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Issue ONE

Jan 2017

Selecting the destination

Finding An Agent That’s Right For You

Chairman: Christine Knight

Vice Chairman: Herma John

Secretary: Benita Scaife

Treasurer: Claire Yates

Membership Secretary: Jilly Wood

Ordinary Members:

Tony Cooper Hilarie Sutlieff

Chris Padoin Diana Topham

John Scaife

The BAMWAT committee exists to ensure that the club is well run and that trips are organised

in the best possible way to provide enjoyable and safe hiking for all our members. We meet

frequently - at least quarterly - to discuss club finances and review trips to ensure that they

were successful and that there were no organisational or safety issues. We also organise the

Annual General Meeting which provides a great opportunity for members to meet each other

and hear about the club’s activities for the previous year and plans for the coming year. A trip

planning meeting follows so this is a great opportunity to make sure that your favourite

destinations are included in the walking schedule.

For more information or to contact any of the committee members, please e-mail:

bamwatinfo@gmail.com

Planner Top Tips

The Committee

Who is your audience?

Choose somewhere you like!

****

Advice on….

Selecting a destination

Booking accommodation

Car hire

Planning walks

Group size

Budgets

It is important to consider which club members

will be attracted by your trip. Different things

make a trip appealing including location and

level of difficulty.

Why shouldn’t you choose somewhere you want to go to? You will be doing a huge chunk of

the work! It is important that you enjoy doing the planning, so organising a trip to somewhere

you have always dreamt of going, or to one of your favourite spots will definitely contribute to

that enjoyment.

We are always looking for ideas for new walking destinations and roughly twice a year, the club holds

trip planning meetings. At these trip planning meetings we take suggestions for trips for the following

year. Suggesting a destination does not oblige you to organise it and as long as we can find an

organiser the trip will go ahead. We need suggestions for UK and overseas trips as well as day walks

and evening walks for the summer months.

Planning meetings ...

Trip

Provide as much information as you can about

the trip, using the BAMWAT trip flyer, which

guides you using specific headings. Ensure that

you state the level of difficulty. If there are any

specific skills needed such as scrambling or the

trip covers particular terrain such as scree or

via ferrata, you must include this information

because some members will not be comfort-

able in these situations and may even be

unsafe. Conversely, these things may be exactly

what attract other members.

It is a little more than just choosing a

favourite destination. You must be sure that

there is good walking at your destination.

When you have researched what walking is

available, choose a specific area and

concentrate on that one location. Do not be

Committee) to check whether the club owns

any walking guides for your destination

choice. Alternatively, look in your public

library or simply search the Internet. There is

a wealth of information available to you at no

cost. If you feel you need to buy a walking

book or guide, you may be able to “sell” it to

the club if you keep the receipt, but check

with Claire first.

How far do we need to drive? Can we do any

walks directly from the accommodation

without having to drive? Are there a variety

of walking options? Are there easy,

moderate and/or difficult levels of walking

available? These are some of the things you

should be thinking about.

After all, we are a walking club

and our members come on trips

with us primarily to walk!

There are several ways of

finding about walking trails and

routes and also the type of

walking in an area. You can

contact Claire Yates (or any

member of the BAMWAT

tempted to visit too many

locations. If the country or area

you choose has many good

options, plan on coming back.

Do not be too ambitious; the

best trips are the simplest and

least complicated. Consider

ease of access. How far is the

nearest international airport?

You must be sure

that there is good

walking at your

destination

Trip

We welcome your feedback on trip successes and ideas to improve trip planning

Useful tips to help you plan a successful walking trip

Trip Planning Checklist

of practical roles like cooking,

washing up, cleaning, shopping

etc. You cannot and should not be

responsible for it all and, in fact,

people enjoy the trip more if they

feel involved.

When walking you are responsible

for ensuring that all walkers are

within sight of each other and

safe, but this is also a

Trip participants

are ultimately

responsible for

their own safety

collective responsibility. Participants

are ultimately responsible for their

own safety and should know and state

their limitations. Equally, as the

organiser, you should be prepared to

listen to and encourage feedback

about the planned walks. Have a

relaxed discussion in the evenings

over a drink or during or a meal. That’s

the key to success!

