CYHA News

Wet 'n' Windy

As you might guess from this month's title, I often find it hard thinking of a clever, attention-grabbing headline. This October and November we seem to have been at the mercy of the elements yet again. Dave's cycle ride round Saffron Walden had to be cancelled due to the gales (flying bicycles not a good idea); and as I look out the window tonight at the dank fog I think it's probably just as well we didn't enter a team for Rodings Rally.

However, George's London Wall walk was organised with masterly timing. We all spent a lovely sunny Sunday walking round the wall sites, arriving at the Museum of London just minutes before the heavens opened with torrential rain.

Still, fingers crossed for a fine, dry weekend at Hindhead. After all, it can't rain forever - can it?

Ali

Walking The Wall

A lot of people never realise that London used to be a walled city. You could easily pass in and out every day without making the connection that places called Ludgate, Newgate, Cripplegate, Aldgate refer to real gates: and to have all these places called "gate" there must have once been a thing to have a gate in - and that was the Roman Wall. The really remarkable thing is that after more than 1½ thousand years of change, upheaval, fire, war and construction work, there are still some sizeable chunks of wall to be seen if you know where to look.

George started us off at Tower Hill. Rather overlooked by it's palatial neighbour, there is a huge chunk of Roman wall. This bit of wall, some 20 ft high, survived where other bits didn't due to being incorporated into later buildings. This was a pattern we saw again and again. Tudor builders looking to save a few quid, used existing masonry to support new buildings and their penny-pinching has resulted in the walls surviving to this day.

There was an even bigger bit of wall a few yards away, at what used to be known as Barber's Warehouse, but is now part of a posh hotel. This bit is apparently about 35 ft high, 8ft thick & comes complete with a sentinels walk. Sadly, due to construction work at the hotel, we couldn't get in close.

But a 35 feet high wall surviving from Roman times, how is it possible? It seems that although the Romans built the wall sometime in the 3^rd century (well after Boudicca's time), they were not the only ones who wanted to protect the city. Over the centuries it was fixed, patched up and even extended by successive London residents. In the 14^th century Edward II fixed up the wall and employed guards to make sure visiting lords left their weapons at the gate. A huge round of renovations were carried out in the 15^th century, many of them from the then Mayor's own pocket (a precedent perhaps for Ken Livingstone and the London Underground?). But gradually the population of London became too large to fit within the walls and in the middle of the 18^th century the gates were sold off and much of the wall dismantled to make way for progress.

A sad end, but a great day out. Many thanks to George for scouting out the route and organising us.

Ali

Halloween

Lynn organised a splendid evening of pumpkin carving for Halloween. At the end of the evening we lit candles in the pumpkins and turned off the lights to judge the best results - some were happy, some angry, some scary or just weird.

Weekend in the Wilds of Surrey

Hindhead hostel is a cosy cottage deep in the woods, accessible only on foot. It has a great feeling of isolation, despite proximity to London. Anyone approaching 6ft learnt to walk with a stoop, or got a bruised head. And not put off by the firemen's strike, we roasted in front of a roaring log fire.

On both mornings we were greeted by heavy rain, which miraculously stopped when we went out, and we had two excellent walks: Hindhead Common and the Devil's Punchbowl on Saturday; Frensham Common and Kettlebury Hill on Sunday. You don't have to go north to find quiet footpaths, forests, heathland and some fine open spaces.
Dave P

Congratulations to Steve & Caroline!

Stephen and Caroline are pleased to announce the safe arrival of baby Jonathon Robert, born on the
25th September 2002 weighing 5lb 1oz.

Loch Ossian Hostel Appeal

Those of us who stayed at this little boathouse beside Loch Ossian last year may be interested in the following from the Scottish Youth Hostels Association:

"We all love Loch Ossian because it embodies the original spirit of hostelling, because it is a piece of living history, or just because of where it is. It really is unique. We urgently need to repair the building fabric. We have plans which delicately tread the fine line between preservation and modernisation, plans which also take account of environmental concerns. But we need help with finance - we need to raise in the region of £60,000 in order to undertake the work required.

We must combat the rot that is attacking part of the structure. Reducing condensation is also a priority. New windows, new doors and repairs to the roof are all needed. Loch Ossian also needs new toilets, and we hope to install a new dry toilet system along with a grey water drainage system, both of which will help to minimise our impact on the local ecology. New solar panels will be fitted to augment the existing wind turbine electrical supply and a new multifuel boiler will provide heating and hot water. Much of the work is designed to increase the energy efficiency of the building, making it more environmentally friendly, as well as warmer.

If you can help, cheques payable to SYHA Small Hostels Fund to: Hon. Treasurer, Loch Ossian Appeal, SYHA, 7 Glebe Crescent, Stirling, FK8 2JA. Or see the SYHA website for a donation form."

See also Jim's description of his Cycling tour of Belgium and Holland