There are essentially two types of club meets. Firstly, those with a plan of activity and everything goes to plan. These meets are easy to record: We all arrived; we all went here or there; we all… Then there are the other kind where everyone is really busy doing different things and it all becomes a bit of a whirlwind. I enjoy them both, but the second kind receive little justice from a brief report by someone who only experienced a very small part. So it was with the dinner meet this year.

The weather had been magnificent: cold, crisp with even a little snow. But that all changed in the days leading up to the meet. There was still a little white stuff on the tops but the weather had an Atlantic focus. It wasn’t terribly wet but never really dry either. And the wind blew enthusiastically.

We had 36 members attend the dinner. Also two guests: our speaker, Dave Padgen and the president of the Alpine Club, Duncan Sperry. Eleven members stayed at the George Starkey Hut. The others were dispersed among hotels, bed & breakfasts and their own homes. This led to most of us only meeting up for the dinner itself on the Saturday night. We have decided to address this next year with a shared afternoon activity – probably tea and cake at the hut. It seemed such a waste of a rare opportunity to spend times with old friends.

The hut team started arriving on the Thursday night, allowing for walking time on the Friday without having to get back in time to make oneself respectable for the dinner. Once again, the White Lion Hotel provided excellent evening meals for those that preferred not to do their own cooking.

Various outings were undertaken on the Friday and Saturday, mostly on the lower hills due to the weather. One more ambitious team braved the shops of Ambleside and returned with new alpine boots and fell shoes. For me, the most fun is had by getting out on the hill with members that I have not walked with before. In this way, I enjoyed Friday and Saturday walks greatly, even though they went nowhere particularly special.

The George Starkey Hut provided the usual comfy environment for catching up with old friends, but with some new improvements. The upgraded drying room really does do what it says on the door. It is still waiting for a coat of paint but having dry clothes each morning was lovely. The main luxury item was however the new multi-fuel stove. For now, it is being used only for smokeless briquettes as this is what is provided by the hut company, and to avoid people burning unsuitable sub-standard wood. Compared with the previous built-in stove, this freestanding one gives off a lot of heat. Its warmth was greatly appreciated.

On the Saturday evening, we assembled at the Inn on the Lake Hotel for the AGM and dinner. It was a pleasure to meet old friends in the bar before the proceedings. The meeting itself went smoothly with very good attendance. The elephant in the room – that we are all getting older without successors in place – was briefly mentioned and then ignored.

The dinner was magnificent. Many thanks to the hotel staff who helped decorate the room with the Swiss Cantonal flags and other regalia and to our volunteers who arranged the seating plan with the care that only those who know our individual quirks could manage. I heard only positive comments about the food and the service.

Many thanks to Don for compiling members memories of Ed Bramley and the annual pictorial account of 2025.

Our after dinner speaker was Dave Padgen. Dave is remarkable for the expeditions he has taken part in, in spite of finding things hard, on account of his cerebral palsy. He was both inspiring and very entertaining. His little speech impediment served to make us listen carefully and become more engaged in the talk than is normal for most of us. It was also an honour to have last year’s speaker, our own Pamela Harris, join us – all the way from Switzerland.

Sunday dawned fine, as is the way. Most of us had to begin the trek home, but Judy managed a circuit taking in Bedafell and Angle Tarn.

Many thanks to all who contributed. Particularly to Julie Freemantle who has expertly organised the annual dinners for many years. This was her final year before passing the baton on.

Report by Daniel Albert

Archived reports from 2001 to 2025.