Dugald Wilson – JD 

Hi, Jamie, 
Newcastle Fell-walking Society – founded in 1976 
Founders: 
Dugald Wilson (Civ Eng) President 
Andrew Harrison (Civ Eng) Secretary (copied in on this email) 
Jon Wetherell (Mech Eng) Treasurer  
Reasons: 
We felt that there was not the right level of mountain activity available in the Union Society at the time.  There was a walking club (I think) and definitely a climbing club, but nothing in between.  Later in life a friend described these activities as “ambling, rambling, scrambling and dangling”.  We were aiming for an activity involving something between the middle two.  I wouldn’t call us a breakaway group from the mountaineers – it was a group targeting a different audience.  We weren’t ever part of the danglers’ crowd anyway. 
Our first trip was to the Kielder area.  It was, as you would expect for a new society, heavily subscribed.  I think we needed 1 or two 50-60 seater coaches.  The hills around there – above the forest plantations - are round and fairly featureless.  But the weather was, as I recall, pretty good and we didn’t lose anybody.  Result! 
The membership rapidly tailed off to a workable number such that we could go on weekend trips to the Lakes or to Wales.  Bothies, youth hostels and the like. 
We had a small hard core including a chap, Phil Coates (I think).  And there were girls!  I suspect the mountaineering club was a bit short of them! 
We also had talks. One I remember was a fascinating one from a Prof in the Geography department about cartography.  His samples of maps from around the world might be in my attic, but it would take me  long time to search them out.  He showed different ways of representing land form – haching, contours, shadows.  The Swiss maps of the time were particularly beautiful. 
Our last trip as a committee was to the North York Moors, I think,  (you’d think I’d remember where – but I’m not 00% sure.) It was the day before our graduation. We were bombing along the A1, I suppose, when my parents swished by in their car.  I was in the back of the van as I realised who they were.  Obviously they were not expecting to see their “beloved son” in a beat-up Transit van.  I shouted, “There’s my parents!”  So Andrew gave chase!  Forcing this poor van to go faster than it probably had ever gone before.  My dad, wasn’t going to let us past.  Engine screaming, Andy kept on.  Eventually, my father relented and let us overtake.  Pulling in in front of them, I was able to wave to my mother out of the back window.  Her eyes widened in surprise when she realised who was pulling silly faces at her! 
Andrew Harrison was a great asset – he was older and could drive!  So too could Jon. 
Coming back after another exhausting weekend in another beat-up hired van, Jon was driving.  I looked over to him and realised he was taking 10 seconds to blink!  “Jon,” I said, “Don’t you think you should take a break?”  “Uh? What? Oh, I suppose so,” he said.  It could have been disastrous. 
Attached is the first membership card!  The boot print is a real copy of my own boot that was photographically shrunk to size.  Remember this was long before a lot of computer imaging technology! 
Please come back with any more questions.  These are just some thoughts on the spur of the moment. 
Best wishes, 
Dugald 

Andrew Harrison – JD 

Hi Jamie, 

 I am delighted to hear that the NUFWS is thriving after all these years; the website is really good and the list of forthcoming trips is mouth watering! I hadn’t seen the website before your email. It is great to hear from you. 

 I am afraid I don’t have any paper records of our inaugural years, but I have found my 35mm transparency photos which record some of our trips. When I have digitised these, I will send you the best ones if you are interested. It might take a little time though – maybe after Christmas?  In the meantime I enclose a photo taken earlier this year of yours truly on Fleetwith Pike (Great Gable in the background), and some pictures of Dubs Hut taken in 2006 (see below). 

 The Society was hatched by Dugald, Jon Wetherill and myself in a Henderson Hall study/bedroom one evening. We advertised the inaugural meeting using Dugald’s full size bootprint on posters all around the Union building. We had expected a turnout of perhaps a couple of dozen, but were surprised to nearly fill the room with prospective members – there must have been about 100 people there! One of the Union committee members was also in the audience, so by the end of the evening not only did we have a lot of new friends/members but also a budget! 

 I don’t remember all of the trips we organised, and for some reason I couldn’t make the first one that Dugald has described with the 50 seater coaches. Subsequent trips were in one or two hired minibuses on a self-drive basis. Sometimes the “mini buses” turned out to be transit vans with no seats in the back and no windows! The procedure then was to unroll carry-mats in the back, pile in as many students and rucksacks as we could, and hit the road! I think my driving was sometimes a little “enthusiastic” because there were sometimes a few green faces by the time we reached our destination! 

 I can recall three trips which feature in the photos I have: 

 The first was to the Lake District. I had managed to find a mountain hut, belonging (?) to Kendal Mountaineering Club, I think, which was available for use by bona-fide walking and mountaineering groups, so we booked it for the weekend. This was Dubs Hut at Dubs Quarry, high above the Honister Pass. It is mentioned briefly in Wainwright’s “Western Fells” (Haystacks 7), and can be found by climbing the old wagon incline straight up from the top of Honister Pass, over the summit where the path to Great Gable diverges, and to the point where you turn off southwards towards Haystacks. The quarry is marked on the 1:25,000 OS map. 

