Newsletter: Summer 2026
- BBRCC Admin
- Jun 30
- 13 min read
Welcome to our Summer Newsletter, full of news and updates from BBRCC - The Outdoor Club and its members.
Continue reading the content below, or if you prefer you can download the original PDF.
Upcoming dates
2026
Sat 3 Oct: Committee Meeting - Cae Groes - 7.00pm
13 - 16 November: Raven Crag Working Party
2027
Sat 30th Jan: Annual Dinner & AGM - Cae Groes
Sun 31st Jan: Committee Meeting - Cae Groes - 9:30am
Working parties
Consider volunteering on one of our forthcoming working parties. Spend one day helping out and enjoy another day free on the hills. Accommodation is free for volunteers and it’s a great way to meet other members. If you are interested, please contact the booking secretaries for the property or Keith Southwell for Cae Groes (keithjsouthwell4@gmail.com) or Dave Mobbs for Raven Crag (dave.mobbs2@gmail.com). Dates for working parties in 2025 will be published on the website as they are announced.
A hello from Michael Raymond, our new Chairman
Hello everyone,
My name is Michael, and I am the new Chairman of BBRCC, having been appointed to the role at the AGM in January. I am proud to be the youngest chairman the club has had, and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to those of you who may not yet know me.
I have been part of the BBRCC “family” for as long as I can remember. My involvement began when I was just seven years old, when my father, Graham Raymond (a former Chairman), took me up Yr Wyddfa for the very first time. From that moment on, I was well and truly bitten by the outdoor bug, and my connection with the club has continued to grow ever since.
I joined the committee at the age of 18, initially running the 500 Club for several years. I later moved on to the Cae Groes subcommittee, where I spent many years before taking a short break from committee duties for family reasons. A few years later, I rejoined and served as Vice Chairman alongside Osian for a couple of years before taking on the role of Chairman.
The club huts and properties have been a constant part of my life, and I have many fond memories from childhood—spending time in the hills and playing around the grounds. I now have two daughters of my own, and I hope they will develop the same love and connection to the club that I have enjoyed over the years.
Throughout my time with BBRCC, I have taken part in many club activities, from canoeing and navigation weekends to winter walking and weeklong trips to the Isle of Skye, as well as countless working weekends at the properties.
As Chairman, I am very keen to help the club continue to develop, provide excellent
accommodation, and—most importantly—create many more happy memories for our members. However, as a members’ club, our future depends entirely on the involvement and support of our
members. We are run by members for members.
You may have noticed a new section on our website featuring brief biographies of our committee members. I encourage you to reach out to us if you are able to spare some time to help with the running of the club. I appreciate how challenging it can be to balance a full time job, a young family, and volunteering—something I know firsthand. Nevertheless, the memories I have from my years with the club are what continue to motivate me.
If you feel you can contribute, whether through committee involvement or by offering a particular skill at a working weekend, please get in touch with me or any of the committee members—we would love to hear from you or meet you in person. We also have a new feedback form on the website, and we welcome any ideas you may have for future improvements.
I hope you continue to enjoy the properties, and I look forward to meeting many new faces over the coming years.
Take care and enjoy the hills,
Michael
BBRCC Chairman
Annual Dinner 2026 with Alex Staniforth
The Princes Arms in Trefriw put on an amazing three course dinner, and as usual everything
was delicious. Thanks to the staff for being so great throughout the evening. The speaker was Alex Staniforth - record-breaking adventurer, inspirational keynote speaker, author and founder of mental health charity, Mind Over Mountains. Alex spoke about surviving two of Everest's recent disasters, and how his 'failures' have actually led to more resilience and has turned adversity into opportunity. We all agreed he was an amazing speaker and hope we will see more of him in the club.
Osian did his final speech as chairman and handed over to Michael Raymond.
We'd like to thank Osian for his many years of service.
Thanks to everyone who came to the 2026 Annual Dinner!
