January 2002 Newsletter
Chairman's Introduction
Walks Program Lent Term 2002
Snowdon Weekend Away, 10th - 12th June 2001
Ceilidh, 20th March 2001
T-Shirts
Social Calendar, Lent and Summer Terms 2002
Up for grabs this term...
General Information
Chairman's introduction
Welcome back to the all singing, all dancing, all drinking Hiking Club! If you missed last term's merriment and madness now's the time to catch up.
Happy New Year, everybody! Some of you reading this will have just joined the club for the first time, a big hello to you guys, we love you, some more of you will have come to a sign-up and be wondering why we're throwing even more bits of paper at you and how could we possibly top last year's bonanza. We had all-weather walks, magical mystery tours and seaside strolls; we climbed hills, traversed bogs and occasionally did both at the same time. We also spent far too much time in the pub and got horrendously drunk, though we always paid for it the morning after. Well I did.
There're many more opportunities to do all that again this semester-we've got five months 'til June-plus an absolute shedload more! There're walks a-plenty, beginning in the Wye Valley from Chepstow to Tintern abbey. There are also all those walks we meant to do last year but couldn't, thanks to those pesky foot-and-mouth restrictions. So it is with much joy that we return to the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons to visit Offa's Dyke, Llangorse and the unsur-passable Pen-y-Fan. Ystradfellte, the Elan Valley and the Melincourt Falls Night hike are all making another welcome reappear-ance this year.
We've also got a bonanza of weekend trips, including a brand new, first-time-ever Weekend Away to the hills of Shropshire. This is complemented by the classic and unmissable Snowdon, and in the Summer term after exams we hope to visit the Lake District in far northern England.
The final word in walks this term must go to the marathon-like Crickhowell Round-about Walk, a 26-mile monster march round the Black Mountains for all you die-hard masochists out there. See pp. 2 and 3 for the full Walks list.
Socially there are more than enough opportunities to get drunk, including the staggering and surprisingly intellectual A-to-Z of Wind Street, the gun-tastic Lazerquest, don't-talk-to-me-about Ice Skating, Orientbeering in Clyne Woods and the highlight of this term and possibly the year, the Ceilidh.
Finally, the Lent term is the time when the Committee finally get a chance to wash their socks and give a new generation the opportunity to run the club for a year. The AGM is at the end of February and we need lots of people to carry on the club into 2003, so come along and do your bit, whether running for office or just voting others in, it's great fun. No, really it is.
See you out there!
Rob Lievesley
Walks Program Lent Term 2002
Please note that these walks are subject to change with very little warning. Pease see the notice-board and website for the latest details. Walks grades: A = Easy; B = moderate; C = Hard
Sunday 3rd February : Chepstow - Tintern Abbey (A)
Following our festive feasting, we begin with a gentle but spectacular walk along the Welsh side of the Severn, heading inland to the historic remains of Tintern Abbey and a great little pub.
Sunday 10th February : Offa's Dyke (B)
Walk part of the boundary between England and Wales with great views. This path stretches 150 miles but we'll take in only its best offering, with both ridge walking and the chance to visit the remains of Llanthony Priory on the valley floor.
Friday 15th - Sunday 17th February: Shropshire Weekend Away (B)
A new adventure for the club! A scenic if not too challenging area, with fantastic views over the Shropshire hills. An area with some of England's oldest rocks, mountains include Long Mynd, Stretton hills and Wenlock Edge to name but a few.
Sunday 24th February: Gower Backbone and BBQ (A)
This is where the old committee relax and prepare a barbecue on Rhossili beach, whilst the new committee gets the club lost on Gower! A very nice walk along Cefn Bryn and around Rhossili Common, with food waiting at the end!
Sunday 3rd March: Pen-y-Fan (C)
As featured in Trail Magazine! In my view, the best walk of the year. We go up Brecon Beacons highest mountain. Fantastic and spectacular views reign supreme from this classic Welsh mountain, with one of the UK's finest pubs, The Star Inn, providing refreshments to conclude a great day.
Tuesday 5th March: Melincourt Falls Night Hike (B)
The Vale of Neath awaits us for our first night hike of the New Year. Film location for the Blair Witch Project? Come along and see what you think!
