What’s OnHi there! Welcome to the *Scottish Hillwalking & Activities Group*.
We’re a friendly group that was founded to be run by the members for the members. When we started out, we were primarily a hill walking group, but we now also organise a range of activities throughout the year.
**Walking**
We organise a wide range of walks year round including single Munros, multiple Munros, scrambling over ridges, weekends away and a selection of low level longer walks, pub walks and summer evening walks. We also organise Small Walks for Small People and child-friendly Munros.
These shouldn’t be considered “led walks” with a professional guide. Think of it more as going walking with a group of friends (and while you may not be friends with everyone at the start of the walk, you will be by the end of it!) – everyone has to take responsibility for themselves as well as for each other, and everyone has a role to play (be it offering lifts to the start, helping with the navigation on the walk or bringing the jaffa cakes!)
**Rock climbing**
We have a dedicated core of climbers. There are regular weekly meetups at the Glasgow Climbing Centre, Braehead, The Climbing Academy and Avertical World in Dundee. In addition, we host occasional events at Ratho, the Alien Rock venues in Edinburgh and pre-season ice climbing trips to the Snow factor at Braehead and the Ice Factor in Kinlochleven. The group also holds regular rock climbing meets at local crags when the weather is fine, and snow/ice climbs through the winter. Many of these are arranged on group nights at the last minute, due to our fickle weather, so being an active member opens up more options to you.
Further afield, we usually have an annual bouldering trip to Fontainebleau and a European sport climbing trip.
We are a beginner friendly group and we run several indoor and outdoor introduction events a year for bouldering, trad, sport climbing and belaying. Please note that events involving rope management skills are restricted to members that can already belay safely. However, if getting into that attracts you, we have created a climbing progression plan for you here.
Members are entitled to a range of discounts at the GCC.
**Organisers**
The organiser of a walk or event is the point of contact for the walk. Organisers do not lead walks and are not responsible for others or instructing them. Organisers are volunteers who are sharing their own experience with others, so those of lesser experience should be aware of this.
**Scottish Hillwalking & Activities Group is no longer a Mountaineering Scotland affiliated club however you can still get discounted membership to the MS through us, enabling you to enjoy all the benefits and support the organisation that represents walkers and climbers in Scotland. We highly recommend that members join up. For full details of the benefits of MS membership and how to join, check out http://www.meetup.com/scottish-hillwalkers/pages/Mountaineering_Council_of_Scotland/**
The group is completely free to join, but we may occasionally ask for a voluntary £2 donation to help cover the cost of hosting the group on Meetup.com.
If you have some ideas for walks and activities or perhaps once you have been on a few events, would like to get involved in organising one, please feel free to get in touch with me.
For more details about the group, check out our About Us pages, including a wee introduction to each of the group’s wonderful organisers.
Look forward to seeing you on a meetup soon,
***Mountain Goat***