Category: Featured Meets

From the President: Due to circumstances beyond my control I feel no other option but to change the venue of this year’s annual Dinner. This will now take place at Shap Wells on the 6th-8th November as before. I’ve sent a separate email with the booking form. Hope to see you all there. If you had already booked for the hotel in Harrogate, Jean Llewellyn will be in touch with you soon to confirm your booking and any alterations you may need to make. Best wishes Helen.

Will it be the end of summer or the start of autumn? However it turns out, the Rucksack Club has meets planned to get us out onto the hills: We begin (5-6 September) with that hardy perennial, High Camp, which this year will take us to Pen yr Helgi Du. Next (11-13) we are due for another visit to the Yorkshire Ramblers’ fine Lowstern hut near Clapham, in a joint meet with the Yorkshire Ramblers and the Wayfarers clubs. Then we can’t keep away from our great Welsh hut, Beudy Mawr, for two weekends (18-20 and 25-27 September). There will be plenty of opportunity to run, walk, climb and more in the hills of Eryri. The potential High Camp view, photo Gareth Llewellyn.

A message from Rob Seymour who is coordinating the joint Meet with the Climbers Club at Bosigran. “Following up on the joint meet at the Count House which starts on the 19th of this month. There about 12 CC members booked, probably with a few “on the day” folks who live locally. There’s plenty of space at the hut – sleeps 40 – plus tents and vans for those who prefer, so there will be plenty of space for Rucksack Club members. Conditions are fantastic down here at the moment, bird bans at Carn Gowla lift on 17th and we are cracking on with the next Bosigran and North Coast guidebook and have got a few action pics for that shot this week. Plenty for everyone. For those interested in joining please let Rob Seymour know so we can advise on numbers…details in the Handbook A few pics from the last meet for psyche!

It’s that time of year again – your chance to showcase your best shots in the 2027 Rucksack Club calendar! Please send LANDSCAPE format photos in HIGH RESOLUTION to photos@rucksackclub.org by 31st August Photos should be “action shots” from one of our many “Get Out There!” activities, featuring or taken by (ideally both) a member and from the period September 2026 through to August 2027. It saves a huge amount of faff if you can rename each photo with the caption: Month_Year_Short Caption_Name of photographer. If you’ve already sent pics to Andy for the gallery there’s no need to resubmit. Thanks in advance! Looking forward to another stellar production hitting the shelves around October (last year we raised around £4,000 for CAC 🥳). Cheers, Dom Here’s last year’s cover by way of inspiration.

The Rucksack Club are aiming to take full advantage of summer in some great locations: We begin the month (31st July – 2 August) with a running/ walking/ bouldering meet based at our well-situated Welsh hut, Beudy Mawr. Then we’re off to northern Spain for our Picos de Europa meet (8-14 August), with wonderful opportunities for climbing, mountaineering, walking and cycling from our campsite. But there is a bonus – the prospect of seeing a total solar eclipse on 12th! We’re not neglecting England; on 16th August we have a walk over Chinley’s Three Peaks, including Chinley Churn, South Head and Eccles Pike. Finally (19-26 August) we are guests at the Climbers’ Club hut at Bosigran, The Count House, for fun on the Cornish sea cliffs or walks along the coastal path. Photo – on the Chinley Round, photo Lis Bloor.

Carole Smithies writes: Sad news.  Have just heard that Harry Moody died on the 1st of June and his funeral took place on the 7th July.  Harry, who joined the Club in 1963, was a very active member in his early days with the Club, as his 1964 meet attendance shows. “Harry Moody heads the list with the astonishing figure of 33 attendances, which I assume will only be a Club record for a year.  Next comes John Allen with 22, and third, Bill Rowntree with 20.”  RCJ 1965 p134.   

Tom Anderson writes: I would like to send a thank you to all members who made the trek to Carlisle (Brampton) for Anne’s funeral, or sent messages to me.  It was a great consolation to receive them and gave me great comfort at this sad time. Best wishes to all Tom Anderson photo Anne on Blencathra ================================================================= We’re very sorry to let you know that Anne, Tom Anderson’s wife of fifty years, passed away on 10th June.  Although Anne never formally joined the club, member many members knew her well. The funeral service took place on Tuesday 30th June 2026 at 10 a.m. at Brampton Methodist Church. The service was followed by the committal at Carlisle Crematorium at 11:40 a.m.

Here’s what the Rucksack Club has lined up for July: Our fabulous Duddon Valley Hut, High Moss (pictured), is the favoured venue for our July meets, but we range further too: We begin with a road cycling event, 3-5 July, based at High Moss. As the hut is nestled in the Lake District hills, expect a tough ascent or two! The next weekend (10-12 July) we have a family-orientated climbing meet, again based at High Moss. There will be lots of options for smaller family members. The weekend after, 17-19 July, we’re back to High Moss for a joint meet with the JMCS. Then we break the sequence (24-26 July) by convening at The Smithy, Thirlmere, which is a Gritstone Club hut. This hut provides ample opportunities for climbing, hillwalking or just taking a steamer… Finally, taking us into August (July 31-2 August) we have a meet at our Welsh hut, Beudy Mawr, with opportunities for walking, running, bouldering and climbing.

Hi all,           Rather later than I’d intended, here are a few words of encouragement for our June meets.   High summer may have been and gone for a while, but the Rucksack Club has a programme to get us all out whatever the weather: We begin (5-7 June) with a Family Meet at our well-loved and capacious Dunnerdale hut, High Moss. Then over the weekend of 19-21 June, the renown Gogarth Meet will take place. On past precedent it will draw climbers from far and wide to enjoy the seaside location, spectacular routes and famous barbecue.  We end the month with more climbing, this time based at our lovely Scottish hut, Craigallan. Photo: a scene from the previous Gogarth Meet.           Andrew Beckett          Meetstaff Editor