CYHA NEWS

Well it looks like God decided to make it up to us for all that appalling weather we endured in the Cotswolds. Our Peak District weekend at Fenny Bentley was bathed in wonderful autumnal sunshine. Friday night we arrrived at the centre to be welcomed by Norm the caretaker, who already had the stove on to take the chill from the evening air. Prioritising, Tom had already headed straight for the pub.

Saturday dawned clear and bright and the majority of the party hired bicycles so we could speed along the Tissington and High Peak Trails. These are former railway lines which have been converted into cycle paths, and they make an excellent way to see the scenery with embankments, cuttings and tunnels to avoid the steep hills. Lorna’s bicycle kept Bicycle Repair Man (alias Jim) busy, and our short cut back on some rather hilly lanes made us appreciate what the railway engineers had done for us!

After a sumptuous meal largely scraped together from the leftovers in the food crate we ran off to the pub. Numerous ales were imbibed largely to anaesthetise the nether regions of the cyclists, some of whom could be seen sitting very gingerly on the hard wooden chairs in the bar.

Sunday was another gorgeous day. Fresh, clear and sunny in the way you only ever get on glorious autumn days. We drove over to Alstonefield and started walking along the spectacular Wolfscote Dale. Polly dog was up to her usual tricks, dipping her whiskers in muddy puddles and rolling in unmentionable substances. Beginning to feel herself unappreciated when her friendliness was greeted with cries of "Err", "Yuk" and "That’s disgusting" Polly abandoned us for another group who looked like they might be more generous with their sandwiches, and had to be retrieved by Trudi. Lunch was taken by the caves just short of Hartington with spectacular views over the dale and beyond. Polly dog objected to sharing the group scraps with a half dozen ducks from the river and dramatically sent them packing by diving into their midst with a couple of blood-curling woofs. After picking all the duck feathers out of our sandwiches we headed into Hartington to possibly THE WORST TEA SHOP EVER! We almost all ordered teacakes and variations on tea/coffee/hot chocolate which arrived at the table at the rate of about one every half hour. All the teacakes arrived toasted, but stone cold; tea arrived in an amazing assortment of ill matched pots and when we complained that the hot chocolates hadn’t arrived at all the boy who was serving us walked out and was never seen again. The moral of this tale is NEVER to use a teashop which asks you to pay BEFORE you have seen their service!

We were treated to a fine sunny day for our stroll from Thaxted to Great Easton, with crystal clear views over the undulating hills of this particularly scenic part of Essex. We followed the River Chelmer (a trickle in a muddy ditch) much of the way to the pub - where we ate far too much, but it was delicious! The afternoon produced a nail-biting finish when we arrived at the teashop with only 5 minutes to spare.

A fascinating evening. Ian took us through the last few hours of the Titanic, the characters involved and what happened to them afterwards, with books, photos and clips from the recent film. And an interesting discussion of some of the weirder theories as to why the disaster might have happened!

Gareth and Karen re-lived all the trauma of their recent trip with some relish. When asked where they would go next year they replied "Somewhere flat with toilets".

Trudi reported on events over the last year. Notable Wednesdays have included walks at Highwood and Woodham Walter, slides of Mount St Helens, Sri Lanka, and Morocco, and a talk on the Roman history of Chelmsford. However, attendances at Wednesday meetings have been disappointing. We have recruited 4 new members through our Web page and inquiries have been received on this from all over the world. We welcome new members Ian, Geli, Christina, Andy M, Sue W, Chris and his dog, and several others whom we have seen less often. The highest number of people on a trip was 34 gathered at Rydal Hall for Easter. Memorable occasions include the boat trip to Staffa and the puffins, Marloes Sands in May, the sunny bike-ride to Epping, and New Year at Glenbrook near Castleton in the Peaks.

The YHA has made changes to the status of YHA Groups; these mostly relate to Group's authority to represent the YHA (we can't, as per charity commission rules, without central YHA approval) and Group's funds and accounts (entirely separate, and not belonging to YHA). To continue to be affiliated to the YHA (and get our name in the YHA guide) we are required to submit an annual return of hostel bednights, and will not be entitled to a Group membership card. The committee will look at the implications of the proposals and any changes needed to the constitution.

Surplus for the year was £45.02, largely due to loads of people turning out for Christmas dinner, New Year, and Easter.

The number of members (now 67) and subs income have remained fairly level.

Subs will stay at the uneconomic rate of £10 per year to reduce the uncommitted fund. Dave suggested £5 for Christmas dinner in the hope of making a loss on it!

A person who has been on all 14 trips this year would have been away for 44 nights, staying in 16 different hostels, travelled 6,144 miles by car and spent £634, that's £14.42 a day (full board). This is up on last year due to higher prices for petrol and accommodation. Dave estimates we've eaten 600 sausages and 40lb of cheese between us in the year.

The new committee was elected, see below. It is suggested we experiment with allocating 2nd Wednesdays to non YMCA-based events. It was agreed that, to involve everyone, it could be a good idea to have committee meetings on Wednesdays, though not every month. Trudi appealed for ideas for Wednesdays to revive attendance levels.

Nigel, Tom and Jim volunteered to join the committee

What a distance! Another 5 hours travelling even once you’ve got to Bristol. In medieval times two pilgrimages to St Davids officially equaled one to Rome! My initial destination was Haverfordwest, the furthest stop west on the National Express network.

Practice walks and fitness training behind, it was now backpacking with tent, cooking gear and food to pick up the coast path at Broadhaven. After hours and hours of planning; visits to the library, book and map purchases, phone calls and thought, I’d decided to do some Youth Hostelling (sampling their food & packed lunches - to be recommended!), to do some camping and also self-catering. The itinerary was worked out closely, initially aiming for 10 miles or so a day, but with options. Emergency routes, shops, banks and toilets etc. were considered and detailed on an A4 sheet.

After serious trouble with my fly walking to Broadhaven, whilst also playing Daleks with my head torch in the dark, it was nice to settle to the coast walk the next day. 8 miles to Penycwm. Beautiful scenery and a detour inland to the classic car museum and castles. Murder! It was too hot - I was unprepared with no hat or Aftersun, but luckily OK for liquid. I had to cover my head with my jumper at one stage. Probably did 15 miles, arriving at the YH just before the booked dinner. Nice meal and good company.

Tired, it was road and then amazing coast path to Solva, bus and walk to the campsite at St Davids. St Davids was lovely with Cathedral, religious sites and sandy bays by the path. Although pretty well crippled, I managed 10 miles of path and St Davids one day, and 10 miles plus of coast path and hills to the west the next.

I’d had to reschedule due to my sore heels (grateful to innersoles etc.) so bused to the north and road-walked to Pwll Den YH. High views, nice cliff walking, self catering and nice company. The next day it was backpacking the beauties of Stumble Head to Fishguard. Fantastic! Up and down most of the way - passed the site of the last invasion of the mainland (1790’s) - all beautiful. Seals and pups in the coves.

Scenery ranged from agricultural to gorse and moorland with hill and cliffs that were occassionally craggy and dangerous. A great week, pack a little heavy, shame about my heels! Total cost about 200 pounds.