Raven Crag Working Party - please join if you can
13-16th Nov
Decorating lounge and clearing the loft and insulating. We need plenty of people for this as the lounge is a big job. Even if you can only manage a day, we really need your help and support. If you are not an expert, don't worry....it's your enthusiasm and support we need. Please get in touch with Dave: davemobbs2@gmail.com
Painting the exterior of Cae Groes
This picture shows the nearly completed side facing the garden. Since then scaffolding is being removed in stages and the painting is nearing completion.
New recycling bins at Cae Groes
A stack of four new recycling boxes with labels have been installed in the main kitchen. The labels match the corresponding stack of three black recycling boxes plus green bag outside next to the general waste bin. The new stack of boxes in the kitchen are mainly meant for use by large groups or when the house is busy. Individuals or small groups may prefer to put recycling straight outside after it has been rinsed clean and sorted. It is important to only put listed items in each receptacle and that these items have been rinsed clean. Thankyou.
Mountain Biking Weekend Raven Crag 7th-8th March 2026
by Luke Whitaker
There was seven of us at this Spring’s meet up. I always look forward to these weekends as, even after 20+ years that I have been attending them, the routes feel fresh and challenging. The group this time was made up of Nick, Si, Dave, Simon, Tom, Andrew and myself.
On the Saturday, we pedalled out from the club house on a dull, foggy and quite chilly morning. Being unable to see the hillsides of Great Langdale and the damp in the air, the early part of the route down through the Quarry at Elterwater didn’t really warm us up much and I was doubting my clothing choices for the day. However, the first climb up from Elterwater over to Grasmere cured the chill and the fog and clouds started clearing. Six of us were on eMTBs verses Andrew on a standard MTB which was a noticeable differentiator on the climbing, even though Andrew is very fit – the gates and viewpoints were used to regroup frequently. We circled around Loughrigg Fell at which point both the sun and lake Windermere appeared and the day was looking up. A drop back down to Chester’s Cafe at Skelwith Bridge gave us pause for a rejuvenating drink and snack. Now refuelled the trail continued down around Brathay and Oxen Fell to where was the only ‘mechanical’ of the day. Tom’s chain skipped the top ring of a cassette and bent the cage of a derailleur. With pliers and some brute force, a trail-side repair was successful and Tom had no choice but to continue. The loop brought us back around to Little Langdale and return leg back up to Raven Crag.
The sun continued to shine so we settled in the ODG beer garden for the afternoon and relaxed after a hard ride, electrically assisted or not.
On the Sunday, having checked out of Raven Crag, we journeyed down to Grisedale Forest trail centre. The rough idea was to follow the waymarked North Face trail omitting the boring bits. This worked well in that there was lots of ups and downs and little fire road gaps. On the flip side, It was quite intense and harder going on Andrew without a battery to help him. The downhill sections into Satterthwaite were the highlight of the day and a very rocky, gnarly, steep, loose section I summarized as ‘Extraordinary’ will haunt me for a long time.
A final thank you to Dave and Nick for suggesting and guiding the trails we rode. The next outing is likely to be to Shropshire in the Autumn.
Your thoughts are wanted! Could you provide some feedback on BBRCC - The Outdoor Club, its properties and its facilities?
Would you be willing to spend 10 minutes giving us your thoughts?
We are working on ideas and want to find out what members love, how our member base is changing over time, and what you think could be done to shape the future of the club.
The questionnaire is hosted on Google Forms and is anonymous, but there is a field where you can contribute your email address if you are willing to help us further.
The questions are thorough, but they are all optional. Anything you have time to provide would be useful and appreciated. Thankyou!
or scan the QR code, or find the link on our website.
Please consider becoming a committee member
If you love the outdoors and feel that you could contribute towards the running of the club why not join the committee and make a difference?
We have 3 committee meetings a year as well as the AGM, and you will benefit from free accommodation in the relevant property - a great chance to combine it with some time in the hills. We also pay back fuel expenses.
