What to Expect on a Weekend Trip
This page contains all the information you need to ensure you can have a great weekend! We want you to have fun while exploring your boundaries, but always with a conscious awareness of what works for you. On trips there are lots of opportunities to try out different things!
What to expect
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The weekend trips that we run to the Lake District National Park and Eryri (Snowdonia) involve walking of technical difficulty. We will be walking into open national park land where there are no paths, shops, or buildings! However, there will be plenty of mountains, rivers, lakes, hills, grass, mud, wind, rain, sun, and all that outdoorsy stuff!
The walks will be at least 12km in length, so you must be able to comfortably walk continuously for at least 6 hours. During this time, we will be exposed to all weather conditions without shelter. So, if it's windy and raining all day, then you should expect to be out walking in the wind and rain all day. Equally the same if it's warm weather.
You should also be comfortable walking off-path, on uneven ground such as grass, loose rock, and wet muddy ground for long periods of time (possibly all day).
There will be steep uphill and downhill sections where the ground may be wet and/or loose so you should be comfortable spending half of your day walking uphill, (and the other half down!).
If that sounds like the perfect day for you, then great - we look forward to seeing you in the Mountains!
How to maximise your weekend with us​​
If you think that you would enjoy our trips but feel a bit unsure about the difficulty, please don't worry! Whilst the walks are difficult and the weather can be a bit unfriendly at times, there are many ways to ensure that everyone has a fun, safe day:
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Choose a walk that is suitable for you. On trips there will be a choice of walks of varying length and difficulty. Whilst all will involve the above duration, terrain, and weather, some will be more beginner friendly. Please do talk to us and we can help find the best walk for you.
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Bring the correct kit essentials! Hiking boots with ankle support (not trainers!), a waterproof jacket with a hood, and waterproof trousers are essential (and mandatory) to come on our trips. If you don't bring them, then you will not be able to come (sorry! it's for everyone's safety). We will be completing equipment checks before leaving on the Friday evening! For more advice on what to bring, please see our Equipment page.
If you're still unsure
If you're still unsure about committing to a whole weekend hiking, then come try one of our day walks near campus! The day walks will be from either campus, Leamington Spa, or Kenilworth, and will be between 10 and 15km through fields and mud and grass. The main difference is it's only one day, the weather might be nicer, and there are far fewer hills!