I’m in charge! Well, actually, as a trip organiser you are responsible for the successful organisation of the trip

and, in that respect you are in charge. However, a successful trip depends on the active

participation of the whole group. Encourage this participation by assertively asking for

volunteers. Apart from pure hiking skills such as map reading and navigation, there are plenty

The BAMWAT trip organiser’s guide includes a

complete checklist to help you organise a

successful trip but here are some key reminders:

Advertise your trip with the trip flyer

Include clear indication of trip level

Advise minimum and maximum group size

Collect adequate deposit to cover your costs

Book accommodation

Advise group of accommodation choice

Check what club equipment needed

Advise group of any visa requirements

Check and advise vaccination requirements

Send out trip packing list (clothes/kit needed)

Remind group to take out travel insurance

Book cars, if applicable

Check bus/train times, if applicable

Ask for volunteer drivers (describe driving)

Agree roles and responsibility during trip

Hold pre-trip planning meeting

Prepare a list of group’s mobile number

and distribute

Agree departure/arrival meeting place and

time

On trip, discuss walks on previous evening and

agree definitive starting time

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Planning the Walks

Driving Miss Daisy!

Location, Location, Location The location of the accommodation is key,

both from the point of view of getting there

and getting to the walks. Consider whether

there is public transport nearby or whether

you will need cars to get to some of the walk

start points.

.

Cost Members tend to go on

several trips a year in addition

to their personal holidays, so

they are keen to keep trip

costs to a minimum. The Club

is a member of the

International Youth Hostel

Association and youth hostels

are good value for money.

Baby, you can drive my car!

Hone your skills

Car Rental

How can I learn about navigation and map reading?

Day and Evening Walks

BA sometimes has good deals for staff with some of the large car rental companies via the

Altitudes programme. At the moment there is a recommendation to use a comparison site

but the reviews are not particularly good. So it is best to search the internet for the best

options you can find. It may be worth calling and asking whether they offer an airline or BA

discount, if you are a BA employee.

If you would like to organise a trip, but don’t feel

confident enough, why not try your hand at a

day or evening walk? Maybe you have a

favourite walk that you know well. You could

simply send an e-mail to “Fellwalking” to invite

participants. Let people know where to meet and

the best place to park (include a postcode if

possible for satnavs). Also consider whether they

should bring a packed lunch or, if the walk is

short enough, there may be time for a pub lunch.

If you plan to use public transport, check for

weekend engineering stoppages on the trains

and buses. A day walk is typically about 10-12

miles and evenings about 2 hrs. Both are quite

relaxed. They are a good way to get to know

members of the club.

Another way to gain experience at organising

trips is to volunteer to help a more experienced

convenor. If you are interested in organising trips

or helping to organise just let one of the

committee members know and we can take it

from there.

All trips are different and it is impossible

to set strict rules but here are some

things to remember regarding the use of

cars.

You don’t have to be a great map reader or walk leader to organise a trip, but if you

are not confident in map reading, you should ensure that at least one member of the

group is competent in this area and agrees to support you with leading the walks.

Make sure you have agreed with them in advance what they will do. In hill or

mountain terrain it is not enough to follow a guidebook. You must have a map and

compass as a back-up and someone in the group must know how to use them.

BAMWAT members are

used to a variety of

accommodation ranging

from tents to hotels. The

ideal option is somewhere

in between: youth hostels

or guest houses are

perfectly acceptable and a

good low-cost option.

BAMWAT members come on trips

primarily to walk and cars help us get to

the accommodation and to the start of

the walks. Driving should not be

considered an integral part of the trip. Do

not select walks whose start is more than

an hour’s drive away.

Maps and excellent walking guides can be bought

for most destinations. Stanfords is one of the best

suppliers and you can buy online at stanfords.co.uk

or from their shop, located in Long Acre, Covent

Garden. If you do not want to keep maps/guides,

check first because the club may already have what

you need or a club member may be prepared to lend

you their copy.

