How are you different from the Mountaineering Club?

This is probably the most asked question. While we tend to focus on walking and scrambling (getting up the hill using mostly your feet), the EUMC involved much more rock and ice climbing with ropes. We tend to be more group-centric on our trips, and we stay in hostels while the EUMC will almost always be camping. This means that if you’re new to outdoor trekking and have less experience and equipment, hillwalking will tend to be easier, more social, and cheaper for you (since you don’t have to buy all the camping equipment).

Do I need to buy a lot of equipment to get involved?

Fundamentally, no. You can get by just fine on summer trips if you have a pair of good hiking boots (which you can also rent or borrow) and a waterproof jacket, pants, and backpack. See our gear page for a more in depth-explanation.

Why are trips so expensive?

We know it might seem like a lot to shell out £50 for a weekend hiking trip, especially if this is a new hobby for you. The following is a breakdown for the cost of a trip from the club’s perspective:

• Accommodation: £30-35 per person for two nights

• Transport: minibus hire is £10-14 per person

• Fuel: about £5 per person for a minibus, up to £10 for cars

• Food: about £3 per person

This adds up to £48-£60 per person, which means most trips are heavily subsidised from club funds. We operate at a consistent loss, using EUSU grants and bulk discounts to ensure your trip is far cheaper than if you had used public transport.

The cost of a day trip is much more variable, however the price ensures they break even on average.

Is this just a tour company run by the University?

No! The committee doesn’t get this question a lot, but many people will show up for their first walk expecting it to be more of a guided tour of the Highlands and less of a sports club outing. Hillwalking is hard work, and it can be dangerous if not taken seriously. Make sure you know what you’re getting into before showing up for a trip with your Converse and a Polaroid.

How many people are on each trip?

For weekend trips, about 30-50 people will head up to the highlands, split between cars and minibuses. Once at the hostel, we’ll split up for walks on each of the next two days. Each walk will have between 4 and 12 people, depending on the conditions of the walk and the person organizing it.

For day trips numbers can vary depending on the interest, minibuses will ride up to one location. We’ll do one shorter walk (6-7h) together, then get right back on the bus and come back in the evening.

Each walk is organized by two experienced members from the club, who will handle navigation and make sure everyone stays together on the walk.

Am I allowed to do my own solo walk if I want?

Not really. Walking alone in Scotland is dangerous, and we can’t allow it from a legal accountability standpoint anyway. If you have a particular walk you want to do you are welcome to organise it as a club walk and advertise it at sign-up, but please note that this cannot include other sports activities, such as climbing or kayaking. This is EUSU policy, we’ve tried changing it in the past, it’s not going to happen.

If you want to plan your own trip with other club members, you can arrange that in the pub or on our Facebook group. But please remember that if it is not arranged by the committee, it is not an EUHWC walk or trip and this should be clear to all participants and the public.