I was one of the four members of CUHWC’s team in the ‘Coastalong for WaterAid’ charity event, the aim of which was to have teams covering all sections of the SW Coast Path on one day to raise money for WaterAid. Our leg was of about 20 miles, starting at Looe and ending at the Cremyl Ferry to Plymouth.
For the second week of the holiday, we moved to Zillertal, enjoying walks in the mountains either side of the valley and in the high Zillertaler Alps. Our appartment for the week was in the small town of Zell am Ziller.
The first week of this year’s family holiday was to the Salzkammergut region of Austria, east of Salzburg. We stayed in a self-catering appartment in St Gilgen, and spent the week walking in the surrounding mountains, as well as making a day trip to Salzburg.
This year’s CUHWC Garden Party was in Newnham College gardens, with a fine spread of food and drink produced by Ruth and Olivia, and garden games to try out. Afterwards, most of us went night punting to Grantchester and back, and had a barbecue on the meadows.
An hour after the end of my last exam, I headed again for the hills! The first two days were an official hillwalking club trip, with accommodation split between the Blake Beck camping barn and Gill Head campsite – I was camping. I did a long walk including Sharp Edge and Blencathra in good weather on Saturday, and a shorter one on Skiddaw in wetter weather on Sunday. After everyone else had returned to Cambridge, Will and I stayed in the Lakes for an extra couple of days walking, although this was limited somewhat by wet weather. Monday’s walk was to Glenridding, taking in Great Dodd and Raise but bypassing the other summits to minimise time exposed to the elements!
It was the hottest May day in 50 years (well, it was in London anyway), so a few of us from the band – actually just a selection of this year and next year’s committees! – decided to take an evening off from revision for a punt along the backs. N.B. Jenny was there too, but seems to have avoided being photographed!
Just a few photos from the Brass Band Annual Dinner, which was held this year at Selwyn College. Afterwards we continued to the Hat and Feathers, and then to John’s room at Corpus.
The Easter vacation trip went, as usual, to northern Snowdonia, where we stayed in the well-located Bryn Brethynau bunkhouse near Capel Curig. The weather wasn’t as good as we had hoped, with lots of wind, rain and snow, but we managed some good walks nevertheless!
This year’s Brass Band tour was to the Midlands, staying in a large hostel near Hanley Swan. We performed in Great Malvern, Hagley, Solihull and Stourbridge, and also had time for visits to Stratford and Birmingham, and a night-time walk up the Worcestershire Beacon, plus all the traditional tour antics of course!
The CUHWC Annual Dinner 2005 was held in the Wordsworth Room at St John’s College. We enjoyed excellent food in excellent company and were entertained by speeches by the outgoing and incoming presidents. Afterwards we went to the Maypole, and then on to Prince Harry’s room.
An excellent weekend in Kentmere, in the Far Eastern Fells of the Lake District. We did two fantastic walks direct from the bunkhouse, taking in most of the significant fells of the area. We endured high winds and near-white-out conditions on the Saturday, but were rewarded with sunshine and fine views on the Sunday. And I got to use my crampons!
This term’s day trip was to the Long Mynd area of Shropshire: an area I had not visited before. I enjoyed a walk taking in Caer Caradoc Hill and Pole Bank (the summit of Long Mynd). An unexpected bonus was to find a thin layer of snow on the hilltops, and to be snowed on during the walk!
Another weekend hillwalking, this time in southern Snowdonia. We stayed near Dinas Mawddwy, and did walks on Cadair Idris and in the Arans in surprisingly good weather!
I decided to do a Sunday walk to Ely – something I had meant to do last year but never quite got around to! I took the obvious route beside the River Cam, and looked around the famous cathedral before catching the train back to Cambridge.
Heading back south from Aviemore, I spent five nights in Borrowdale on the annual CUHWC New Year trip staying at the High House bunkhouse. The weather was windy but mainly dry, and I enjoyed several excellent walks both from the door and slightly further afield. A great way to end the Christmas vacation!
I joined seven friends from the hillwalking club for a week in Aviemore, in the Cairngorms. We hired a guide for a couple of days to teach us some winter mountaineering skills, using ice axes and crampons, and building snowholes. The snow was disappointingly scarce until the last day though, so our new skills weren’t really put to the test! N.B. No photos of Wednesday – we were too busy practising our ice-axe arrests!
The Saltash contingent of CUHWC were joined by Michael’s friend Ollie for a pleasant day on Dartmoor, walking to Pupers Hill and Red Lake from Shipley Bridge.