CRC newsletter: November 2001: Reports

EXETER 25 - 28 May (Easy)
An excellent weekend in sunny Deb’m (Devon) and superbly led. There were a variety of lovely walks – along the Exe estuary; the cliffs; the canal and the seafront. Also plenty of ice-cream, tea rooms and even chips one lunchtime at Dawlish Warren. Several modes of transport were used including bus, train and ferry. A well thought out weekend with lots to do. A great antidote to Ofsted inspections and using their terminology
Management – excellent
Teaching and learning – very good
Thanks to all

HATHERSAGE 15 - 17 June (Moderate)
Despite a poor weather report, about 10 members including day visitors arrived at Hathersage surrounded by thunder and lightning.

With a wet start on Saturday morning, Bob led a 10 mile walk over Stanage Edge, via Bronte Cottage, Sheepwash Bank, Higger Tor and Hathersage Moor, returning to Hathersage via Padley Gorge. The highlight for the birdwatchers being views of a somnolent Dipper and a stunning male Gray Wagtail complete with black bib standing out against his bright yellow waistcoat. Most partook of refreshment at Grindleford station (orders announced over the public address system!) before going back to the hostel.

The next day, a faithful half dozen travelled the short distance to Eyam Parish Church where we heard a stimulating sermon on Luke 7 v 36-50 "… which of them will love Him most? …. he to whom He forgave the most". The congregation was increased by the presence of American visitors, pupils from Trinity School, Isle of Wight, and certain intrepid ramblers.

Afterwards, in fairly clear weather, we commenced a six mile walk from Calver encompassing Froggat Edge returning via a delightful riverside walk by the Derwent, enlivened by superb views of a pair of Mergansers drifting lazily upstream. The walk ended with some welcome refreshment at the teashop in Curbar.

Our thanks to Bob and Janet for a superbly led weekend in this particular part of the Dark Peak

Saturday	Arrived Ballycastle Hostel – very welcoming
Sunday	The local Presbyterian Church for the morning service. Set off on afternoon stroll to Fair Head and got rescued at 2:30 am from a boulder field where we had got stuck
Monday	Started late, certain amount of media attention after previous days misadventure, but managed some short walks - some on the beach and some in the forest. A quiet day with a meal out in the evening
Tuesday	More media attention, then, using the buses to the start and finish, walked from Cushendun to Cushendall with a soggy lunch at the ruins of Layd church.
Wednesday	A boat trip to Rathlin Island. Walked across to the west end of the island to the RSPB base at Kebble, to view the seabird colonies. On our return we transferred to White Park Bay Hostel – very modern purpose built hostel.
Thursday	Walked along the cliff tops to the Giants Causeway, a photographically expensive day with spectacular and impressive scenery.
Friday	East along the coast to Carrick crossing a rope bridge (after being hauled up on a cable to a helicopter it seemed easy!) returning to the hostel via Ballintoy Harbour having to take shelter from a brief monsoon. The evening meal was followed by a time of worship and sharing.
Saturday	Time to say good-bye.

John - it was an enjoyable and unique week, when are we going back again? A special thanks to Margaret and Peter who put themselves at risk to get to the top of Fair Head and use the mobile telephone to get us help on the Sunday.

THE WELSH 3000s 5 – 8 July
Rowen/ Idwal Cottage/Pen y Pass
The 1:4 hill up to Rowen YH nearly finished me off. "Some people do the 15 peaks in 24 hours," I told myself. "It must be possible in three days." A series of car moves on Friday morning meant that we (thankfully!) didn’t have to carry full packs. That over, five walkers set off up a road thoughtfully provided by the Romans on our way to the Carneddau. As the list of peaks to bag gradually reduced, the cloud lifted somewhat and there were excellent views.

