March finds me back editing the newsletter as Suzanne has had to stand down due
to time constraints. Suzanne will remain on the committee and help out in other
ways, for example answering email enquiries from new members.
We hope to have another editor in place soon, perhaps even someone with some writing
experience.... Watch this space!
Behind the scenes the committee seems to be working well. I doubt many of you really
understand what the committee does but each role is crucial to the efficient running
of a group like ours. Some of the hard work will go unnoticed by the average member
(admin roles) and some you will notice (improvements to the website, more people
organising trips).
I hope you enjoy the issue.
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For my birthday this year I had booked 2 cabins sleeping a total of 12 people at
Sandybrook Country Park in the Peak District. It meant taking the Monday off work,
something I could get used to.
We arrived on Friday night and settled in to our cosy cabins. The facilities looked
promising, besides the well equipped cabins we had free use of the swimming pool,
sauna and Jacuzzi that were opposite our cabins.
On Saturday the plan was to do a walk in Dovedale. Besides the 12 of us staying
in the cabins, Lorraine and a few of her friends joined us for the walk. The start
of the walk followed the River with high rocky outcrops to our right.
Start of Dovedale Walk – Photo by Zhang
We were supposed to cross the River further up but some in the group were too far
ahead to call back so we continued until we hit a village where we stopped for a
snack.
Lunch Stop – Photo by Zhang
After setting off again we quickly passed a local man with a puppy that drew lots
of aaahs from all the girls. The puppy seemed to love all the attention!
Cute puppy gets the attention – Photo by Zhang
The route then became steep, amazing views opening up behind us. The sun was out
and it looked set to stay but there were some dark clouds that were an indication
of the weather we would face the following day.
Lovely Peak District Views – Photo by Zhang
Stormy Clouds – Photo by Zhang
As the sun began to sink and the evening approach we could see the car park in the
distance. Unfortunately there was still one incredibly muddy field to cross before
the finish, something we all found difficult, especially Kemi in her trainers.
Once back at the cabins we cleaned up before making use of the pool and Jacuzzi.
After an hour enjoying the facilities we had built up an appetite and so it was
off for a meal.
On Sunday we awoke to the sound of rain hitting the wooden cabins. Two people decided
to head home, most visited an indoor climbing wall, whilst Con, Jenny and I braved
a wet walk in Monsal Dale with views of the railway viaduct.
Tom climbing – Photo by Zhang
Once back and out of our wet hiking gear, Con took a shower before heading back
to London. Jen and I joined the climbers who by this time were enjoying the hot
sauna and Jacuzzi. For our Sunday evening meal we decided to eat at the restaurant
on site before heading back to eat cake, drink and play games.
Birthday Balloon – Photo by Zhang
On Monday we tidied the cabins, gave our keys back and paid a visit to the charming
village of Tissington. As often is the case with charming villages, there was a
very agreeable teashop which we sampled before saying farewell and heading back
to London.
Article submitted by Gary Box
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Since we last updated you, our bear has begun to move around again. On 3rd February
tafflade retrieved him from Buzzards and Beeches cache keeping him for just 6 days
before dropping him in a cache in North Gower called Llanrhidian Marsh (Crofty).
This new damp location was only to remain his home for 3 days before Warren Wanderers
found him. February was to be a busy month for our bear and 4 days later he was
moved out of Wales and into Kent, close to Maidstone in a cache called Orchard Walk.
This new location was to be home for almost a month before Minstrelcat found him
on March 10th. At the end of March he was still with Minstrelcat, seemingly enjoying
himself!
Heathrow Bear enjoying Minstrelcat’s hospitality – Photo by Minstrelcat
Article submitted by Gary Box
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This was not the first time the group had visited an Outdoor Show but previously
we had only visited London shows. This year we had decided to visit the NEC at Birmingham,
probably the best venue in the UK for a large show.
As soon as I’d arrived at the show I was hungry so popped into a branch of Subway
for a late breakfast before making my way to the main entrance. The show offers
much for the outdoor enthusiast. Many of the well known retailers were present,
selling all the hiker could possibly want, some of their products having being reduced
in price, especially for the show.