Friday 8th - Sunday 10th March: Snowdon Weekend Away (C)
This 1086m mountain is the highest in England and Wales. On a clear day the views from the top are breathtaking, so they say! Beautiful area, many challenging hills, nice accommodation, Pete's Eats and quite simply a MUST GO ON weekend for all.
Sunday 17th March: Pembrokeshire Coast (B)
West Wales beckons for our visit to the UK's only coastal National Park for a day walking along some of the most spectacular coastline in the country.
Sunday 24th March: Crickhowell Roundabout (C+!)
Not for the faint-hearted, this 26-mile walk/marathon takes us around some of the best the Beacons have to offer. An early start and late finish, this is a great challenge of endurance, with a recovery day needed after!
Thursday 18th - Saturday 20th April: Bala Lake Easter Camp (B)
Bala is a historic town close to "Llyn Tegid" the largest natural lake in Wales. It provides an excellent base for hill walking in the Dee Valley and is bordered by the Cambrian Mountains in the east and Snowdonia in the north.
Sunday 28th April: Elan Valley (B)
A club favourite, this glorious walk takes us around the lakes and dams, offering spectacular reflections in good weather. Bring your camera and enjoy this area of Mid Wales.
Sunday 5th May: Ystradfellte Waterfall Walk (A)
This waterfall filled walk, including one we actually walk behind, is a great day out. Expect to get wet and remember a camera for this cracker, only a short distance from Swansea.
Sunday 12th May: Llangorse Lake (B)
There's a steep climb to start the day, but this pleasant hill walk gets easier after that. A fine ridge walk with great views over the Black Mountains
Tuesday 14th May: Threecliffs Bay Night Hike (A)
A gentle evening walk along the best South Gower has to offer, from Threecliffs to Caswell and hopefully with time for a beer or two after in Mumbles
Monday 10th - Thursday 13th June: Lake District Long "Weekend" (B/C)
The Lake District is England's largest National Park and is the place to go for some great mountain days, and there are some truly remarkable pubs too. It's also a long way away so we'll have to spend a massive four days away from Swanseait's a hard life, this.
Rhodri Haines
Snowdon Weekend Away, 10th - 12th June 2001
At 1085m (3560ft) Snowdon is the largest mountain in Wales (and England, for that matter), and is situated in Snowdonia National Park in North Wales.
We did the weekend away in June though usually it is in March (it had to be moved because of the foot and mouth crisis. Grrr!) We thought that maybe the weather would be better in June and we might actually be able to see the view from the top of Snowdon. Indeed, as we travelled up from Swansea the weather was gorgeously clear with views for miles around. However as we climbed the mountain the next day, the fog descended on us as we approached the top. Al-though we had to walk through thick cloud and it was quite cold, we were welcomed by the luxury of a warm café on the summit [the highest slum in Europe, according to Prince Charles - Rob]. We met a group of elderly women in the cafe who'd paid £16 to admire the fog!
On the way back down the mountain we split into two groups. The braver people like Rob and Ed went along a razor sharp ridge. I chose the easy(ish) option and went down the 'Miners Track', although I still had to scramble down a scree slope. We could hear the other group pol-luting the peace by chanting 'Swansea' all the way from the ridge. A Spanish bloke who shall remain nameless decided it would be a good idea to leave the group and invent his own (obvi-ously far superior) route down a waterfall. Some mad people also decided to go for a paddle in the freezing cold corrie lake (Glaslyn). Overall it was a fantastic hike and quite a challenge that everyone enjoyed.
We returned to the bunkhouse where we were staying and Jim cooked a few of us his spaghetti bolognese speciality; there's nothing like a hearty meal after a days hiking, and Jim's a great cook and didn't bribe me at all to say that. Then in the evening we went to the pub and were taught to play a very violent card game called 'TORRO TORRO', it's apparently a Spanish game, and good family fun! It is now a hiking club tradition to play the game on weekends away. If you would like to know the rules ask a member of the committee and I'm sure they'd be happy to explain the rules to you, especially Rhodri who insists its the best card game he's played! We had a few more drinks at the bunkhouse whilst being entertained by our Spanish friend who started a de-bate on Anne Widecombe. When we finally went to bed we had to face the challenge of trying to sleep through someone's really loud snoring.
The next day those who weren't too drunk tackled the 'Glyders' (big mountains next to Snow-don), whilst a few hungover people went to the famous Pete's Eats café for a full English break-fast-yum!
