The Vagabond Mountaineering Club has its’ club hut and spiritual home in Nant Peris, the cluster of slate stone cottages guarding the Llanberis Pass, cowering beneath the mighty Snowdon. The hut has recently been renovated and refurbished to a very high standard. Those of you who know the Vagabonds will be all too aware of how desperately overdue this work was, and of how the VMC struggled to maintain numbers, activity and cohesion as a club whilst without an effective base from which to venture forth. This article attempts to summarise the saga, in the hope that other clubs may benefit from our experiences. It has been a long haul but we finally have a Hut with a capital H, to enjoy and to share with the wider climbing community.
The Vagabonds MC started life as a splinter group from the West Derby YHA Club in Liverpool. YHA clubs were originally set up in 1943 to promote wholesome outdoor activity but membership was only allowed to the maximum age of 21. In 1948 a keen group of members at West Derby YHA were approaching cut-off time and decided to form their own club. The group first met on Tues 11th Jan 1949 and became the Vagabond MC, taking the name from a local tennis club. There were 9 original members; including 2 cyclists who resigned in the first year, the rest were walkers and climbers. Trips were mainly to North Wales by hitch-hiking or later by motor bike, staying at Idwal YH or the Tyn-y-Shanty, with occasional trips to Ben Nevis and Skye. The club membership grew slowly; in the mid ‘50s the Vags numbered about 30.
In 1952 the Vaynol estate had many unoccupied cottages and one in particular, near Nant Peris, had come to the club’s attention. Initially a 7 year lease was agreed at £13 per year and an additional £34 was raised to make it habitable. Water came from the stream via a tap but there was no sewage or electricity. The hut was officially opened on 6th September 1952. The Vagabonds club continued to grow steadily over the years, in numbers, objectives and stature. Club mags from the 70’s report early and significant Alpine ascents, exuberant cragging all around the country and a healthy social (drinking) scene centred on the Vaynol Arms in Nant Peris. Around 1980 the hut was sold by the Vaynol estate to a private owner, but the lease continued until 1989. The Vagabonds were in limbo for several years and finally decided to try and buy the property, valued then at £35,000. In 1994 after raising £9,000 from donations, we received a £30k grant from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts and the hut was ours. In 1995 £2.5k was spent on essential repairs.
However it soon became apparent that, after the years of uncertainty regarding the lease and the resultant lack of renovation, rising damp and a perishing flat roof meant that we needed to spend considerably more than this. The hut was lacking basic amenities, cold, damp, unhealthy, infested with rodents and people were increasingly reluctant to spend more than a single night there, particularly in winter. In 1998, proposals were put to AGM for a total re-build and accepted by the majority of members. Requirements included a better toilet and washroom, shower, new entrance, wet room / drying area, better kitchen, improved parking, and removal of the wooden stairwell (fire hazard). There were some strong objections; climbing huts were meant to be basic, certainly did not require a shower and there were fears that change would lead to a loss of the hut’s unique character. Around this time the BMC set up the Hut Group, a support committee which organised an annual symposium aimed at assisting clubs specifically with hut management, insurance, outside usage and other issues. This meeting and the associated resources were invaluable.
Planning was a minefield and took years to negotiate. Bed spaces in the Snowdonia National Park are closely monitored, as is undue expansion. Extensions have to be in character and materials used appropriate. There was little local support; as outsiders we were simply lucky not to conflict with home-grown interests. Plans were first presented in 1999 to raise the roof by one metre, move all sleeping upstairs, and extend into the car park, (estimate £60-70k for re-build). In 2000, Snowdonia Park turned down the plans, citing overdevelopment. Modifications were presented and turned down again. In 2001, a third set of plans on a new design were submitted, and rejected, still regarded as overdevelopment.
Eventually, a meeting was arranged between a Snowdonia Park official and senior club members, at the site, and a design thrashed out on the back of an envelope, with modifications in keeping with local tradition as recommended by the Park official. These hand drawn plans were then re-submitted to the Park Committee. In November 2001, the plans were finally accepted. Detailed drawings were completed by architect Allan Owen and three loose quotes were obtained from assorted local builders. We chose Mike Bailey, a CC member who came highly recommended by Ken Latham.
