Author: Andy Tomlinson

Welcome to another “On the hill with…”. This time it is the turn of Gerry Goldsmith. Gerry was one of the Club’s first female members, joining within a year of the historic change in 1990, and a very active member in all aspects of Club activities as she reveals. Gerry on home ground; 2020 How did you get into walking and climbing? Camping with the Girl Guides got me started. Then lots of walking on Kinder with the YHA Society at Sheffield University, and hitch-hiking (in pairs) to Youth Hostels in the Lakes. A few years later I met Neil, we moved to Stockport and joined the Kinder Mountain Rescue Team (KMRT). They took us climbing (Tuesday evenings) and we were hooked. With KMRT we learnt winter climbing in Scotland and went to the Alps in summer.Gerry climbing on Anglesey; early 1990’s  Lifting heavy stretchers and climbing with heavy sacks ruined my knees, so I graduated to fell-running. It seemed the answer, nothing to carry! My favourites involved running long challenges such as the Bob Graham round, the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon (KIMM…now morphed in to the OMM) and the Derwent Watershed.   Who has had the most influence on[…]

On the Hill (and other RC pursuits) with…Geoff Bell who, as you will read,  has been a serious and successful long distance endurance cyclist, runner and walker over many years. A very active Club member he was President in 2003-04.  How did you get into “being out there”? As a Sheffield teenager I was into cycling. Club runs and time trialling at the weekend and a 7 mile ride to work in the labs at the Stocksbridge steelworks. In all weathers. I carried my bike through the snowdrifts that the bus couldn’t get through. I never got under the hour for 25 miles, but did manage 226m in 12 hours. In hindsight, this was an early example of my being able to pace myself over long efforts. Teens over, I was married to Mary, proud father of three daughters, and living in Glossop with a demanding job ensuring that the superalloys we made were up to spec. Then at 34 came my epiphany. Chris Brasher wrote an inspiring account of the 1972 Karrimor mountain marathon in his regular column in The Observer. I resolved to do the next one, so it was Chris who got me going on foot in[…]

Welcome to “On the hill with…” a series of short interviews with members of the Rucksack Club. This week it is Amy Illingworth, another member who was introduced to the Club from an early age. She, and husband Will, are based in Chamonix and this “On the hill with…” completes the first husband and wife interviews!    Amy on Jebel Rum How did you get into walking and climbing?  My parents met through the Chester Mountaineering Club and they were both keen to spend time in the outdoors. My sister and I weren’t really given an option, though most of my childhood memories are of wild swimming and canyoning, rather than walking.   Who has had the most influence on your mountain experiences?  My Dad taught me to climb and gave me an incredible foundation. My friends from Sheffield Uni days are hugely important to me, we’ve been on so many trips together and they’ve introduced so much fun and laughter into the process… plus one became my husband. I’ve also been inspired by a number of women who I see out leading and enjoying exciting trips, in particular some of the women who I met when I lived in[…]