The Rucksack Club in December
Rain beating down, gales blowing us off our feet – maybe, but December can also offer snow on the hills and occasional wonderful sunrises and sunsets across the mountainous landscapes. The Rucksack Club will be out and about to experience the best of these in a few varied meets:
- We begin with a repeat of what turned out to be a spectacular meet last year, exploring trig points, stone pillars and ancient bridges around Blackstone edge. It was spectacular because some of the party nearly took off in the ferocious wind (see photo), but stayed the course to complete a memorable day out. This year, in response to numerous requests, the meet will be re-run on 6th December. It’ll be 18 miles, so a good stretch of the legs on a short winter day.
- A week later (13th December) we have one of the Rucksack Club classic meets, the Hotpot Winter Walk and Christmas Quiz. The main event is a walk across Kinder Plateau, starting and ending at Hope. There we re-convene for the aforementioned Christmas Quiz and Hotpot Supper. This is a particularly popular and convivial meet that exemplifies the benefits of Club membership; shared experience in the wilds of the Peak, followed by friendly competition in the quiz and a hearty communal meal.
- Ready for Hogmanay celebrations, not to mention wintery experiences in the hills, we convene at our Scottish hut, Craigallan, at the end of the month. It’ll be a blast.
Andrew Beckett
Meetstaff Editor