Amazon and themapshop.co.uk are also good online

sources for maps and books and don’t forget that

there is a wealth of free information on the Internet.

Also other club members may have been to the

destination before so do not hesitate to ask!

It is not necessary to plan all the walks

before you arrive in the destination but you

should have a good idea what the various

options are and key facts such as the length

of the walks and the duration. Bear in mind

that duration varies depending on the

terrain. For example ten miles in mountain

terrain with steep ascents will take

considerably longer than ten miles on a

valley walk.

Consider who is in the group. Are there

enough walks to cater for different skill

levels and interests? Is the group large

enough to split so that different walks can

be done in a day? If you consider this option,

you must have enough competent map

readers so that both groups have one. If not,

the group should stay together.

Where possible select some walks that can

start and end at the accommodation

without the use of cars, or check whether

there are any public transport options.

Whatever options you choose, avoid starts

that are too far away and require more than

one hour’s travel time. Thoughts after a

walk are “home, shower, food” in that order

with maybe beer or wine preceding food.

Then we talk about what a great day it was!

Not all club members are confident map readers and this usually does not hinder them but this is because

a skilled map reader is almost always part of the group. It is important to remember that each participant

on a trip is responsible for their own safety and navigation and map reading skills could save your life in a

hazardous situation. Weather in mountainous areas is notoriously unpredictable and, though we never

plan to walk in bad weather, it does happen and the more competent navigators the club has the better.

We run a navigation weekend once a year, usually in the late autumn, to give everyone a chance to learn

or practise navigation skills. Ask a committee member for more information and check the trip list for the

next date.

Group size depends on various things. If

the trip is in the UK and there is space at

the accommodation, then group sizes can

range from 4 to 20 or more. With larger

groups it is a good idea to split into smaller

groups either doing the same or different

walks. For overseas trips, especially when

standby travel is involved, smaller groups

are easier to manage. When car hire is

involved, you must consider the number

of cars needed and the increased cost if

only a 2-3 people are in one car. 8 is a good

number in this case – enough for an

enjoyable trip but manageable.

If your overseas trip involves car hire

then you must be careful about group

size because cars limit the numbers you

can accept otherwise your costs will

increase substantially.

Allow for 4 passengers per car for the

best value.

When choosing, think about the luggage

capacity of the car. Rental companies

are never very clear about this, so it is

often better to opt for a larger car to

allow for boot space. Four people can

carry quite a bit of luggage for a walking

trip. That said, you should always ask

participants to bring small suitcases and

definitely no hard shell cases, which

take up too much room.

Get a room!

Booking accommodation

We also get a group discount if we use the

club YHA card (available from Claire Yates).

Basic, clean guesthouses are also a good

option as are basic but good quality hotels.

Accommodation will vary depending on the

destination.

Sharing It is fine to expect members to share rooms.

However do not ask women to share with

men unless they are a couple. Book twin

rooms, avoiding double beds because

several members are not happy sharing a

bed with someone they do not know very

well.

In Youth Hostels you should try as much as

possible to book space in same sex dorms

but it is worth asking the group if they are

happy to book a mixed dorm if it is occupied

only by our group. As a general rule, girls are

not comfortable in mixed dorms (except in

the above situation).

It is important to think about the number of

men and women in your group in order to

avoid embarrassing situations with sharing.

Group Size

Before leaving you should ask for volunteer

drivers. Aim for two drivers per car - select

the “Additional driver” option when

booking – because it is important that

drivers have the opportunity to rest and,

frankly, to enjoy the trip as much as the rest

of the group.

Not all drivers are comfortable driving

overseas, especially on the “wrong” side of

the road, or on difficult terrain, like

mountain roads, so check that your

volunteers know exactly what type of

driving they are signing up for.

Ask all drivers to bring their complete

driving licence just in case one of the

volunteer drivers is unable to drive at the

last minute, e.g. they miss the flight.