 We arrived in the Lakes about 8PM and, realising that the hut was just a little isolated, thought it would be a good idea to stop at the Scafell Hotel in Rosthwaite for a few pints of Jennings before trying to find the hut. The walkers bar was warm, and they served food for those of us who had a couple of spare quid, so why push on? As closing time approached we started to think we should find our accommodation, so we drove up to the top of the Pass (free parking in those days) and set off up the wagon incline. It was very dark and had started snowing! I had a hi-tech bicycle lamp to light the way, and I think a few others had torches of a sort. I think our resolve was tested a little that evening as we set off into the blizzard with a map, compass and a belly full of beer! Remarkably we found the hut fairly easily and piled in. It did the job. One wall had built-in bunks for its full length, floor to ceiling (at least three tiers) and there were heating, lighting and cooking facilities fuelled by calor gas which some kind soul had lugged up the incline before we arrived! I presume the water supply was from a nearby stream, and waste disposal was down an open mine shaft 20-30 metres away from the hut! No wandering about in the night then!! 

 I remember opening the door in the morning to find a good covering of snow and poor visibility which ruled out any any attempts on the high peaks. No crampons or ice axes in those days! We decided to explore our immediate surroundings and the mine workings around Honister. All of these were derelict in 1976 and the present Honister Slate Co with its tourist facilities did not exist. We were free to wander. Here I should mention that Philip Coates (see Dugald’s memoirs) was amongst our number. He was very enthusisatic about most things, and particularly industrial archeology. Our explorations uncovered a mine adit, and Philip was into it like a rat up a drainpipe! I wasn’t too sure about subterranean fell-walking, but some of us followed him into the tunnel for about 50 metres (with bicycle lamps held aloft!) until we heard a loud splash and a lot of swearing. Philip had done a “Vicar of Dibley” and found a large puddle which was about waist deep! We dragged him out, thankful that the water had not been any deeper, decided discretion was the better part of valour, and retreated to the fresh air. I expect Philip must have dried out somehow! 

Dubs Hut is still there (see attached photos from 2006) and open for sheltering walkers, but the interior is now stripped of all creature comforts, and I presume is no longer used for overnight accomodation. 

The second trip I recall was a day trip to the North Yorks Moors. The plan was to climb Rosebury Topping and explore its surroundings. We set off from Newcastle and it very shortly started snowing (there is a theme here!). As we approached the NYM the snow got heavier and the roads more difficult, but with a van full of students to help push it up the worst bits, we reached our destination. We had a magical walk in the snow – it was slow going through the deep stuff but the snow stopped for a while and we all thoroughly enjoyed the day. 

 The third trip was to North Wales for a few days. I think it was between finals and Graduation. Again I had tracked down a walking hut, this time up above Llanberis, but accessible by motorised transport! A little more civilised than Dubs Hut, it served as a base for us to explore Snowdonia. I can’t remember much detail, but we climbed Snowdon by the Pyg Track and I think we managed Tryfan on another day. At the top of Snowdon, Philip Coates carried out a detailed examination of the valve gear on a mountain railway steam engine. For some reason he was wearing my rucksack at the time, and managed to get some grease from the engine on to it. After many miles on my back in the intervening years, I finally got rid of my old canvas Karrimor rucksack with its aluminium external frame last year. The grease stain was still there! 

 I can’t remember many of the other Society members apart from the following stalwarts: 

Hugh Templin – a Canadian studying naval architecture. I exchanged Christmas cards for quite a while with him after he returned to Canada, and have a postal address for him though it is probably 20 years out of date. 

Laurie Bryans – an architecture student from N Ireland. He stayed on after Dugald and I left University in 1977 and may have been on the suceeding committee. 

 I saw Philip Coates again in about 1982 when he invited me to an epic party in Grange over Sands. I think it was in his parents holiday bungalow. I drove up in my MGB from Buckinghamshire, where I was working at the time. To clear our heads the following day, about 10 of us climbed Helvellyn before heading off home. I have not heard from him for many years now. 

 I’m glad to say that Dugald and I have kept in touch – we both live near Cambridge now and acted as best man for each other at our respective weddings! 

 As you can probably tell, we certainly had fun and some adventures, though I suspect you are all much better organised these days. Keep up the good work, and make sure you leave the Society in good hands, so that it can flourish for another 36 years!!! 

 Best wishes 

 Andrew Harrison 

 Dugald: Anything you can add?! 

Dugald Wilson – JD 

Hi Jamie, 
It does appear that our memories of the trip before our graduation differ.  I can think of a route from Birmingham (where my parents lived) that we would share, had that last trip been to North Wales.  We could have been on the A69. 
The Dubs hut trip was very “forming”.  Unfortunately I couldn’t go on that trip, but I was conscious that a special bond had been formed between those who did go on that trip.  Fellows in adversity? It was certainly one to which many references were made later on, much to my regret. 
Still, as Andrew said, the web site certainly makes me very envious.  You do have more of a committee than we did.  The range of trips (locations and types) certainly would put a strain on my academic studies, if I were to be at university today!Looking at some of the pictures on your archives, I see that people still take guitars.  I remember a bothy evening on one trip with people singing, telling stories and jokes and having a really good social time.  This was another essential component to this type of activity.  We liked beer, but nobody got drunk and incapable – the pleasure was the company of the folk we were with. 
Best wishes to you all, and keep up the good work! 
Dugald Wilson 
PS I recently bought a new pair of boots – Helvellyns.  These were the “boot of choice” when “I were a lad”.  OK, they are now made by someone else, but the style and templates are the same as ever.  And still amazingly comfortable, right from new.