Hertfordshire Mountaineering Club
Dear HMC Members
Welcome to your December club update
Christmas is upon us and that means the Christmas party season is here. Grab your gladrags for the HMC Christmas meal at Hartington Hall this weekend. Christmas also means that we are rapidly approaching the end of the year and time to look back on those amazing adventures you’ve hopefully had, but also time to look forward to the adventures to come in 2017. On that note, this update includes information on the renewals for your 2017 membership of the HMC. Please do take the time to read it as it contains some important information
Log fires, oak panelling and even its own beer and music festival – all of this makes this 17th century manor house perfect for weekend breaks or family getaways in Derbyshire. The hostel is in a lovely, unspoilt area of the Peak District National Park – just right for activity breaks and walking holidays. 
The HMC pub social is at the Three Horseshoes as usual from 8.30pm in the main bar at the Three Horseshoes, 612 Hatfield Road, Smallford, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL4 0HP. Come along and have a catch up with fellow members, make arrangements for trips, talk about your last adventures and meet prospective members.
I hope that you have had an excellent year of adventures over 2016 and are looking forward to gettig out into the hills in 2017. As of the 1st January, your HMC subscription will be due in order to continue your existing membership of the club.
The HMC membership fee from the start of 2017 will be £22. The membership fee covers the BMC subscription fees and will also help the club to maintain a healthy financial position to continue to support future events for its members.
If you are renewing your membership for 2017, fees can be paid by:
– e-bank transfer to the HMC account (SC 20-74-09) (AC 90371467) – please notify the treasurer by email
– sending a cheque made payable to the Hertfordshire Mountaineering Club (not HMC) to the treasurer or secretary.
– cash given to committee members at the pub socials.
Please note that if any of your contact or address details have changed over the last 12 months, please complete a HMC membership form providing your new details and send it to the Secretary together with your membership fee. Click here to download a Membership form. Failure to update your contact details to the HMC Secretary could invalidate any insurance policy you have with the BMC.
A window of three months is open to renew your membership until 31 March to coincide with the HMC’s requirement to update subscription fees to the BMC each quarter. Please note that in order to receive your Spring edition of the BMC magazine, Summit, please renew your membership by the end of February 2017.
As a demonstration of support for our mountain rescue services in 2017, the HMC is offering the option to make an additional discretionary contribution of £3 as part of the membership renewal which will be given to a nominated mountain rescue charity. The contribution will be entirely optional. If you wish to make a contribution please add £3 to your membership fee.
We look forward to seeing you all return for another great year of adventure in the mountains.
HMC have been fortunate to book High House again for 2 nights 6-8 January 2017. It is a great location in Seathwaite, at the head of the Borrowdale Valley, just outside Keswick. Scafell Pike is within easy walking distance from the hut.
Accommodation includes one dorm downstairs sleeping 18 with an adjoining shower-room and 2 toilets. Upstairs is another dorm sleeping 8 with an additional toilet and shower-room. Other facilities include a drying room, common room with a multi-fuel burning stove, and a very well-equipped kitchen.
At the foot of the Fells – the Seathwaite Hut is tucked away in the hills
The Dragons Back ( formerly The Castle Inn ), is the highest pub in the Brecon Beacons National Park, a Country Inn with plenty of accommodation, b&b rooms, bunkhouses, Shepherds hut and a campsite.
Located in a glorious valley, over 1000ft above sea level in The Black Mountains – part of The Brecon Beacons National Park. Ideally situated for the local towns of Brecon, Hay on Wye & Crickhowell.
A whole host of activities are available on our doorstep, and you can mountain bike – The killer loop, or hike a huge variety of walks straight from the Inn . The whole of The Black Mountains are literally on our doorstep.
The pub provides generous servings of very tasty home cooked food, a fine selection of local real ales, with a huge log fire on one side of the pub, and a lovely log burning stove with leather sofas to sit on.
The HMC has booked the 10 bed bunkroom.
The Black Mountains
Join us for the Annual Dinner to celebrate Eddie’s 80th birthday. A long time member – climber, cyclist and walker- come and help us celebrate Eddie turning 80 but still as active as the average 50 year old! Join the party!
Tan Yr Wyddfa, mountaineering hut in Snowdonia, is at Rhyd Ddu. On a clear day you can see the top of Snowdon and you can walk from here all the way to the summit on the well marked Rhyd Ddu path.
The hut is also a superb base for walks onto the Nantlle ridge, Moel Hebog, Mynydd Mawr and Yr Aran. There is a pub, a café and a Welsh Highland Railway station close by. Beddgelert is five miles away. The hut is well placed for climbing – being within easy driving distance of Tremadog, the Moelwyns, the Llanberis pass and most other popular mountains crags and paths within central Snowdonia. If you want to climb on Cloggy, you can walk there!
HMC has the use of three bedrooms which sleeps 16 people in bunk beds.
The hut has its own car park adjacent to the hut, which accommodates 10 cars.
HMC has booked the Alpine bunkhouse for our sole use. 5 nights accommodation . Sleeps 16. Plenty of free parking. Very close to the famous Clachaig Inn.
The Alpine Bunkhouse is just yards away from the main Hostel and was originally a barn on the farming croft. A major refurbishment of the building has taken place and now offer 3 heated bedrooms sleeping up to 16 (all bed linen is provided free of charge).
The bunkhouse facilities include a communal area for dining, relaxing and cooking as well as access to the site drying room with commercial de-humidifier and wifi in reception. The bunkhouse has 3 wc’s and 4 wash hand basins inside and another 2 wc’s, 2 showers and 3 wash hand basins accessed externally
Hope to see you all at the next club trip
All the best
Steve Deaville
HMC Secretary