It was a really good weekend away, and Snowdon is a gorgeous place to visit, so make sure you all sign up for the Snowdon weekend away this year!
Sue Haywood
Ceilidh, 20th March 2001
Eventually, after Sam and Rebecca experienced a lot of stress, sweat and confusion in organising it (they found a room in which it could be held, it didn't have a license, they found another room, it was booked up, they changed rooms again, etc. etc.), the joint Hiking Club and History Society Ceilidh was a huge success. A ceilidh, for those less knowledgeable people out there is a barn dance. Ours was, however, minus the barn, but rest assured there was no shortage of dosey-do-ing.
While people ran around getting the band set up, this provided the rest of us with ample time to indulge in the somewhat limited but very necessary and much appreciated can bar. As the band began to play people were initially fairly hesitant and anxious about joining in but as the night wore on intoxication seemed to overcome all inhibi-tions and people were soon stripping the willow with full enthusiasm!
The band were obviously very experienced with drunken novices like us and made sure that they walked us through each step first before letting us loose on the full rendi-tion of each tune. I didn't think it really helped my pathetic attempts that much, but when I took a well deserved rest I noticed that everyone seemed to have picked up the dances surprisingly well (maybe it was just me!) I headed to the can bar once more to quench my thirst (all that promenading around really is quite demanding), before return-ing to the dance floor to attempt another dance.
After a final dance, regrettably (but somewhat relieved at missing the dance where the girls get hoisted up and spun around) I had to leave early. As I glanced back over my shoulder I saw Rob, Rhodri, Jim and Dave heading for the bar once again. It was evi-dent that, for them, there was plenty of dancing still to come. Strangely enough, when I questioned them about the rest of the night they didn't seem to have much recollection. At least Rhodri had an excuse; it was his birthday after all.
From the memories people have of that night it is clear that a great time was had by all. I can't wait until next years!
Emma Roe
T-Shirts
Every year the Hiking Club holds a competition for members to design our T-shirt. We ran this before Christmas and out of the record number of (uniformly superb) en-tries we couldn't decide on a single winner, so we decided to compromise. Therefore, we say "well done" to Sue Haywood for the cute dragon that will adorn the front of the T-shirt (and is also decorating the front cover of this Newsletter), and another "well done" to Phil Roberts, who design we chose for the back.
The designs will be on display on the noticeboard soon, when you'll also be able to place your order. More details tofollow-watch your email, the noticeboard and the Website!
Social Calendar, Lent and Summer Terms 2002
Friday 1st February: Post Exams Idols piss-up
A chance to celebrate how well your exams went (?!), meet any new members to the club and, as has become expected from any Hiking Club social, get extremely drunk.
Wednesday 13th February: A-Z of Wind Street
As the name suggests, the challenge is to make your way down Wind Street, while sam-pling a drink beginning with each letter of the alphabet. Keep going until you run out of time, money or you collapse!
Wednesday 20th February: Annual General Meeting
It's time to wipe away those tears as we wave goodbye to most of the old Committee and elect new, enthusiastic replacements. So now's your chance if you want to stand, or, if you don't, come along anyway and be entertained by the host of drunken speeches.
Thursday 28th February: Lazerquest
A great opportunity to release your stress or pretend to shoot any members you dislike! All that physical exertion is bound to make us thirsty, so it looks like we'll be forced to take a wander down Wind Street afterwards
Tuesday 5th March: Snowdon Sign-up and Night Hike
Sign up for our most popular weekend of the year before we take a stroll under the stars.
Friday 15th March: Ice Skating
Have a laugh trying to stay upright or be entertained by Rob's amazing skills on the ice. We'll of course make the most of being in Cardiff by grabbing a few drinks before our jour-ney home.
18th or 19th March (Date to be confirmed): Ceilidh
Also known as a barn dance to all those novices out there! But whatever you call it this has to be the highlight of out this term's social calendar. Don't worry if you've never stripped your willow before, no experience is needed.
Friday 22nd March: End-of-term piss-up
We don't have anything particular planned, but it's sure to involve copious amounts of al-cohol and will, I'm sure be a very eventful night.
Wednesday 8th May: Orientbeering
This is navigation with a bit of a twist. As a member of a small group, you will navigate your way around Clyne Woods in search of beer, hidden at various points. And of course when you find it, you get a bottle each to drink before moving on.
