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Conservation Weekend
Conservation Weekend on Exmoor 12th – 13th March 2011
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Twenty Do Battle With The Elements
The Black Mountains, 14th - 16th January 2011 (new members weekend)
by Gavin on 27-Jan-11 13:08
Home » News » Twenty Do Battle With The Elements
The Black Mountains,
14th - 16th January 2011
(new members weekend)
Organisers: Rob Giles and Roland Allen.
Victims, sorry Punters: Chris Ashdown, Roger Ashdown, Stu Bardsley, Martin Bateman, Alison Blockley, Diana Bloss, Kirsty Henderson, Steph Hitchcock, Andy Holdsworth, Eddie Indewan, Jules M & friends, Mike Maitre, David Rowett-Harris, Gary Steadman, Katie Sumner, Aileen Wilson.
Anyone would think i would know not to book onto another winter trip to the Brecon Beacons after my experience there on my very first club trip, but no, i had to go and do it again and have another bashing and drenching from the crazy wind and horizontal rain in almost zero visibility (not really selling it, am i), but it's all in the name of having fun - honest!!!
We arrived at our hostel - a former pub called The Red Lion in Llanddeusant - to be greeted by Rob and his vast selection of pizzas, scoffed by all infront of a roaring fire accompanied by the strains of Wham & Duran Duran ( : - o) from Rob's ghetto blaster!
Saturday morning, as we kitted-up, the wind raged past the hostel to give us an idea of what was to come and come it did as all 20 of us pushed our way up to the top of Llyn y Fan Fach (this is the correct name, Rob!). 2 kindly walkers coming down sought to put us off our stride with news of the wind's ferocity, but little did they know us aoac-ers are made of sterner stuff as we progressed to the shelter where the wind was trying to rip the roof off while we re-fuelled for the next leg of the on-slaught. This entailed crossing many streams and i soon gave up tip-toeing across the rocks of each one as my "waterproof" boots gave in and my feet squelched in their icy-cold baths, while the rain lashed across the landscape, stinging my hands and face while not being able to see diddly-squat and the wind relentlessly pushing me sideways, making me look like a total drunk .... but .... i was actually enjoying it!!!!
On the home-straight, as we picked our way down a path resembling chocolate ganache, my thoughts turned to a hot shower and sinking into the sofa while sipping tea by the crackling fire. Thankfully, we made it back just as dusk fell and my thoughts soon turned to reality, while Diana produced a tin full of her gorgeous home-made chocolate brownies, followed by a delicious meal of chilli and chicken curry with fruit tarts and custard - yum! Rob was on top form with the evening's entertainment with a tres drole and very competitive pub-quiz including much guffawing at Rob's innuendo-embellished questions and many accusations of dodgy answers and scoring discrepancies. Do we all understand the difference between a shag and a cormorant now?
Sunday we awoke to the same old maelstrom going on outside and only Diana and Andy were brave enough to venture out on bikes. Luckily for me, my still drenched boots gave me a very feeble excuse not to join Chris, Roger, Rob, Roland and Stu for their jaunt up Sugar Loaf, so instead i borrowed a book from the hostel - mmmm..... what will it be? Cross-stitch for beginners, 50 things to do with a bent bicycle wheel, The idiot's guide to kettle maintenance, South-Wales' most exciting roundabouts.... aah, there's an Alistair MacLean, that'll do. So we packed the cars and set off to the parking spot below the mountain where i settled for a couple of hours with my choccy biccies, Rob's cb radio and the book, while the wind and rain pommelled the car ...... our intrepid hero narrowly avoids being shot at point-blank range and is scouring the decks of the freighter 'Nantesville' off the Western Isles for a ruthless gang of bullion snatchers, when he is grabbed from behind, gagged and bound, bundled into the boot of a car and the lid slammed shut for what seems like an eternity, but then, clunk! ..... the boot lid opens and Stu's dripping face appears. "Go back up, i've only read one chapter!" Stu gets in the car looking like he's had a fight with a water cannon and we set off back to Bristol.
Back home, it was a novelty being able to walk in a straight line at a pace of my choosing, with dry feet and a view of more than a few metres ..... as for the new members, well it was quite an initiation! A great time was had by all and thankyou to Rob and Roland for restoring my appreciation of the Brecon Beacons - in hurricane conditions!
