2024 talks
We're pleased to announce three talks in 2024 starting at 19.15 for initial chatters and 19.30 for the start of the talk.
- Tuesday 16th January - Island-bagging by Kayak by Andy Sutton
- Tuesday 6th February - A journey to Mongolian summits by Rob Woodall
- Tuesday 12th March - A journey through Iberia by Steve Smith
RHSoc Members and Subscribers will get a Zoom link to attend in advance of the talks. It will be the same link for each.
Previous talks
Members can view recordings of previous talks in the RHSoc website members' area on the Chatters recordings page (sign-in by Members required).
2021-2022 Relative Chatters Programme (mostly available as recordings)
- 7th March 2022 - Lisa Drewe - Islandeering. Lisa is an intrepid island bagger/ who has visited over 600 of them around the British Isles. She has published Islandeering - adventures around the outer edge of Britain's hidden islands and will be telling us about some of those adventures.
- Tuesday 8th February 2022 - Ross Brannigan from the John Muir Trust. The John Muir Trust is the UK charity dedicated to the experience, protection and repair of wild places. But what is a ‘wild place,’ and why do they matter? Join the Trust’s Engagement Officer, Ross Brannigan, to hear more about the changing face of some of our most celebrated landscapes, what role they have in today’s society, and what can be done to enhance them for people and nature to thrive.
- Tuesday 11 January 2022 - Mick Fowler, No Easy Way. Renowned climber and mountaineer Mick Fowler presents 'No Easy Way'. No Easy Way sums up the challenges to fit everything in that all those with an outdoor leaning will appreciate. Except Mick's challenges have been greater than most - from tax office work, to unclimbed Himalayan peaks to extreme dog walking
- Tuesday 5 October 2021 – Ascent of the remote Arctic Ultra, Beerenburg, Jan Mayen island. Chris Ottley, RHSoc member explains how he and three RHSOC members (Richard and Denise McLellan, Tony Jenkins) ended up in a sailing yacht crossing the Arctic for eight days with absolutely no guarantee of anything apart from seasickness. Luckily, all managed to reach the summit and explore the more rarely climbed peaks before returning to Spitzbergen.
- Tuesday 9 November 2021 – Introduction to The Huws. Alex Cameron, Myrddyn Phillips, Adrian Rayner, and Mark Trengove. RHSoc members will already be very aware of the variety of upland landscapes to be discovered across Wales. And so, the collection of The Huws certainly does include many classic hills; but beyond that, the list also features hills that have not appeared in any previous listings, or rarely see a visit from even the most ubiquitous of baggers. Join them for some anecdotes and insights as to how the final listing came to be. Let the speakers enthuse you with their own personal choices of 100 great hills in Wales below 2,000ft.
- March 2021: Old Men and Big Lists - Rob Woodall. Rob builds on the Marilyn story to show why he chose Humps next, explains why the St Kilda stacks took a decade to crack, gives his story of Hump completion (including the five stacs), before a final quick peek into the world of international bagging and the latest stage in the process of listing worldwide peaks by prominence.
- May 2021: Trials and Tribulations of UK Island bagging - Bob Kerr. Back by popular demand after the St Kilda video clips used by Jenny Hatfield in the previous talk (also available to view), here is an opportunity to dream of island bagging again. It gives an excellent introduction to the many different types of islands with examples of how Bob has approached bagging them.
Talks no longer available at the request of the speaker:
- February 2021: The Final Push for the First Female Marilyn Completion: Jenny Hatfield and Rick Salter
- April 2021: Carstenz Pyramid - An Adventure in Indonesia: Pete Ellis