The descent of Pen yr Ole Wen right at the end was probably the hardest part of the day! On Saturday we set off early (but not bright – hot/ foggy/ cloudy again) and took a short, steep route up the incomparable Tryfan. Glyder Fach, Glyder Fawr, Y Garn - we stormed on round. The summit of Elidir Fawr provided brief elation as it was literally all downhill from there. Pen-y-Pass YH was in another world: rain, strong wind and swirling mist. Thus it continued until we were at least halfway down Snowdon on Sunday afternoon. So the terrifying drops from Crib Goch were hidden and the carbuncular café at the top a haven of hot tea and sausage rolls.
Many thanks to George Clowes for leading an excellent weekend.

KESWICK 14 - 20 July (Convention Week)
This was an excellent week of Bible teaching, prayer, fellowship, and walking, complemented by beautiful Lakeland scenery and good weather. The days were structured around various alternatives namely seminar/prayer meetings, late morning Bible reading/service, an option of afternoon Bible study or CRC walk, and evening service.

We were blessed with distinguished speakers giving challenging messages. These included Charles Price (Made in the Image of God; Transformation the new life within), Joel Edwards (Unity in the Body of Christ), Frank Retief (Alienation from God: Growth - renewal and restoration), Peter Maiden (Redemption – Gods plan for Salvation), and Keith White (Joy of the Family; Lordship – who’s in control?). Michael Baughen’s weeklong Bible study on Philippians was inspiring, thought-provoking, humorous, and absorbing. It was also interesting gaining some insight into the speakers’ everyday lives and hearing their testimonies.

The Convention brought the first significant and much needed financial support to the Keswick small business community. It was encouraging to hear of the mutual support and care amongst the Keswick folk. The foot and mouth crisis was still evident with closure of most of the low lying and farming areas.

We managed to ramble on a wide range of terrain, including Catbells, Helvellyn (from Glenridding), Ashness Bridge, Watendlath, Seathwaite to Sprinkling Tarn, Honister to Great Gable, Derwentwater lakeside, Causey Pike. Naturalist highlights included viewing the family of ospreys above Bassenthwaite Lake, feeding chaffinches at Watendlath tearoom and admiring the orchids and butterflies. The afternoon walks were also a good opportunity to chat about any issues arising from the Convention.

Many thanks to all the walk leaders and especially to Geoff for organising a brilliant week.

SALCOMBE 21 - 28 July (Easy/Moderate)
12 of us met in the lovely National Trust property that is Salcombe youth hostel, with a tropical garden overlooking the sea - you could almost be in Maderia. Others also joined us for part of the week.

The hostel was formerly a convalescent home during the first world war, an excellent place to recuperate from the excesses of walking on the coast, lying on the beach, swimming in the lovely blue clear water, and eating cream teas. Hostel food was brilliant and on Thursday evening we enjoyed a meal out at Malborough.

Some days we took the ferry from South Sands beach to Salcombe and another across to glorious beaches. We were blessed with good weather – a week of dawn to dusk sunshine with factor 25 much in evidence, resulting in well defined sock lines for those who walked.

Some were entertained in the hostel grounds by the International Town Criers competition (Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!), the winner came from Kathleen’s hometown!

Many thanks to Kathleen for organising a lovely week and to Robin whose walks spanned the South West Coast from Start Point to the Erme Estuary

JORDANS 27 - 29 July (Easy)
"Hot News From Jordans
We have all probably heard Noel Coward singing "mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun". This proved to be all too true on this weekend. On Saturday, a party of 17 (including one dog) walked 10 miles in the heat of a day that reached over 30ºC. We enjoyed it too, in a determined sort of way.

It all started with the arrival on the Friday evening at the hostel buried in the backwoods of Buckinghamshire. This charming log cabin is particularly suited to warm summer evenings with its veranda and dormitories that open directly to the fresh air. The only reminder of the 21st century is an occasional jet taking off from Heathrow and shrieking overhead.

The walk on Saturday was at a strolling pace, broken up with pauses for ice-cream, chilled lemonade, and a chance encounter with a travellers’ campsite. The countryside is very pretty, I’m told. After a display of Christian forbearance in the queue for the showers, we went to Chalfont St. Giles for our 'candle-lit' supper. We received satisfying Scriptural nourishment on Sunday morning from our visit to Seer Green Baptist Church. I was very challenged by hearing about the suffering Church in Colombia and China.

