About
Welcome to the Mountain Walking and Trekking Section.
We organise walking & trekking trips to mountain and upland areas within the UK and abroad. We cater for a varied range of interests and skills and our events range from a weekend coastal path walking in Wales to tackling mountains in Africa.
We also have an active social programme that includes day walks, pub evenings, BBQ's, summer camping trips and other related outdoor activities.
Q: What do we do, how do we spend our time?
A: In a nutshell the club provides some great opportunities for its members to join together on trips to hike up mountains and upland areas in the UK and overseas. There is a wide cross section of walking and climbing interest in the club and this is reflected in our trip planning diary. Currently our most challenging trips are based around high level winter walking in Scotland. Conversely, some of our other trips are far less demanding, for instance low level walks in areas such as the Yorkshire Dales have featured regularly in our trip planning in recent years. You could say that we start where the Ramblers finish......
Q: How does this happen?
A: The majority of our trips are planned over weekend periods, about one trip per month. Typically we'll meet up Friday afternoon, fly or drive to the venue, arrive at the accommodation, make for the pub to discuss final plans for the weekend and then spend Saturday and Sunday on the mountains or hills before returning back to good old LHR on Sunday evening. As for the evenings, you'll rarely (if ever!) find us in a Youth Hostel Common Room reading climbing mags; strangely enough we always seem to end up in a nearby pub.....
Q: Where do you go?
A: In the UK we visit all of the well known upland areas, i.e. Scotland, the Lake District, Wales, the Pennines, etc. Overseas we've regularly visited areas of the Alps, the Pyrennees, the Mediterranean, South America and Southern Africa. Trip times can be anything from a weekend in Europe or the UK to a couple of weeks somewhere far overseas. Our most recent longhaul trips have been to New Zealand and Tasmania.
On the trips we use budget accommodation i.e. mountain huts, bunk barns, Youth Hostels, budget hotels, plus the occasional straw roofed Rondaval when down in Africa. Backpacking and camping figure to a limited degree.
Q: What else do you do?
A: On the social side we run an annual club BBQ and organise several evening pubbing walks and weekend socials. We're a pretty laid back crowd and once the day's walking is taken care of, we're pretty serious about relaxing and taking things easy - especially on the overseas trips!
Q: How often do you have trips away and where do you go?
A: We aim for at least one trip per month. We visit all of the upland areas of the UK such as the Pennines, Scotland, Wales and Lake District. We also have regular trips overseas, during the last few years visited include Southern Africa, Patagonia, the French and Italian Alps, Greece, Tenerife, North Africa, New Zealand and Tasmania.
Q: How many people are in the club?
A: The current membership is in the region of 50 members. We're always on the lookout for new members, so if you know anybody else who may be interested please contact our membership secretary, see the contacts page.
Q: How do I find out what trips have been planned?
A: We plan our trips schedule approximately six months in advance and the details including dates and who to contact are published in the club newsletter and on this site.
Q: How tough are the walks, what about my personal fitness?
A: The distance, route, time, etc. of the walks depends on the hours of daylight, weather, the type of terrain and the fitness level of the group. Typically, on a summer trip to the Lake District, we'd expect to be out for up to nine hours, walk about ten to twelve miles and climb about 3000 to 4000ft or so.
As long as you're reasonably fit you should be able to manage all but our most demanding trips. Reasonably fit in a walking context is the ability to briskly walk about twelve miles or so in an area such as the Chiltern or Cotswold Hills without feeling too uncomfortable at the end.
Q: How much mountaineering do you do?
A: Over ninety percent of the current membership are interested only in walking/ scrambling to the mountaintop. We're definitely not into scaling vast areas of vertical or ice clad rock face. Currently the most challenging trips we do are high level winter mountain walking in Scotland. In reality, most of our trips are far less demanding.
Q: What sort of equipment do I need?
A: You should have, as a minimum, reasonable quality walking boots, effective weatherproof outer clothing and a day backpack. Please check with us so that you know what you need to buy as the club has a selection of equipment that it loans out free of charge to members.
Q: Is membership of the club open to non BA staff?
A: Yes, close family and partners can join. Also, non-BA employees can now join as Associate Members. E-mail our membership secretary, William Blair for more details. See Contacts page
Q: How do you decide where to go?
A: The trip schedule is put together by the club committee twice a year and is based on suggestions by club members. We have a group of keen members who then take on the job of organising and/or leading the trips.
Q: What about safety?
A: The club recognises that mountain climbing and walking is a potentially hazardous activity and it will take all reasonable precautions to help ensure the safety of its members. However. members must accept that, as an activity, mountain climbing and walking contains a higher level of risk of injury or mishap than some other sports. We ask that members fully appreciate this and act accordingly when considering attending a trip and also during a trip. You should always advise your travel insurers of the level of walking that you will be undertaking so that they can advise you accordingly.
Q: How much do trips cost?
A: By using staff travel, car-sharing and booking basic accommodation we keep costs down to a minimum. You will also need to budget packed lunches and evening meals. Though the cost of trips will vary depending on the destination and the duration of the trip, they are always good value for money and much cheaper than organising it yourself or booking with specialist tour operators.
Q: Do you subsidise costs for members?
A: BA Clubs normally offers the club an accomodation grant which we use to subsidise the accomodation on some of our trips. This is allocated to a trip as a percentage of the total grant, which varies each year.
Q: Will I have to travel on my own to meet up with people at the start of the trip?
A: Not unless you prefer to. We always try to travel in groups so that we can share costs.
Q: How would a typical trip be organised?
A: The trip organiser advertises details of the trip to the members about six weeks before the date. Those who want to go along contact the organiser for more details and if still interested send in a small non refundable deposit to cover accommodation costs. The organiser then provides all the necessary information.
For example on a typical UK trip. the group leaves on Friday afternoon to travel to the hostel or hut and on arrival we have a meal in a local pub. Saturday morning it's up fairly early for a full day's walking. Saturday evening, it's almost certainly the pub again for dinner and a drink or two.
On Sunday we're up fairly early again for another walk that finishes around 4pm. Then we drive back to arrive home at a reasonable time on Sunday evening.
Q: What sort of accommodation do you use?
A: Mostly Youth Hostels, bunk barns and mountain huts. We also very occasionally use tents to camp out.
Q: How do I join?
A: Contact our membership secretary, Mark Wigmore, for information and an application form.
mark.wigmore@ba.com
Tel: 020 873 86049
Q: How much does it cost to join?
A: The annual section membership fee is £15 plus the cost of BA Club general membership (57p per week).
Q: Do you use BA flights very often on the trips?
A: We use flights for the Scottish trips and for the overseas trips. We mostly drive to the other UK destinations.
Q: How do I get involved?
A: The best way is to come along on one of the UK trips or arrange to meet up with us at an evening or weekend social so that you can meet other members. A Planned Trip List has the name of the organiser(s), just give them a call and take things from there.
In addition, one of the roles of the committee is to help new members feel welcome. If you're interested in what we do, give one of them a call first, they will be happy to provide you with the information you need. Their names are listed on the Contacts page.
Q: Do you have regular club meetings?
A: We don't hold regular club meetings. We do hold a trip planning meeting twice a year to which all members are invited to share their ideas for trips for the next year. Surprisingly we hold these in a nearby pub.
Q: Do you have any contact with other walking and mountaineering organisations?
A: No, except through informal links via individual members. We do belong to the British Mountaineering Council and the Youth Hostel Association.
