Hello everyone! Hope you are all having a good holiday.
The committee are working hard to get everything ready for the coming year and the new walks program is now availiable through the walks tab above. For the club veterans who are returning this year we look forward to seeing you at fresher's fair, for those of you who have never joined us before here is a quick guide on how to join our hiking group...
- First you need to join the Athletic Union (AU), they oversee all sports at Swansea university and you cannot participate with any of the student sports clubs before you have joined them, this is beacuse they provide our insurance and also for other legal and financial reasons. To join the AU visist their website (www.suau.co.uk), click the 'join the AU' tab on the left of their site and then follow the 'new user' instructions to join the AU.
- After filling out the AU's forms you get a confirmation page, print this and take it to the AU stand at Fresher's Fair (due to be held 29th and 30th of September) where you will be given an AU card! This is your ticket to join more than 40 sports clubs!!
- Next come and find the HIKING CLUB stand!!! We can sign you up to the club there and then and you can book your place on one of our first walks.
We look forward to meeting you!
Not sure if hiking is for you? Our walks are of varying lengths from 6 to 14miles and guided by a committee member or competent walk leader, we won't rush you or force you to walk faster than you feel comfortable. We visit some awesome locations including local areas like the Gower peninsula and the Brecon beacons as well as longer trips to areas like Snowdonia and the Peak district. Checkout our photos in the gallery!
This Sunday is our last Sunday hike.... sniff! Join us SUnday 9th of March for the waterfall walk.
Saturday the 8th is our BBQ at Chris's house, contact Chris for details and our last social is Wednesday 12th May when we'll be having our Orienbeering social in Clyne Valley. Keep an eye our for more details in the emails.
After our AGM last week the new committee is
- Chairman - Chris Laidler
- Vice Chair - Sam Wizard
- Treasurer - Katherine Hooper
- Secretary - Gareth Davies
I hope everyone enjoyed the pancakes after the meeting :)
Our next big trip away will be a 5 day Easter trip to Snowdonia from the 20th to the 24th of March, this includes 5 days walking, 4 nights accomodation and transport all for the bargain price of £65. Please bring your £20 deposit to the signup to secure your place!
Welcome back to all our current members and hello to anyone who has just joined us at refresher's fair! I hope you all did well in your exams. :)
This term has a packed schedule which includes some new ideas for walks and socials, the full programme wil be up on the website in the next few days. Our next weekend away will be from the 5th to the 7th of February when we head off to the Mendips and the famous Cheddar gorge... more details to follow by email!
Congratulations to...
- Catherine Burgess-Wilson (First year rep)
- Robert Buluschek (International rep)
- Gareth Davies (First year rep)
...who were elected tonight. Everyone dressed up halloween style and photos will be uploaded to the website soon. Also along with Pen-y-Fan, Peak District, Free walk, and the Hat Party social. Remember if you have any photos of walks or socials that you want in the gallery let us know.
Hello everyone!
Our next walk is this Sunday to Offa's Dyke. It's a lovely walk along the ridge bordering Wales and England, stand either side
and be in both countries at the same time! We're going by minibus so places are very limited, let us know as soon as possible if you want to go.
Upcoming walks and socials:
- Sunday 1st November - Offa's Dyke
- Thursday 5th November - Bonfire Night on the Beach
- Sunday 8th November - Weobley Castle (Gower)
- Tuesday 10th November - Laser Zone
- Friday 13th -> Sunday 15th November - The Malverns and Cotswolds Weekend
Next week we'll start sign up for Weobley Castle and our weekend away to the Malverns (£35). We're staying in nice accommodation this time, all you'll need is a sleeping bag, there are kitchen and shower facilities.
This Wednesday 28/10 is our first year rep elections, if its your first year in the hiking club you are encouraged to stand for a first year rep position. Two of these will be elected to join the committee and help run the club - don't worry we won't give you too much to do! First year reps are elected by the rest of the club, you will need to give a short speech explaining why we should vote for you. There is also an international rep position for one exchange student, both positions require you to be able to attend a weekly meeting to discuss the general running of the club. If you would like more detail please speak to a member of the committee.
Our first weekend away is Friday 16th -> Sunday 18th October, to the Peak District in Derbyshire, England. The Peaks national park has lovely rocky landscapes, and scenery. We will be staying in the "White Peak" area in a camping barn in Middleton-by-Youlgrave, near Bakewell, You will need a sleeping bag, roll mat, lots of warm clothes, hiking gear and some food, those going will get a more detailed email soon. We have a few places left so let us know as soon as possible if you would like to come, we can also start up a reserve list in case anyone drops out, it costs £30 (£15 deposit). You can view photographs from previous Peak District weekend aways here, we are staying in the same accommodation as 2007/08. Weekends away are always great fun and good way to get to know each other.
To become a member of our hiking club you need to join the athletic union first.
If you are unsure about how to join the AU you can follow this link:
http://www.suau.co.uk/membership/
You need to follow the instructions, upload a photo of yourself, and when it is
finalised you will get a page telling you to print it. Print it out and join the
queue at Fresher's fayre. They will write your AU number on the paper then you can go to the
collection point and pick up your card.