It’s a great chance to gain more insight into the running of the club and bring your ideas for improvements.
For further details please contact the club secretary Trish Hammett on Trishnineteen@gmail.com.
Don’t forget, the password for the Members’ Page on the website is LOVATT
Welcome to our new committee members - Simon & Linda Robson
Hi all, we just wanted to introduce ourselves as we have recently joined the Raven Crag maintenance committee, having been asked by Dave the House Manager.
Linda and I have been members of BBRCC for over 25 years, neither of us worked for Barclays but we were introduced by our sister-in-law, who did work for Barclays at the time.
We live on the opposite side of the country in a small town called Saltburn by-the-sea, on the East Coast. Linda retired over 4 years ago and I have just retired, (from being a self employed joiner), so I have more time to help with the maintenance of the property. I think it is a lovely place to stay and have stayed many times, years ago with our two boys and more recently with friends and with the mountain bike group belonging to the BBRCC.
Our joint hobbies are skiing, cycling and table tennis and Linda also likes swimming, yoga and walking but unfortunately I have a problem knee so I tend to mountain bike when she is with the walking group. We also enjoy looking after our 2 grandsons, who are already getting into cycling.
We love going on holidays, as we are retired I suppose every day is a holiday lol, so what I mean is that we like to go and visit other places/countries. I also have a motorbike and we generally do a trip on it once a year, somewhere in England, Scotland or Wales.
We sometimes visit the house at Cae Groes but it is a much longer trip for us, about 4 to 5 hours depending on stops and traffic. When we stay there we like to go into one of the units and are particularly looking forward to our next visit in August as the units have just been refurbished.
In August we are taking our grandchildren with us, boys of 3 and 6 years old and it is great for the kids as there is loads of safe outside space around the house for them to run, cycle and play games and everyone loves a BBQ in the garden. In August 2024 we holidayed there with the boys and their Mum and Dad and we had some good days out, to Rhyl, there’s a great prom to cycle along; Conwy, fantastic castle; Llandudno, great pier (but watch out for the thieving seagulls!!) and just along to the river in Llanrwst itself. A shoutout must also go to the fantastic Fish & Chip shop/restaurant in the village, Tir A Mor, we always include that on the itinerary!!
I hope you enjoy the houses as much as we do and if you can help at anytime on one of the maintenance weekends it would be greatly appreciated, no experience necessary, there is always something for everyone to do and as they say “many hands make light work”.
Look forward to seeing you at one of the houses someday?
Member Feature
This is a new feature where we talk to a member of the club. We hope this will build a
sense of community and help you get to know other members using the properties.
JOE MALLIA
As I write I’m approaching the 5 th anniversary of joining the BBRCC, which seems as good a time as any to reflect on my membership. In my 70th year now, I’m now the same age as old people and find myself less ready to camp, and enjoying the comfort that Cae Groes and Raven Crag offer. The easy opportunity for a few nights in the mountains only around 3 hours from my home in Sheffield is something I treasure.
I’ve mostly used the houses as rock climbing bases – Raven Crag particularly is wonderful, with a 10 minute walk to climb and a 1 minute walk to the O.D.G. I’ve also organised and been part of gathering a group of friends at both houses for social weekends.
Recently, two of my nephews have decided to take climbing on rather more seriously, so I spent a few days at Raven Crag with them. They’ve followed me up routes before, but are now embarking on Trad Leading – a different beast.
We were lucky to hit a rare warm March weekend and other climbers had the same idea, so we eschewed the nearby delights of Raven Crag. Instead, we had a couple of days walking up from the summit of Wrynose Pass to Long Scar, a single pitch crag of rough, tuff rock on the south side of Pike O Blisco. The sun shone.
