Who we are ?
Our club membership is about 75. Ages range from early 20s through to 70s. Members enjoy a wide variety of outdoor activities including rock climbing, scrambling, hill walking, via ferrata, mountaineering, road cycling and mountain biking. We are mainly from the Stockport area although some of us live further afield.
What we do ?
The Club has an active programme, with official meets most weeks. There is a hill-walking meet once a month, an evening climbing meet during the week, either at a climbing wall in the autumn and winter or at a local crag in the spring and summer. There are weekend trips every month to a mountainous area of Great Britain. We also have less formal activities arranged between members which could be at the weekend or on a weekday in the evening, to a crags or climbing wall (weather dependent). There are usually longer trips for a week or more in the UK or Europe. In the last year this has included treking in Norway, a week in West Cornwall and sport climbing in Kalymnos. There are plans to go to Ireland to do the 3000 ft peaks there and treking in the Tatras Mountains in Poland.
Where do we stay when away?
Club Huts
Many BMC affiliated clubs own buildings, in mountainous areas, they rent out to other BMC affiliated clubs. They could be an old farmhouse, farm building or another rural building, that has been converted by that club. The purpose was to provide somewhere to stay for their members to use as a base for outdoor activities.
The larger huts may have a kitchen with two or three hobs, a couple of ovens and one or two microwaves, two or more fridges and sinks. Smaller huts may just have an electric cooker a sink and a fridge. The huts will also have a an area to sit and eat food and a large sitting room with a wood burning stove or open fire to sit, have a drink and talk about the day’s activities and to plan the following day.
There will be toilets and showers for men and women, a drying room after coming in from the rain. The dorms may have single bunks or long “alpine style” bunks huts. You bring your own sleeping bag, a pillowcase and possibly a pillow.
This is communal living, so you need to be ready to give-and-take, be prepared to muck in, and not be too fussy! If you approach it with the right attitude you can have a great time.
Camping
In the summer we camp. You will need a tent, a sleeping bag, wash kit and something to cook on.
What does it cost?
Annual subs of £30, with reductions for unemployed and joining after July.
We don’t charge to come on club meets but we must pay for shared accommodation when we stay in clubs huts it is about £10 to £15 per night. If we camp, you will have camping fees and the amount will depend upon the campsite. Sometimes we stay at private hostels and bunkhouses, or at Youth Hostels and the cost will be more but not as much as B&B.
When away, sometimes someone will volunteer to organise a communal meal. If not you can go to a cafe or a pub in the evening for a meal or you can self-cater to keep the cost down.
We try to car share to limit the impact to the environment and bring down travel costs.
Apart from food, drink, accommodation and travel costs, there is no other expense to come on a weekend or day meet .
Want to know more ?
For more information, contact the Membership Secretary through our enquiry form
How to Join
Use the on-line application form if you want to apply to join