If you miss out tomorrow you can still join the AU at a later date, probably by
collecting it from the AU office. Don't forget you can join us anytime of the year.
Fresher's Fair is approaching once again and will take place on Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th of September.
To join us you have to become a member of the AU (Athletic Union) first which you can do during Fresher's fair. If you need any help with this come and see us and we can tell you exactly what to do :). After joining the AU you can join us during Fresher's fair or if you miss that, after Fresher's week you can find us every Wednesday and Friday 12.30-1.30pm in JC's quiet side, Fulton House.
After becoming a member you can sign up for whichever walks you fancy, and attend our fun socials too. We have a range of easier and harder walks across the year, around Wales and England.
Hello everyone,
Hope you all enjoyed the Easter break. Welcome back to this last but packed term in the hiking club. We have a lot to come including our last three walks:
- St Davids - Sunday 26th April
- Rhossili -> Swansea (Sponsored Walk) - Saturday 2nd May
- Ystradfellte Waterfall Walk - Sunday 10th May
Upcoming socials include the A-Z of Wind Street pub crawl, some more pool and snooker in Whitez, and the legendary Orientbeering! As well as those there is possible Paintballing, BBQ on the beach, and an end of year meal. Check out social calender for more details and keep reading your emails!
If you want to come on the Sponsored Walk you don't need to sign up in advance (we will be travelling by Gower bus) but it will help if you can get sponsors :P. Collect a sponsorship form at sign up or download one from our website. We are raising money for Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue.
The Rhossili -> Swansea Sponsored Walk has been moved to Saturday 2nd May. We will be raising money for Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation (see here for their website). We hope as many of you as possible will join us on this fantastic 24 mile hike or sponsor those who are. You can download a Sponsorship form here. You can also collect a form at sign up. Good luck!
Hello everyone, hope you enjoyed the Pancake social :).
Our next walk is Preseli Hills (B,2), Sunday 1st March. This walk is in the lovely area of Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The hills are rocky in places, and there are some nice views. There won't be too much climbing and apparently there is a very nice pub at the end! If you haven't signed up yet catch us during Friday's sign up in JC's. Before we go some of us will be meeting in Uplands Diner at 8.15am for a cooked breakfast, anyone is welcome to join us.
We have also started signing up for our Easter Trip to Snowdonia! This will take place from the last day of term, Friday 20th March - Wednesday 25th March. We will be staying for 5 days in a Mountaineering Centre, there are bunk beds, showers, a fitted kitchen and drying room. You will need to take a sleeping bag. We will be offering both hard and easy walks (including Mt Snowdon!), and the opportunity to explore attractions nearby. Deposit will be £25, final cost £60 or less. Sign up as soon as you can, places will go quickly!
Next week's social is a night hike, Rhossili Down, Tuesday 3rd March. Yes we like to walk for socials too :P. If you haven't been on a night hike yet, you're definitely missing out. It's a great experience, a nice relaxing walk in the dark, chance to go paddling in the sea (bring a towel!) and will tire you out for a good night's sleep. Bring a head torch if you want but the club has a limited number of spares and it won't be necessary to have one as long as someone nearby does. If you don't know, Rhossili Down is in West Gower, we will be walking around for great views of the city far off then come down onto sand dunes and the beach. It's a lovely walk, we will be getting a minibus there and it will only cost £2! Sign up this Friday or on Sunday's walk but don't leave it too late, there are a limited number of spaces.
Thanks to everyone who attended the AGM and voted. Your committee for 2009-2010 will be as follows:
- Chairman - Katherine Hooper
- Vice Chair - Paul Adderley
- Treasurer - Stephen Sanger
- Secretary - Sam Wizard
- Publicity Officer - Megan Jones
- Social Secretary - Amy Brook (until Summer '09)
- Webmaster - Oliver Dibbens (until Summer '09)
- International Rep - Julia Fuss
Please come and see us if you have any suggestions to do with the running of the club or events you would like organised or Email us at info@hiking.org.uk
Welcome to new members if you signed up at Refreshers Fayre last Monday. If you missed us and still want to join and you can join up anytime of the year, come to sign up in JC's (quiet side) between 12.30 and 1.30pm on a Wednesday or Friday and become a member.
Our next social is on Tuesday 3rd February to Laser Zone. This social is always great fun, two games of shooting your friends will be followed by drinks in town. We will meet in Yates at 7pm (ask us for directions if you're unsure where this is) and go to Laser Zone at 7.30pm.
Our next walk is Usk Reservoir (A,1), this Sunday 8th February. If you haven't signed up already come to sign up this week and there should be a place for you. We will also start signing up for next weeks walk, Sunday 15th February, to Pen Allt Mawr (B,3). This walk is in the Black Mountains and should be a nice challenging walk. Both walks cost £5.
Don't forget our AGM is coming up this month (Tuesday 17th February), where the new committee will be elected. If members are interested in helping out on the committee come along to sign up and ask us about the positions.