Heathrow Hikers - Outdoor Group for West London

From the Editor
Update - Geocaching (Heathrow Hikers' Bear)
Report - Salcombe Weekend
Internet Humour
Report - Northumberland Weekend
Looking Ahead
Contact / Submit details

April was another busy month with trips away to Salcombe and Northumberland. As well as the images in this issue, you can find more from last month's trips in our photographs section. Since spring has sprung we have seen an increase in the number of people contacting Heathrow Hikers. We have also made contact with a group called Backabush Xplorers and their founder Geoff Mills. Backabush members have already signed up to come along on some of our trips and our members have begun to attend their trips too. This arrangement should mean more choice for all.

Since last month we have also applied for affiliation to the YHA and been accepted. As a group who enjoy hostelling and appreciate the outdoors we support the aims of the YHA and look forward to a long and close relationship.

As always, enjoy the issue!

Some of you have commented how you really enjoy reading about the adventures of our bear. Since last time he's been very busy. He was finally removed from the cache at Little Ribston by carth2000 on 28/3/05 who then moved him 2 miles West to Plompton Rock on the same day.

On 4/4/05 Roboes found him, placing him in a cache in The Lake District some 6 days later. They even emailed me to say that had some fantastic photos of him with the Langdale Pikes in the background but alas as yet they have not sent them.

A week later he was found by theclarkes who kept him until 24/4/05 when they left him in a cache on White Stone Crag, a short distance from the village of Ayside, South Cumbria. Our bear only had to wait 5 days before some kindly soul under the name of martlakes found him. He is currently still enjoying the company of martlakes but there is a rumour our bear could be heading to Scotland!

Article submitted by Gary Box

The drive down to Salcombe was a long one and it was not the easiest hostel to find in the dark. We had to wait until Saturday morning to appreciate the views from the hostel, overlooking the sea. The hostel is owned by the National Trust and is leased to the YHA. It's named Overbecks, after the previous owner and scientist Otto Overbeck who donated it to the National Trust. Part of the hostel is open to the public during the day who come to visit the Grade 2 listed sub-tropical gardens.

Our plan for Saturday was a 12 mile walk, mostly coastal. Once parked at Soar, we walked North to Marlborough before heading West to the coast at Bolt Tail. The weather was fantastic and the views from the coast superb.

Old Thatched Cottage - Coastal Walk

From Bolt Tail we followed the coastline South-East, passing Cathole Cliff and on to The Warren. We even found the time to find a Geocache called 'The Love Cache'. It was placed there by a couple who met at the spot during the solar eclipse on 11th August 1999. We decided it was the perfect time to stop and eat our packed lunch, enjoying the views. We came across some wonderful small secluded beaches that seemed deserted, save for a couple having a picnic and a guy walking his dog. At The Warren we cut the walk slightly short and headed North back to the car park. The planned route was to continue on to Bolt Head and up to Sharpitor (the location of our hostel).

Once back at the car we drove back to Salcombe for a quick look around the Tourist Information Centre. After a look around the town it was time to think about food. Most places were very busy but we finally managed to find spaces in a pub.

On Sunday the weather had turned, the sun failing to make an appearance all day. We drove to Bigbury-on-Sea, parked the car and headed to the village of Ringmore. From Ringmore we headed to Kingston and on until we finally hit the coast again at Wonwell Beach. The route back to the start point was a simple case of following the well marked coastal paths. The clifftop views were something special and would have been more so in good weather. The area is popular with surfers and we saw many of them enjoying the waves. Arriving back at the car park mid-afternoon we dried off before deciding the weather was not going to improve and now was as good a time as any to begin the drive home.

Article submitted by Gary Box

Most of those going to Northumberland had managed to get the day off, unfortunately for myself I could not escape work until 3pm. Despite this everyone had managed to arrive at Wooler hostel by 10pm, not bad going considering how close it is to the Scottish border.