We walked from the hostel in the afternoon and covered another five hot miles before chancing upon cream teas being served at the local parish church We dutifully supported our fellow Christians.

Many thanks to Peter for arranging such an enjoyable weekend and best wishes to everyone else – you all shared in making it such a pleasure to be part of the trip.

SCOTLAND 28 July - 4 Aug (Week)
You missed a treat! Sunday - It was a very select party of three that left Strathpeffer Hostel (now closed) to climb Ben Wyvis on a dull, very windy day with grey views from the top. Monday - saw a party of four set off from Crask Inn via a peat bog to climb up Ben Kilbreck and bum slide back down a heathery slope arriving at Tongue Hostel at 10pm. Tuesday - two off to John O Groats, one coast walking and one Munro Bagging Ben Hope. Wednesday – Ben Loyal, quite easy in comparison despite its fierce and dramatic crags, but very rewarding with a little sunshine. Thursday – we separated again, one researching another Munro, the rest on a spectacular drive from Thurso to Ullapool stopping for a walk to Sandwood Bay, Britain’s most north-westerly sandy beach, with views of Cape Wrath lighthouse. Ullapool is a brilliant hostel right on the harbour quay. Friday – we couldn’t resist a bargain cruise to Stornaway and a tour of Lewis. The mountains looked even more spectacular from the sea – and the sun shone! We could not quite make out John on his mountain.

Many thanks to Bob and Linda for arranging this lovely week – be sure not to miss Scotland next time!

BLACKBOYS 3 - 5 August (Easy)
Blackboys YH is situated right in the heart of the forest, which for non-Pooh fans means Ashdown Forest in the middle of the Sussex Weald. Two long distance footpaths - the Wealdway and the Vanguard Way - cross the forest. For a short time on Saturday’s walk we found ourselves on the Wealdway or ww, wondering what it’s web site address could possibly be. Such thoughts were quickly displaced by more important things when we reached the Duddleswell Tea Rooms, where very little somethings, some not so little, were sampled.

The walk on Saturday was a sort of wander around the forest with great views looking over the South Downs though we did not get as far as Hartfield where all the Winnie-the-Pooh memorabilia is sold to the tourists. On the Sunday we went to the church of St Thomas a Becket, Framfield (see the front cover) – nothing to do with the new labour countryside minister - for a lively thought provoking family service - about some farmer who wanted to build bigger barns, followed by a walk through fields and woods. Some of the footpaths were quite overgrown and somewhat dilapidated in other ways which made it into somewhat of an assault course at times. But we all survived even the rather excessively user friendly horses.

Many thanks to Christine the Sherriff who not only led the event but organised a sumptuous meal on the Saturday evening for 11 people. Also the warden Jane who made the small wooden hut in the wood a friendly and welcoming place. And of course God who ordered everything perfectly, it only rained at night we could hear it bucketing down while we were playing Scrabble.

SAFFRON WALDEN 3 - 5 August CRC (Cycling)
Mainly fine weather, well-planned routes, and a particularly interesting Youth Hostel, contributed to an enjoyable weekend cycling between villages in the vicinity of the historic town of Saffron Walden in Essex. On the Saturday, over-enthusiasm led to the dis-orientation of a small group, two of whom were seen heading-off in the direction of Bishop’s Stortford at high speed, not to be seen again until tea-time! The rest of us re-grouped at the lunch-stop at Gravesend (not the Gravesend). The evening was spent enjoying a meal in the dining room of the Youth Hostel, repairing a flat tyre, and playing Caroline's 'Write a Neighbour's Sketch' game.

