Heathrow Hikers - Outdoor Group for West London

From the Editor
Update - Geocaching (Heathrow Hikers' Bear)
Report - Peak District Easter Trip
Internet Humour - Campground Story
Report - Forest of Dean
Looking Ahead
Contact / Submit details

Welcome to Issue 6 of Compass. For much of the month of March I was overseas in Morocco where I became slightly ill towards the end of the trip. I'm only now feeling 100% again. After spending time in such a warm country it was a shock to return to the UK and the weather we've had recently. Our Easter trip to the Peaks was dominated by overcast, rainy and cold weather. Thankfully our trip to the Forest of Dean at the start of April contained some sunshine and I'm still hopeful of a good summer this year, fingers crossed!

Since the last issue, our Bear has enjoyed further adventures! The T-girls moved him from The Malverns, heading north to York. He visited York Minster before being placed in a cache at Stamford Bridge on the 26th February. Stamford Bridge is the site of the famous battle in 1066 where King Harold defeated the Vikings only to be defeated himself later that year in the Battle of Hastings.

Our Bear visits York Minster - Photo supplied by the T-girls

He was to remain in this location until 5th March when Paul & Ros found him. At first they thoughts they had found one of their own bears and promptly took him home to meet some friends.

Heathrow Hiker Bear (centre) and friends - Photo supplied by Paul & Ros

Our bear enjoyed his time with Paul & Ros before finally it was time to continue his adventures. On 13th March he was placed 20 miles west of his last location in an area called Little Ribston near Goldsborough. He is currently awaiting for some kindly soul to find him so that he might continue his adventures.

Article submitted by Gary Box

Since the Peak District is relatively close to London, we decided to leave early on Good Friday rather than rush straight from work on Thursday. After arriving at Eyam hostel around 2pm we left our bags in the room before heading out to do a 9 mile walk led by Glyn. Upon leaving the hostel the first thing we did on this fine day was buy an ice cream. From Eyam we headed through fields of sheep and newborn lambs towards the hamlet of Foolow. From Foolow we headed towards Bretton where we stopped for a drink in The Barrel. After an hour we felt suitably refreshed and began the walk back to Eyam with a glorious evening sunset casting long shadows over the landscape. Finally we arrived back at the hostel just as the light was fading. After a quick shower and a change of clothes we left to eat in Eyam's only pub, The Miner's Arms.

Glyn on Eyam walk - Photo by Gary Box

Saturday we awoke to overcast conditions. After wolfing down our cooked breakfast we headed into Bakewell so that I could visit an outdoor shop. Purchase made it was time to drive to the Dark Peak and the town of Castleton, the start of our 13 mile walk. We began heading North West towards Hollins Cross before continuing on towards Edale. From Edale we joined the Pennine Way before the steep climb to Ringing Roger, disturbing many grouse along the way.

Our route then took us west through Upper Tor, Crowdon Tower and Kinder Low. A short stop was made to eat a packed lunch (it was too cold to stop for long). With just over half the walk completed we headed south towards Brown Knoll. It was about this time that a young couple came running towards us. It turned out they were lost and wanted to get back to Edale where they were camping. They joined us until the Chapel Gate track where we said our goodbyes, telling them to follow the path through Barber Booth and on to Edale. We continued east to Lord's Seat. The weather was worsening now, visibility was down to a matter of feet and we were keen to finish. Finally we reached the road, walking along it past Blue John Cavern and Speedwell Cavern before arriving back at Castleton.

Arriving back at the hostel we quickly changed clothes before heading to Stoney Middleton and its take-away fish and chip shop. Since Eyam now sells bottled beer we decided to stay in for the night and sample their Black Sheep and Hairy Helmet.

The alarm went off Sunday, the clocks had gone forward meaning we had lost an hour. Despite this I was somewhat pleased as I knew this meant lighter evenings, something I always look forward to. Again the weather was miserable so we decided to have a relaxing day behaving like tourists. We drove to Buxton to collect some leaflets from the Tourist Information Centre. We decided to visit The Chestnut Centre Conservation Park near Chapel-en-le-Frith. The park is mainly known for its owls and otters but also has deer, foxes and Scottish wild cats. A couple of hours later we found ourselves heading to the shop where we treated ourselves to a hot drink and cake.

Next on our itinerary was a visit to Speedwell Cavern. Having queued for an hour in the cold we finally found ourselves heading down the 105 steps to the boat that was to take us through the cave. A guide explained the history of the lead mine and relayed stories of the grim conditions that faced the young miners who worked there. The journey lasted just under an hour before we were faced with the 105 steps and daylight once more.

Heading back to Eyam we decided to stop at The Bull's Head pub in Foolow for a drink. One drink became two as time ticked by. Before long it was time to think about our evening meal. A quick look at the menu and the very reasonable prices meant we saw no need to leave now that we were comfortable. Two courses later we finally forced ourselves to leave for the short drive back to the hostel.