Wednesday 14th May: Summer trip sign-up and Night Hike
Once again we sign you up for one of our great trips, before heading off into the evening twilight.
Emma Roe
Up for grabs this term...
The Committee work hard to ensure the smooth and efficient running of the club (stop snig-gering, we really do try!). But we've also got degrees to complete and at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in February somebody else will need to take over our responsibilities. There are seven permanent positions up for grabs and in case you don't know what they all are, here's a quick summary:
Chair: the incumbent of this comfortable-sounding position is responsible for organising everyone else and making a speech at the Christmas Dinner. It's also the Chair's job to [appear to] know everything, so a bit of committee experience is kinda handy.
The Vice-Chair is responsible for booking transport for all our trips, and also has the inde-scribable privilege of looking after the club equipment and bringing all the necessary stuff to hikes. As an added bonus, you get to stand in for the Chair when they get totally lost on their way to meetings!
The Treasurer is responsible for the club piggy, making sure there's a bit of cash alongside all the cobwebs and forcing MPFs from the tightly clasped fists of stingy Committee members. A degree in business skills is not wholly necessary but a calculator is always useful.
The Secretary's job is to pay attention at boring Committee meetings and take notes-officially called minutes because there's so little to take note of [that's a bad joke, folks]. The Secretary also phones the pubs at the end of walks to let them know trouble's coming, and books accommodation for weekends away.
Social Secretary is a very important position; not only for organising all those socials but also for saying how long we have in each pub on pub crawls and for getting ridiculously drunk for everyone else's amusement! An awesome responsibility, I'm sure you'll agree.
The Publicity Secretary is personally responsible for the validity of information dissemi-nated to members via such media as the noticeboard and email. So if people don't turn up to hikes and socials the Chair and Social Sec will blame the Publicity Sec.
The Webmaster looks after, maintains and updates the club's extensive and ever-growing Website. When the Chair comes up with another wacky idea for the site, it's up to the Webmas-ter to try to carry it through, or at least persuade the Chair it's impossible
All of these positions are open to absolutely anybody who wants them, though we do ask that anyone standing will be a student in Swansea next academic year (obviously), and it really is im-portant for the Chair to have had previous Committee experience.
If you want to find out more about being on the Committee just ask any of the current lot be-fore the AGM in February and we'll be happy to share our wisdom.
Rob Lievesley
General Information
Walk Sign-ups
JC's Bar (quiet side), Fulton House
- Wednesdays 12:00 - 1:00 pm
- Friday 12:00 - 12:30 (beginning on 19th October)
Walk pick-ups
On Sunday Mornings:
- Uplands (outside Spar shop) 9:00am
- Hendrefoelan (bus stop on main road just outside village): 9:05am
- Clyn Hall by the Bombay Spice restaurant): 9:10 am
- University Campus (in front of Fulton House): 9:15 am
Weekends away have separate sign-up events and pick-ups-see the noticeboard and website nearer the time for details. Sunday walks usually cost between £3 and £4; weekends away £25 to £30. The summer trip to the Lake District may cost more, approx. £30 to £40.
The first few walks in October are always unrepresentatively busy. If you can't get a place on a walk, don't give up! After a while things settle down and ther should be plenty of space, though later on in the term we may decide to take a minibus rather than a coach, limiting numbers to 15 or so.
Equipment and Safety
Please refer to the Equipment and Safety Rules or the equipment page on the website for details of clothes and things to bring on walks. If you are unsure of anything contact the Committee.
Jeans and trainers are not allowed on hikes. If you turn up unsuitably equipped you will not be allowed to walk.
Keeping you informed
The club notice board is situated in the ground floor of Fulton House, opposite the entrance to the Health Centre. Keep your eye on this valuable resouce for all the latest information about walks, weekends away, social events and last-minute-news.
Website and e-mail
The extensive club website can be found by going to www.UWSHiking.org.uk Once there you will find news about upcoming hikes and socials, information about the club, equipment and safety as well as old newsletters, t-shirt designs and an extensive collection of photgraphs of walks past and present.
We will also email you each week during term time about events. If you do not receive these send an email to subscribe {at} uwshiking.org.uk and we'll do the rest.
Help!
If you have any problems with anything hiking-related contact the committee or email info {at} uwshiking.org.uk.