Most of us had decided to do a walk in the Cheviot mountains on Saturday weather permitting and thankfully when we awoke in the morning the prospects looked good. The start point of the walk was a short drive from Wooler, beside Hawsen Burn which offers limited parking. Following the river we headed towards Langleeford and on to Langleeford Hope and Harthope Linn. The scenery was beautiful, the path weaving left then right, waterfalls to our left and photogenic trees growing out from the side of the hills.

Checking the route - Cheviot Walk - Photo by Zhang

Finally the sound of water faded and we had to begin a steep climb, passing pockets of snow until the ground finally leveled. The ground at the top was very boggy but since this formed part of the Pennine Way paving slabs prevented us from having to get too mucky. For the first time during the day we began to see some people, a fell runner and other walkers, all heading for the summit of the highest point in Northumberland National Park, The Cheviot. We stopped for a photo and to eat lunch, though Zhang had eaten most of his earlier in the day.

Zhang, Alan & Glyn on Cheviot Summit - Photo by Gary Box

Much of the remainder of the walk followed a fenceline, steeply down for part of the section. Eventually by mid afternoon the walk was over. With plenty of daylight left we decided to drive to the coast and spend some time at Bamburgh beach. Northumberland is quite rightly famous for it's coastline. As well as long golden sandy beaches, the area has plenty of castles and islands you can visit. We decided to just walk along the beach and build up an appetite.

Dog playing in sea at Bamburgh - Photo by Zhang

Once ready to eat we found a pub and ordered our food. I was happy to find that they had a TV and I watched my team Chelsea win their first title in 50 years.

Zhang enjoying a Guinness - Photo by Gary Box

Later that evening, back at the hostel, we agreed that we would spend the Sunday on Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island. Sunday arrived and with it rain had arrived too. By the time we drove across the causeway and walked to the Castle is was really heavy, so much so that we took cover in the lime mines until the castle opened. After a visit of the castle we walked to a small coffee shop in an effort to dry out. Finally the rain ceased so we walked around the ruins of Lindisfarne Priory. Over the next half hour or so the weather underwent an amazing transformation and we found ourselves bathed in glorious sunshine.

Statue of St. Aidan - Lindisfarne - Photo by Gary Box

Having seen everything we wanted to, we finally left Lindisfarne in plenty of time before the tides came in and made it an island again.

Monday we headed south towards Britain's largest forest. Kielder Forest and Kielder water are both man-made. Both are vast, the water popular amongst water sport enthusiasts, the forest popular for walkers and wildlife spotters.

Kielder Forest - Photo by Zhang

We all visited Kielder castle for a quick history lesson about the area. Alan had decided to try a walk he'd found in one of the books. The rest of us then began a walk to a structure called Skyspace where I hoped to find a Geocache I knew to be hidden in the area. We began searching and before too long Zhang found it. We removed a 'Steady Eddie' travel bug from the cache for hiding it again where we had found it.

Zhang with Travel Bug - Photo by Gary Box

Back at Kielder castle, Zhang and I looked for and found another cache hidden in the forest before finally everyone met up again. Back at the car park we said our goodbyes, most deciding to head home. Zhang and I decided to drive on to Housesteads to visit Hadrian's wall.

Hadrian's Wall - Photo by Gary Box

Housesteads is popular among tourists since it is the site of an old Roman Fort. This is also the only section of the wall that you are officially allowed to walk on. The views are superb with the wall snaking it's way through the rolling hills. Happy we had seen what we came for, we headed back just as the rain began.

This had been my first time in Northumberland. It does not get the visitors some other National Parks attract, perhaps because of its location. It was a joy to walk amongst its scenery over a bank holiday without it feeling like Piccadilly Circus (try saying the same in The Lake District). If you have never been to the area I can recommend it. If there is enough interest I'd certainly hope that Heathrow Hikers would visit again in 2006.

Article submitted by Gary Box

Due to interest from within the group we have decided to make climbing one of our main activities. We hope to have weekly sessions at an indoor climbing wall and later in the year you can expect to see some outdoor climbing on the programme too.

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.