Cosy Bull's Head Pub - Photo by Gary Box

Monday morning we awoke to the same mist and drizzle as the previous two mornings. After our cooked breakfast we decided to head home early, only to find that in London it was bright and sunny, typical!

Article submitted by Gary Box

The story is told of a lady who was rather old-fashioned, always quite delicate and elegant, especially in her language. She and her husband were planning a week's vacation in Florida, so she wrote to a particular campground asking for a reservation. She wanted to make sure the campground was fully equipped, but didn't quite know how to ask about the toilet facilities. She just couldn't bring herself to write the word "toilet" in her letter. After much deliberation, she finally came up with the old-fashioned term BATHROOM COMMODE. But when she wrote that down, she still thought she was being too forward. So she started all over again, rewrote the entire letter referring to the bathroom commode merely as the BC: "Does the campground have it's own BC?" is what she actually wrote. Well, the campground owner wasn't old-fashioned at all and when he got the letter, he just couldn't figure out what the woman was talking about. That BC business really stumped him. After worrying about it for awhile, he showed the letter to several campers, but they couldn't imagine what the lady meant either. So the campground owner, finally coming to the conclusion that the lady must be asking about the local Baptist Church, sat down and wrote the following reply:

Dear Madam:
I regret very much the delay in answering your letter, but I now take pleasure in informing you that a BC is located nine miles north of the campground and is capable of seating 250 people at one time. I admit it is quite a distance away, if you are in the habit of going regularly, but no doubt you will be pleased to know that a great number of people take their lunches along and make a day of it. They usually arrive early and stay late. It is such a beautiful facility and the acoustics are marvelous...even the normal delivery sounds can be heard. The last time my wife and I went was six years ago, and it was so crowded we had to stand up the whole time we were there. It may interest you to know that right now a supper is planned to raise money to buy more seats. They are going to hold it in the basement of the BC. I would like to say it pains me very much not to be able to go more regularly, but it surely is no lack of desire on my part. As we grow old, it seems to be more of an effort, particularly in cold weather. If you do decide to come down to our campground, perhaps I could go with you the first time you go, sit with you, and introduce you to all the other folks. Remember, this is a friendly community.
Sincerely, (Campground Owner)

We arrived at our hostel too late to look around at what is one of the YHA's more interesting buildings. A Norman castle, St. Briavel's is typically booked up at weekends months in advance so I felt lucky to be staying there.

Breakfast was served at 8:15am and after a quick shower we found ourselves leaving the hostel fairly early. The weather was gorgeous as promised which showed the outside of the castle off to good effect. A short drive later we found ourselves in Coleford tourist information centre looking for local walks we could do. We opted for one that started and ended back at St. Briavel's hostel.

St. Briavel's hostel - Photo by Gary Box

Back at our start point, boots on, we began our 8.5 mile walk. We headed to Mork Brook and then Bigsweir Bridge. Rather than cross the bridge we headed south on the Offa's Dyke Path, hugging the bank of the River Wye as we went. Eventually we reached a weir and at this point we began the steep climb through the woods. At the top we took a moment to look down at the river below us before continuing to a property called Meg's Folly. From here we turned south, heading for Denehurst Farm. Picking up the Offa's Dyke Path again we passed Spring Farm. Our direction remained the same until we reached the old red phone box where we turned East. I was impressed by some of the houses we saw on this walk, particularly the one with a huge pond in their garden complete with a pair of black swans!

Eventually we found ourselves on the road and followed it the short distance back to the hostel. Since the hostel closes its doors during the day until 5pm we decided to make a stop at a little place that is both a teashop and antique shop. Appetites sated we agreed to make a flying visit to Tintern Abbey, a building I've always been impressed by every time I drive past it.

Once back at the hostel we had a quick nap before heading to a local pub for our evening meal. As is often the case with pub meals in the country, the portions were large and the food tasty. I was also pleased to see they had the Belgium beer Leffe on tap, so for me at least it was an enjoyable evening.

Sunday we decided to make use of the cycles we had brought with us and headed off to the forest for a cycle ride. The route was not strenuous but did include a couple of interesting downhill sections. We found ourselves back at the car around 2pm and decided there was time to visit somewhere else before having to head home.

That somewhere turned out to be Symonds Yat for the fine views it offers. The RSPB were out in force, listing all the birds and other animals they had seen that day. Finally it was time to leave and return to London. It had been a good weekend, I especially enjoyed staying in the castle and the fine weather we had Saturday.

Article submitted by Gary Box

We are currently thinking of events to put on the calendar for the summer. If you have any ideas about places you want to visit let Andrew or myself know. So keep an eye on the programme for these new events and if you are interested contact the organiser early.

The Norway flights are now booked. For anyone else who wishes to make this trip you are welcome to see if spaces still exist on our chosen flights, contact Gary.

If you have any articles or images you wish to contribute to the next issue of Compass please email them to Gary.

Please try and submit articles as early as possible but not later than the 3rd week of the month if you wish it to appear in the subsequent issue.

Thanks.