Southampton University Hillwalking Club

Away Trips

Southampton is a beautiful area, it has many a good pub and some great countryside to walk through. We cover this in our day walks but what if you want more? What if after the saturday day walk you come back thinking "if only we went a bit higher..."? This is where Away Trips come in!

There are six away trips organised every academic year, going to some more luxurious walking places such as the the Lake district, Exmoor, Brecon Beacons, the Peak District and Snowdonia. These trips cost just £45 and include travel, accomodation and food (with exception of Lakes and Cornwall which have extra days and therefore £45 does not include food). Trips will leave from Soton Uni at roughly 6pm on the Friday night and return late Sunday evening (usually about midnight).

During the away trip you can do one decent sized walk each day. There are usually 2 or 3 walks proposed ranging in difficulty (from tea shop, through easy to hard) based on the group of people walking. This pretty much summarises away trips, however we do realise it can be pretty daunting for first timers, hence the rest of this page details the signup process, equipment and food provided. If you have any queries, drop an email to walking@soton.ac.uk or chat to any of the committee at any of our events!

Sign Up

You have decided to take the plunge and go on an away trip. What do you do now? There will be an email sent to the list roughly 2 weeks before the trip detailing when signup will start - it's usually on the wednesday the week before the trip, at 1pm in the stagg's head (our normal weekly drop-in meeting time).

A few more points:

Sign up is done first come, first served basis.

If you sign up but can't make a trip, let us know ASAP so we can offer your place to someone else

If the trip is full, you will be placed on a reserve list and will get first dibs on the next trip, or will be emailed if a place opens up on the current trip.

Any questions? Drop an email to walking@soton.ac.uk

Equipment

Roll out of lectures and realise you only have a couple of hours until you are meant to be at campus. So hurridly you pull over a bag and put in the following items:

Compulsory stuff

Sleeping bag - what are you going to sleep in if you forget it?

Walking boots - the terrain will be rougher than day walks, hence strong shoes is NOT adequate

Couple of warm fleecy layers - wind chill is more significant than you think. Lots of thinner layers is better than one big layer

Hats, gloves, scarves - in winter away trips we could be walking in snow, it is nice to be warm!

Waterproof jacket - ponchos are not really good enough, they have been known to literally fly away in the wind!

Waterproof trousers - a dry walker is a happy walker

Decent loose fitting trousers - NOT JEANS! The quicker they dry the better

Water bottle (minimum 1L) - you will need to drink more fluid than on a day walk!

Personal first aid kit - the club does provide a group one, but a personal one with plasters paracetemol etc. is a lot less faff

Wash kit, towel and spare clothes - no one likes a smelly belly

Rucksac - ~20L, pretty obvious why you need one of these

Packed tea - to eat on friday on the way there on the bus

Stuff that's nice to have

Gaitors - buy them from good walking shops, they're bits of material you attach to your boots to turn them into sort of wellies. Help keep your feet dry

Spare walking socks - just incase you do end up in the mud

Thermos flask - for those especially cold days

Present for away trip sec - sweets/alcohol go down well...

Money - we will probably go to a pub in the evening and stop off for food on the way back to Soton

Alcohol - to drink in the bunk house. STRICTLY NOT TO BE TAKEN ON HILL or consumed on the mini bus for legal and safety reasons

Torch - to find your way to the pub and back

Trainers/other shoes - nice to pad around the bunk house in as boots get a bit heavy after a while

Food Provisions

As mentioned earlier, away trips include food, detailed below:

Saturday Mega Breakfast - including cereal, toast, scrambled egg, sausages, bacon, beans, mushrooms all bought AND cooked for you!

Saturday Lunch - Two sandwiches (with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, ham, turkey, cheese, pickle etc.), piece of fruit, decent sized chocolate bar and packet of crisps! Put together by yourselves after breakfast.

Saturday Evening Meal - Some main evening meal such as bolognese, stew, stir fry etc. All bought and cooked for you!

Sunday Breakfast and Lunch - See above, pretty similar to Saturday

If you feel that this isn't enough food for you (!!!) then feel free to bring your own to add to your stash. Minibus sweets go down well.

If you have any special dietary requirements, we will be more than happy to accommodate you. But please make sure to let us know as soon as possible. In your sign up email, please state exactly what your requirements are, e.g. if you are vegetarian, have any allergies or happen to be a grass muncher!

Minibus drivers

If you would like to lend a helping hand during away trips, why not become one of our minibus drivers. As you would only be driving for non - commercial purposes, UK law states that you do not need any previous bus driving experience or the D licence which is normally required for driving a minibus. For more information click here.

The rules for becoming a club minibus driver are:

- You should be at least 21 years of age

- You should have held a Full driving licence for a period of 3 years and have no endorsements

- You should not have had an accident that was your fault in the last 5 years.

- You must pass one of the free minibus familiarisation tests organised regularly by the Student's Union

- The vehicle must not be capable of carrying more than 16 passengers

- A driver must not drive the minibus for more than 2 hours at a time, or more than 6 hours in a day.

All minibus drivers will pay an away trip fee of £40 compared to the usual price of £45. If you are interested in becoming a minibus driver, please email us at walking@soton.ac.uk