'Treds' Tredennick
Walks Programme Winter 1999
Rhossili / Port Eynon (Sunday 3 October)
A pleasant and easy walk to start the year. A good chance to meet friends new and old with the backdrop of the beautiful Gower coastline and spectacular views of Worms Head.
Offa's Dyke (Sunday 10 October)
This boundary rampart once marked the border between England and Wales, but you will be pleased to hear that we only walk along a small part of the 150-mile monument. However, the bit we do walk is possibly the best, with great views over into England and across the mountains of Wales.
Lord Hereford's Knob (Sunday 17 October)
The first hard walk of the year. Don't worry, once the first hill is climbed its just a long ridge walk leading to the highlight of the day, "the Knob" (if we can call it that). From here views stretch into mid-Wales and across the whole Brecon Beacons.
Forest of Dean (Sunday 24 October)
Our first autumn visit to the Forest of Dean, which is just about far enough inside Eng-land for it not to rain? A good time to see some lovely autumn colours.
Peak District Weekend Away (Friday 29 - Sunday 31 October)
Our first of five weekends away gives us the opportunity to visit Kinder Scout, one of the highest (and certainly the boggiest) mountains in England. Then there are the tearooms of Castleton to pass the time on Sunday.
Bannau Sir Gaer (Navigation Walk) (Sunday 7 November)
A chance to brush up on your navigation skills at the same time as visiting a unique part of the Brecon Beacons. Watch and learn as the leaders try and show you how it should be done, It's always at this point that they always go and get lost!
Glamorgan Heritage Coast (Sunday 14 November)
A new walk for '99, along one of the most spectacular stretches of the South Wales coastline. Bring a camera with you!
Elan Valley (Sunday 21 November)
A trip into the heart of mid-Wales. This is well worth the journey for rewarding views and a relaxing walk around the reservoirs, kept in place by the elegant Victorian Dams.
Night Hike (Tuesday 23 November)
An opportunity to see the Gower at night while you are guided through some of the Un-spoilt landscape of the Peninsula - not that you can see much of it? Getting lost in the dark is a good laugh though.
Cadair Idris Weekend Away (Friday 26 - Sunday 28 November)
This challenging but highly rewarding weekend sees us conquer Cadair Idris, one of the great but little heard-of mountains of the Snowdonia National Park in North Wales. We are told the views from the top are spectacular; not that we have ever been up there without fog. Maybe this year!
Preselli Hills (Sunday 5 December)
An exciting visit to Pembrokeshire. (At this point, I ran out of ways to describe a great day's walk so go and find out for yourself!)
Sam Kent
Social Calendar Autumn 1999
Wednesday 29 September Equipment Trip to Blacks
A chance to buy that new item of equipment that you have always wanted, at a discount. The expert staff at Blacks will be on hand to give advice and to ensure that you make the right decision. So come along and meet the clubs members, before going into town for a drink and a chance to compare items.
Friday 8 October The Infamous Round-the-World Pub Crawl
This is the first real social event of the year, and is classed as a favourite by many. The event is held in Mumbles and the aim of the game is to sample a drink from each different country whilst completing a pub-crawl. It is a great ice breaker, and loads of fun. So forget the hangover, and give it a go.
Thursday 21 October Lazerquest
A night of fun with a gun. Shoot the committee and friends alike. Then join us in town for a few drinks. A must for all those who feet at home on the set of Star Wars.
Tuesday 26 October Peak District w/e Away sign-up/Navigation evening
First, sign up for the first weekend away of the year, before learning lots of new navigation skills from the so-called "experts of the hills" - OK, from the com-mittee. This is open to everyone, no matter how (in) competent you think you are with a map and compass. It is your chance to prove yourself on the navigation walk, which follows.
Wednesday 3 November Social at Jubbly's, and 1st year rep elections
If you want to join the committee then this is your chance! Prepare a little speech and come along for the elections. If you're not standing then come along to vote, and laugh at those who are! You get to enjoy a good meal and a wide variety of cocktails.
Thursday 11 November Mountain Rescue Talk
This is where the professionals from the Brecon Mountain Rescue Service come and share their knowledge and advice. Listen to their funny stories and ask loads of questions, before joining us in the union for a drink
Tuesday 23 November Cadair Idris sign up
Sign up for our second weekend away. This time we are off to Snowdonia: a great weekend, with lovely accommodation. Followed by the Gower night hike.
Tuesday 7 December Annual Christmas Dinner and Dance
A fantastic end to the term. A great night, complete with full Christmas dinner and disco. Dance until the wee small hours of the morning. So don your best party gear and get ready to party!
Amanda Lindley
