FAQs

So what do you do?

Hiking, mostly. One day every weekend during term time, with one or two weekend trips per term thrown in. We go to all these nice places. And we have a social every week and pub lunches every Tuesday.

What's the difference between Explorers and Expeditions? Mountaineers?

Bristol University has a lot of outdoor clubs!

Explorers is a hiking club. We do the kind of walking, and sometimes a bit of scrambling on weekend trips, that doesn't need any ropes or harnesses. And we don't consider ourselves above stopping off at a tea-room every now and then.
Expeditions do more in the way of scrambling and climbing - and more weekend trips instead of day-trips.
Moutaineering/Climbing do what their name says - climb mountains and climbing walls.
Orienteering is really fun sport!
And it's not too late to do your Duke of Edinburgh gold award.

What's on next? How do I sign up?

We have a calendar of what's on this term and send out details on our mailing list every week, inlcuding who to sign up to by e-mail. If you'd just like to go on our mailing list without paying to join yet, e-mail "secretary /at/ explorersclub.co.uk"

If you want to join now then continue here ...

I joined online and I'm not getting the e-mails?

Since the university switched everyone to gmail, a lot of societies have this problem. First, check your spam folder - it's often in there and if so there's a button to tell google that our publicity is not spam. If you still can't find it - e-mail us at "secretary /at/ explorersclub.co.uk" and we'll investigate.

What's the club like socially?

Very friendly and not competitive - suitable also for people who don't want to run a marathon or aren't really into team sport too much. We're in it for the fun, which just happens to be good exercise as well!

Many student activities involve a lot of alcohol. That's fine if you like it but we're equally welcoming if you're teetotal or half a pint is all you want one evening - our socials are not "laddish pub crawls". Alcohol is always an optional extra.

Can I join? How?

Yes. You can join us (and any other society) any time during the year, membership is £10 for Bristol students for the academic year and resets every summer. If you've just found us and freshers week is long gone - no problem! Just join online.

All sign-ups should go through the union's page over here. The black box thingy at the top is the log in button and you'll need your student username (something like ab1234) and password to log in to the university systems. Then you'll see a button to join us on the page.

If you're not a student at the University of Bristol, you're still more than welcome, particularly UWE students and ex-students - since we're part of Bristol University's student union you'll have to pay them an extra £25 though. (On the bright side, you only pay this once and you can join all societies here.) Our membership cost is also £13 for non-students (because we get a student-only discount on insurance). Use the black log-in box on our union page just like Bristol students but choose the "sign up now" link, and follow the instructions - the extra fee will be added automatically when you buy membership.

How long are the walks?

As long as we fancy on the day - 20km might be average but we adapt to the weather, time of year and the preferences of people on the walk. Some days we walk on and on, others we end up spending the afternoon over tea and scones.

Do I need a lot of expensive equipment?

No. Good hiking boots are about the only kit you might not have already - the kind of jacket you wear on a rainy day in Bristol will serve you fine on our walks, and the same kind of rucksack that you carry your stuff to uni in. As a walking rather than climbing club, you don't need any ropes, harnesses, ice-axes and crampons and so on here. For more details, see our equipment page.

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