Author: Andy Tomlinson

 On the ‘hill’ with…this week it is the turn of active Club member Paul Taylor Or, in his own words: “A few lines from ’t’ other side ‘o’ th’ pennines…”   How did you get into walking and climbing? I started walking and climbing with family, particularly my dad Allan and younger brother Oliver. Perhaps most memorable was a family scramble along Crib Goch aged 8 years old and another epic getting slightly lost on Bodmin Moor in the mist. Later these experiences merged with Oundle School adventure training trips, where dad worked as a teacher. I climbed from a young age, frequently looking up to trees, buildings, local Leicestershire disused bridges (Twyford viaduct or Slawston bridge), any possibility… to get the best practice outdoors, whether on rock, any accessible architecture or on the freely available natural environment. Slawston bridge, Leicestershire                                   Teenage Kicks Twyford-Style; aid climbing with my brother Oliver Stanage and Froggat were a long way from home but none-the-less became the “local” crags. Holidays usually meant North Wales. Often, I climbed with my brother, and we also made regular annual Scottish trips[…]

Continuing our occasional series of “On the hill with…” interviews with Club members, it is the turn of Vice President Brian Cunningham…a life time of adventure and still ‘getting out there’.  How did you get into walking and climbing? I was born and brought up in Portrush, on the North Coast of Ireland. When I was seventeen I bought an early nylon climbing rope and, along with a mate, prowled around the coastal cliffs looking for lines. Some of the places where we did early routes now have full climbing guides – Fair Head and Ramore Head in particular. The other day I noticed a Youtube video of Alex Honnold doing a free solo ascent of one of the hardest routes on Fair Head…though not one we put up!   Who has had the most influence on your mountain experiences? Lionel Terray. His book ‘Conquistadors of the Useless’ triggered my lifelong love of the mountains.   How did you come to join the RC? I was a keen runner, however the thing I seemed to be best at was the seriously long stuff where keeping going is all that matters. In my fifties I spent years trying to do a[…]

Welcome to “On the hill with…” a series of short interviews with members of the Rucksack Club…this week it is the turn of Helen Pritchard…fell and long distance runner, mountaineer and new Committee member Helen on the summit of Mt Blanc How did you get into walking and climbing? My parents took me for a walk up Yew Barrow when I was four years old and apparently I cried at the end as I didn’t want to finish and go home. I’ve always felt a need to be outside so I had a misspent youth walking, particularly in the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District. I always described myself as a hill walker with bits of running, climbing, cycling and swimming. I travelled and trekked abroad in my twenty’s. I had my daughter when I was thirty and didn’t have time to go walking all day but discovered that I could cover the same distance in less time if I ran! I started running with a couple of neighbours who did this odd thing called ‘fell running’. I was hooked and joined Pennine Fell Running Club. I realised quickly that I was not a fast runner but could keep going and[…]

Welcome to “On the hill with…” a series of short interviews with members of the Rucksack Club.   This week it is the turn of our long suffering Secretary, John Farrow John at the High Moss celebrations, May 2018. How did you get into walking and climbing? I was brought up in the Fens where the only hill for a hundred miles has a cathedral on it. It wasn’t until I moved to Stockport in 1965 that I knew what uphill meant.  In 1967 I signed up as a volunteer Peak Park Warden and ran into half a dozen similarly engaged Club Members, eventually graduating to higher things with them.   Who has had the most influence on your mountain experiences? That might well be Bill Russell who would have a go at anything.   What was your last great day out in the ‘hills’? Just been on the Skiddaw House Meet.  Really splendid day on the eponymous hill in good company.   What does the perfect ‘hill’ day consist of? There surely isn’t a formula.  The most awful conditions can be memorable, so it might be a sense of achievement as much as finding a wonderful spot in perfect weather.[…]

Welcome to “On the hill with…” a series of short interviews with members of the Rucksack Club. Netty, the current Editor of Meetstaff, has kindly agreed to be interviewed for the website. Netty on the Lune How did you get into walking and climbing? My dad had done a lot with the Scouts before having children and did try to take us walking as a family. I remember rainy days out on Kinder in new wellies and having to get 2 buses each way, which was not popular with all of the family however. There were also some forays into the hills with the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme which often proved too expensive and difficult to get to without a car. At Secondary School there was a super teacher, Mr Thorpe, who would often spare a day at a weekend and take a small group of us to the Lakes which is where I had my most successful introduction to the hills   Who has had the most influence on your mountain experiences? Joining the Llewellyn tribe has definitely had a major influence on my outdoor activities. Cycling touring for our honeymoon began a series of biking adventures with[…]

Welcome to “On the hill with…” a series of short interviews with members of the Rucksack Club. This week is the turn of Keith Towell, our immediate Past President. President Keith at the High Moss 50th celebrations How did you get into walking and climbing? At the age of 14 I went to the YMCA Centre Lakeside on Lake Windermere on a school residential week . During that week we climbed Helvellyn and went rock climbing and gorge walking. At roughly the same time I met Keith Treacher who was running the Waterside Youth Centre, Newbury, who furthered my interest in climbing, walking and canoeing. Trips to Skye, North Wales, the Lakes and the Alps followed with Keith, who became a great friend and mentor and Keith introduced me to the Rucksack Club. Who has had the most influence on your mountain experiences? Keith Treacher introduced me to a whole new world of experiences and friendships which may have passed me by. What was your last great day out in the hills? Doing a remote Marilyn with Mike Gregg and John Farrow above the Sound of Sleat on the Isle of Skye in October. What does the perfect hill day[…]

Welcome to “On the hill with…” a series of short interviews with members of the Rucksack Club, appearing over the coming years on the Website! Who better to start this series with than our new President, Dave Woolley, installed at the AGM, January 2019…thanks Dave for taking the time to talk to us. How did you get into walking and climbing? For me it was through my mum and dad, but mainly my dad. He had joined in 1957 (aged 27) so from a very early age I was introduced to mountain environments first walking and in my teenage years climbing.   Who has had the most influence on your mountain experiences? Initially my dad, later a number of Rucksack Club members – people like John Richardson, Rob Ferguson and Andy Llewellyn.   What was your last great day out in the ‘hills’? The Marsden to Edale is a regular Rucksack Club classic – so doing the double earlier this year was great (partly because the weather was so kind to us for once) but mainly catching up with all the members, associate members and guests. The post match refreshments were particularly good!   What does the perfect ‘hill’ day[…]