After breakfast in the communal dining room (where some Swedes were aghast at how the British could even contemplate bacon and eggs for breakfast) and an attempt at a major bicycle overhaul on the Sunday, the group set off in a clockwise direction passing through a hamlet known as Helions Bumpstead, and stopping for lunch and/or cream teas at Finchingfield - a picturesque village with geese waddling across the roads. The last challenge of the weekend was to find somewhere that served cups of tea in Saffron Walden after 5pm. We were blessed with no accidents and good fellowship. Many thanks to members of the East Anglia CRC who made this weekend a success.

LLANBEDR 24 - 27 August (Moderate/Hard)
If you are brave enough to undertake the long, and sometimes tortuous, journey to Llanbedr, on the Barmouth-Harlech coast, you will be richly rewarded by stunning views both across Cardigan Bay and towards the very distinctive skyline of peaks and plunging hollows of the Rhinogs.

On Saturday, we quickly discovered that the northern Rhinogs offer some surprisingly tough walking, characterized by a wilderness of bare rock, scree, and heather, making anything but the most well-worn paths hard going and potentially ankle-twisting. The hard walkers climbed the crags of Moel Ysgyfarnogod (‘the hill of the hares’) and Foel Penolau, and ran into some trouble with bogs, especially when one member of the group was unfortunate enough to fall in up to his waist! The moderate walkers climbed from Cwm Bychan below Clip and worked their way round the back of Craig Wion. Due to the adverse conditions, it was decided not to attempt to climb to the summit, so after an abortive attempt to find their way through the woods, and a dramatic and rather inelegant ascent over a stone wall, they eventually waded their way through the heather to descend the Roman Steps.

On Sunday the weather was gloriously sunny and warm. The hard walkers began at Cil Cychwyn, climbed up to Llyn Hywel, and then ascended Y Llethr, the highest point in the Rhinogs. After continuing down the ridge and along Diffwys, they completed the day by ascending Rhinog Fach. The moderate group climbed up the Roman Steps to rest at the beautiful lake Llyn Du before tackling Rhinog Fawr. In the evening we were led in an inspiring session of teaching and worship by Ann and Peter Arnold and Charlotte Stewart.

On Monday the weather was again excellent. We drove towards Dolgellau and ascended Y Garn, enjoying magnificent views from the summit, and plenty of wall-climbing practice en route. As we approached the car park on our return, we unexpectedly encountered several llamas belonging to the farmer – a surprising end to a stunningly beautiful walk. Phil Nalpanis was our leader for this hugely enjoyable weekend.

BOSCASTLE 24 - 27 August (Easy/Moderate)
The group almost filled Boscastle Youth Hostel. This is a converted palace stables once used for horses collecting sea-weed (a fertiliser still used locally). We counted ourselves lucky not only because of its perfect position as the innermost building in the pretty harbour, but also because low ceilings meant beds, not bunks: a great treat!

On Saturday we set off from the romantic Tintagel Castle, over the cliff–tops to Port Isaac. We agreed that the eight miles felt like sixteen because of the challenging ascents and descents and occasional almost Jacob’s Ladder. The views, however, were stunning. On the under-cliffs there were birds to wonder about: were they Red Raptors? Then we were given the magical sight of dolphins in a delightful display of synchronised swimming/water ballet.

Sunday was a very active church day: some of us dashed from the end of the Catholic service in Tintagel to join the rest for the service at the Methodist Church, and we still had the "Songs of Praise", powerfully sung, to come in the evening. Sunday included two walks. Steve led one from Tintagel back to Boscastle, Geoff the other from Tintagel to Crackington Haven. For all of us, on this second beautiful day, Thomas Hardy’s line would ring true: "O the opal and the sapphire of that wandering western sea…."

On the Monday Steve’s inland walk took in a lush valley, sun-dappled paths through woods, and three churches associated with Hardy. We heard the sad story of his neglect of his wife, Emma, with whom he fell in love only after her death! A moving sequence of haunting love poems resulted: "Woman much- missed, how you call to me, call to me….."

The whole weekend provided much food for thought, plenty of laughter, and good fellowship. Many thanks go to Steve who went to a great deal of trouble collecting people from the station and making sure that we all had the right meals from the excellent menu which Linda cooked for us.

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