There were technicalities to be disposed of and skills to learn close to the grassy base of the crag – the placing of protection that doesn’t fall out when you fall off, the finding of anchors to tie yourself on at the top of the climb, so you don’t get pulled off if your second should fall, the abseil skills to retreat – there’s a lot to learn. But they were itching to get climbing and over the two days they led and followed one another up a number of climbs.
Sunday was the big test, for them and my nerves – they were to share leads on their first independent multi- pitch climb, where I wouldn’t be able to check their anchors on the belay stances. Each pitch would be an unknown for them. They’d have to deal with whatever came their way, find their own gear placements and set up their own belays, that both would have to rely on.
We went to Wallowbarrow Crag in the Duddon Valley where we’d picked out a VDiff climb -Trinity Slabs, not a technically taxing route, but a pretty good choice for a first multi-pitch. There’s so much more for them to think about, so it’s good to be climbing within themselves. They crushed it and came away buzzing.
They’re keen to join BBRCC and to develop their climbing skills further. We’ve got trips to Cornwall soon and their first Alpine experience in August. The ‘Yoof’ are coming.
Cae Groes Memories by Bruce Allan
My name is Bruce Allan and now am 76 having been a member of BBRCC since 1972. I took early retirement from the Bank at the start of 2003 but keeping up my BBRCC Membership staying on the committee and now doing what was required at Raven Crag.
I was involved with the Club from the start , actually going to Cae Groes before most people were aware of its existence, Barclays was at that time encouraging staff to socialise and the new adventure at Cae Groes was very popular with members doing work on the house and having a good day out on the hills.
The Bank at this time had Local Head Offices in every Region. In Liverpool I was the Clubs organiser taking a coach once a month to destinations like North Wales, The Lake District , Peak District and beyond. Usually filling a full 50 seater bus All separate Clubs were asked to become members of the BBRCC on a national basis and after much paperwork work was done and the national committee was formed based in The Midlands. Premises Department in the Midlands were extremely helpful in organising the necessary Projects of work to be done by the members and outside contractors. Clubs from around.the UK soon flocked to the new base for their mountain endeavours. Various events were organised with members pitied against different areas,
challenging each other.
We invited members from the Blind staff to come for a break and the house was full of guide dogs (all well behaved.) We should have brought our white sticks so if we dropped it they could be easily spotted was the cry as they had never walked on snow Most of them got to the top of Snowdon.
Many events across the country were organised from Cae Groes, The Lyke Wake Walk crossing the North Yorkshire Moors doing 40 miles or so in under 24 hours ( I completed the task 4 times)Trips to The Isle of Skye, Wales and beyond with hardy soles going abroad. We picked on a trip of a lifetime going to Kathmandu and Everest Base Camp and not forgetting to Iceland camping in the wilderness including trips to the Scottish Highlands. I also went to Peru with Carol and we walked the Inca Trail to reach Machu Picchu.
We all got unveiled with the maintenance of Cae Groes the members installing new underground cables to the four caravans .I collected the drum of cables from BICC in my landrover, I collected bed frames from a local Youth Hostel and collected mattresses from Liverpool and various household items from places all over the north west.
Unfortunately I did not take any photos of the work being done as I was too busy on the work parties but rest assured we all enjoyed a drink in the Pen Y Bont in the evenings. Membership was increasing at a surprising pace and the house was fully booked most weekends. I took on board being the booking secretary NO COMPUTERS OR MOBILES ALL DONE BY LANDLINES with keys being sent through the Banks internal post system. Advertising the Club was easy with newsletters going to every branch.
Different regions had their own agendas but all went away saying how much they enjoyed the House. I kept my Kayak under one of the Caravans and enjoyed taking to the waters after a days decorating the house. I enjoyed many weekends at Cae Groes meeting Carol from Bristol who lived 200 miles from me who later became my wife getting married in 1983 and bringing up my family to enjoy the great outdoors.
Not able to walk any great distance these days but many great memories. I enjoyed the spirit of the
membership and the comradeship from all over the UK. Bruce Allan October 2025
