The
Club is affiliated to the British Mountaineering Council, which provides
third party insurance cover, access to hut accommodation, and Summit
magazine which is sent to members.
Our core activity
is monthly weekend trips, starting on a Friday and lasting until
Sunday. Some members try to get away early on the Friday morning,
but there are always a few who leave late afternoon or early evening.
The early leavers sometimes even manage to fit in a shorter walk
on the Friday afternoon. The main walk takes place on the Saturday
and is followed by a meal, either in the hut or in a local pub.
We typically return late on Sunday evening, having taken advantage
of the morning to do another walk. As we are a hill walking
club, these trips are typically to the Lake District, Snowdonia,
Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales, and so on. - anywhere that is
more hilly than the Home Counties. The emphasis is on walking, not
climbing. A degree of scrambling is inevitable in some areas, but
we don't go out of our way to look for it.
Accommodation
Accommodation
on trips is usually in bunkhouses to reduce costs ,and petrol expenses
are pooled, although we also use youth hostels from time to time.
A trip costs typically around £50 including travel and
cooked breakfasts. The weekend trips are supplemented by monthly
day walks in the south-east, usually as hilly as we can make them
In addition we also manage to arrange a number of social events
- pub meetings, eat-and-meets, barbecues, ten pin bowling, etc..
And last but not least, a camping weekend in August!
We also organize an annual holiday, when we push further a field. In the past we
have been to the Lake District, Scotland, Ireland and the Alps.
Members
Most members
of the club are reasonably fit, although one or two are definitely
not! At the moment we have about thirty members, and their ages
range from early thirties to early sixties. Membership is not confined
to the Kingston area. Although most members do live in the
locality, we have members who live in Lancashire, Hampshire, Shropshire
& North Wales - who are at an advantage when it
comes to weekend trips.
Depending on
numbers, on weekend trips there are often two walks each day offering
differing challenges. The day walks are normally between ten and
fifteen miles, depending on terrain and time of year.
Subscription
The annual
subscription is £20. Prospective members usually come out for a
couple of weekend trips before committing themselves to joining
- our third party insurance, via the BMC, allows for up to three
trips for non-members. Initially, you might like to come on one
of our day walks or to a Pub Meeting at the Kings Arms, Hampton
Court - opposite the gate to Bushy Park on the Friday before a weekend
trip. We normally meet in the bar, but if there is any noisy live
music, we will be as far away from it as possible!