For those short of cash, like me, the show still offered lots of interest. If you
wanted to have a bash at an activity you could, there was a small caving demonstration
and a diving pool. If watching the pros was more your thing then there was World
Championship Indoor Climbing taking place as well as some mountain bikers showing
their skills.
Personally though I’d come to see some of the talks given by outdoor ‘celebrities’.
These talks are very popular and queues form well in advance. Due to the queues
I decided to just see one lecture, that given by Alan Hinkes. Alan is well known
in mountaineering circles as the only Britain to have reached the summit of all
8000 metre mountains, 14 of them in all. This amazing feat had taken Alan almost
20 years, reaching his first 8000m peak in 1987 (Shisha Pangma) and making the summit
of Kangchenjunga, his last in 2005.
Article submitted by Gary Box
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So we’re not only Heathrow Hikers…we can ski too! (Well, we can make an attempt
at looking like we can ski…unless your name is ‘Super Professional Downhill Champion’
Con…)
Some of us have landed the very unfortunate position of being friends with a certain
Ross Worthington, who had the bold idea of organising a motley crew of us to visit
the classic resort of Chamonix in March. Many chasing deposits, emails with chalet
hosts and ticket tantrums at airports later – we all found ourselves being whisked
to our ‘super duper eat and drink all you want’ chalet, by one of our ‘friendly
hosts’ - who are lucky enough to live and work in this beautiful valley all season.
Thus ensued 6 days of skiing, skiing and more skiing…or should I say wine, wine
and more wine…oh, and many, many slices of French stick and unsalted butter. Many
stops at restaurants for lunch and £4 glasses of Coke (but, damn it tastes good
out of glass bottle at 2000m, no?!) We covered most of the areas in our week’s skiing
– Con and Tom and ‘the boys’ preferring Grands Montets (and those black runs), Sue
and I loving the wide reds on the Brevent-Flegere areas and none of us loving the
face freezing lift up to Le Tour (but the off-piste was excellent, said the ‘borders’).
Tom, Con, Kate & Sue – Photo submitted by Kate Stroud
If you love jagged alpine peaks, pristine glacial views and deep sided valleys –
you have to visit Chamonix. In winter or summer, the valley is spectacular in nature,
and when you can breeze down a blue run with the smoking dome of Mont Blanc staring
back at you…you know you are in the right place. Well, that’s usually the case when
you have picture postcard weather – yet, this is Heathrow Hikers we’re taking about…and
we ski in all weathers! Yes, we had blizzards, we had summer-like sun, we had sub-zero
bogey freezing wind and most of all we had cloud – dense, damp and chilly cloud
– producing white out conditions at times and rendering visibility down to the hand
in front of your face. Although this still didn’t seem to bother Con and Tom. Tom
did manage to face plant off the piste at one point though – and it did take about
half an hour for him to fight his way back up the slope in sticky thigh high drifts.
Of course – myself, Con and Sue were just too far down the piste to help at this
point – honestly.
We had different groups of friends around us on this holiday – it was quite unique
in that respect. But the presence of an outdoor hot tub at the chalet broke down
some barriers rather quickly! We skied in groups, met for lunch, disappeared off
again, fell over, had a beer, got lost in the cloud and generally had a most awesome
week! Ross and I dived off one morning for a trip in a cable car up to Aiguille
du Midi (3842m) – the views up to Mont Blanc were stunning, as this top station
lay above the clouds in the valley (damn those clouds!) I wouldn’t advise running
up and down stairs to keep warm at that altitude – as it usually results in one
nearly losing consciousness and feeling sick as a dog – hence having to descend
quite quickly after the obligatory photos (err…that was me....spirant winter mountaineer?!)
Thankfully, we were out and about every day, which made up for the fact that we
all seemed to eat our own weight in french stick, jam and cake (we had tea every
afternoon at 5pm…then dinner two hours later!) The chalet hosts looked after us
impeccably and really didn’t mind us raiding their wine stock each night. Poor Con
looked a little worse for wear as the week wore on (sharing a room with snoring
Tom as putting paid to a successful night’s sleep). Sue just got better and better
at skiing and it was a delight to share the week with everyone. We have all asked
Ross if he’s organising another ski trip for next year…from the look of sheer panic
and fear on his face I took that as a ‘no’ for now – but watch this space…the pistes
need a HH bashing very soon.
Article submitted by Kate Stroud
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