By Steph Hitchcock
The Black Mountains,14th - 16th January 2011
(new members weekend)
Organisers: Rob Giles and Roland Allen.
Victims, sorry Punters: Chris Ashdown, Roger Ashdown, Stu Bardsley, Martin Bateman, Alison Blockley, Diana Bloss, Kirsty Henderson, Steph Hitchcock, Andy Holdsworth, Eddie Indewan, Jules M & friends, Mike Maitre, David Rowett-Harris, Gary Steadman, Katie Sumner, Aileen Wilson.
Anyone would think i would know not to book onto another winter trip to the Brecon Beacons after my experience there on my very first club trip, but no, i had to go and do it again and have another bashing and drenching from the crazy wind and horizontal rain in almost zero visibility (not really selling it, am i), but it's all in the name of having fun - honest!!!
We arrived at our hostel - a former pub called The Red Lion in Llanddeusant - to be greeted by Rob and his vast selection of pizzas, scoffed by all infront of a roaring fire accompanied by the strains of Wham & Duran Duran ( : - o) from Rob's ghetto blaster!
Saturday morning, as we kitted-up, the wind raged past the hostel to give us an idea of what was to come and come it did as all 20 of us pushed our way up to the top of Llyn y Fan Fach (this is the correct name, Rob!). 2 kindly walkers coming down sought to put us off our stride with news of the wind's ferocity, but little did they know us aoac-ers are made of sterner stuff as we progressed to the shelter where the wind was trying to rip the roof off while we re-fuelled for the next leg of the on-slaught. This entailed crossing many streams and i soon gave up tip-toeing across the rocks of each one as my "waterproof" boots gave in and my feet squelched in their icy-cold baths, while the rain lashed across the landscape, stinging my hands and face while not being able to see diddly-squat and the wind relentlessly pushing me sideways, making me look like a total drunk .... but .... i was actually enjoying it!!!!
On the home-straight, as we picked our way down a path resembling chocolate ganache, my thoughts turned to a hot shower and sinking into the sofa while sipping tea by the crackling fire. Thankfully, we made it back just as dusk fell and my thoughts soon turned to reality, while Diana produced a tin full of her gorgeous home-made chocolate brownies, followed by a delicious meal of chilli and chicken curry with fruit tarts and custard - yum! Rob was on top form with the evening's entertainment with a tres drole and very competitive pub-quiz including much guffawing at Rob's innuendo-embellished questions and many accusations of dodgy answers and scoring discrepancies. Do we all understand the difference between a shag and a cormorant now?
Sunday we awoke to the same old maelstrom going on outside and only Diana and Andy were brave enough to venture out on bikes. Luckily for me, my still drenched boots gave me a very feeble excuse not to join Chris, Roger, Rob, Roland and Stu for their jaunt up Sugar Loaf, so instead i borrowed a book from the hostel - mmmm..... what will it be? Cross-stitch for beginners, 50 things to do with a bent bicycle wheel, The idiot's guide to kettle maintenance, South-Wales' most exciting roundabouts.... aah, there's an Alistair MacLean, that'll do. So we packed the cars and set off to the parking spot below the mountain where i settled for a couple of hours with my choccy biccies, Rob's cb radio and the book, while the wind and rain pommelled the car ...... our intrepid hero narrowly avoids being shot at point-blank range and is scouring the decks of the freighter 'Nantesville' off the Western Isles for a ruthless gang of bullion snatchers, when he is grabbed from behind, gagged and bound, bundled into the boot of a car and the lid slammed shut for what seems like an eternity, but then, clunk! ..... the boot lid opens and Stu's dripping face appears. "Go back up, i've only read one chapter!" Stu gets in the car looking like he's had a fight with a water cannon and we set off back to Bristol.
Back home, it was a novelty being able to walk in a straight line at a pace of my choosing, with dry feet and a view of more than a few metres ..... as for the new members, well it was quite an initiation! A great time was had by all and thankyou to Rob and Roland for restoring my appreciation of the Brecon Beacons - in hurricane conditions!
By Steph Hitchcock