Now all that remained was how to fund the expansion? There seemed to be money available, lottery grants, sports foundation money; other clubs had been successful. Application followed application, tedious, time consuming, eventually fruitless. Sports England Lottery revised its policy in Feb 2001 to focus on sport development (Olympic) and disadvantaged groups. In 2003 they rejected our application as our hut development was of no strategic significance to the development of mountaineering, did not contribute to ‘sport development’, and offered no opportunities for target groups. There was no evident partnership funding or other source income and Sports England Lottery stated that they would only come in as a last resort to top up a prime sponsor. The Foundation for Sports and Arts could not offer a grant but suggested that they may offer an interest free loan. In later correspondence they would rescinded this offer as money was scarce. The Welsh Tourist Board offers grants for developing sites and buildings such as caravans and stables but would only commit to a cause if local jobs were to be offered. There are literally hundreds of minor sports charities in the North West that offer up to £3-5k to develop social amenities of an outdoor nature. We contacted a selection of these, all of whom would only offer support if the club itself had charitable status. We even wrote to a few sports stars and celebrities with connections to Merseyside, out of curiosity, asking for a hand out! Only 1 major soccer star replied, again in the negative. After 4 futile years of applications we came to the grim realisation that as a small and effectively private members’ climbing club, we did not qualify for a single penny of outside funding.
The solution that was found and the rebuild achieved is a truly magnificent reflection of how climbing can inspire and unite a group of disparate individualists into a team pursuing a common dream. Anyone who walks into the hut now, bowled over by the dryness, comfort and the warmth, is benefiting from the fruits of a collective obsession. We decided to fundraise within the club to cover the cost of the basic building work and to rely on members and work meets to subsequently fit out the interior. This tiny club, a total of only 60 members, spent its’ savings and in addition raised the money for a substantial loan from regular contributions from members and supporters. We had assets of approximately £18k and planned a loan of £20k. The entire membership committed to a small monthly payment, usually about £20, for 3-5 years, in order to service the loan and enable us to start work. Everyone has paid; many former members who haven’t been seen for years continue to contribute. There was no overt pressure applied yet the only excuse employed not to pay (temporarily) was unemployment.
The keys were handed over and the hut acceded to the architect in Easter 2004, supposedly for a year. Mike Bailey worked tirelessly and mostly alone for the best part of 3 years. There were some delays. It is not quite clear whether it was the heavy work on the cottage or the Ogwen guidebook which led to his heart attack! Luckily his recovery was relatively swift, although he went back to climbing well before he resumed work on our cottage (it was a dry autumn). The plans had to be returned to the Snowdon Park for minor alterations. For those 3 years we were vagabonds in more than name. The Climbers Club saw a vast influx of Vags, particularly the girls, keen to benefit from the convenient accommodation in our home turf and keep climbing. Helyg was the most popular, cosily communal, it felt the most like home. We also owe huge thanks to the Ceunant Mountaineering Club (Birmingham / Nant Peris) for their generosity with beds when we had none, often associated with vast quantities of port and Stilton. The Ceunant have been true friends indeed; they provided us with practical help and DIY expertise, fund raised for us as well as their own club, and finally donated a floor, which was then graced with “Bunney” tiling.
In autumn of 2006, we were returned the keys to a shell, which was warm, dry, insulated, and sound. That first weekend, we all rushed out to Wales to test the weatherproofing! We slept on the floorboards in the new bunkroom upstairs and the excitement was palpable. It was at this stage that the club really pulled together in a spectacular fashion. A year of work meets followed, all attended by 20 plus people, laughing, singing, working, painting, mixing, plastering, carpentering, plumbing, tea making and even doing a bit of climbing. Folk were generous with equipment, money, time, skills, and labour.
The first showers were symbolic, surreal and almost solemn moments, the smells of soap, shampoo and drying hair around the new fire a heady aroma of homecoming and success. The opening party was pure emotion; the recycled gymnasium floor was thoroughly tested as we danced ‘til dawn with the doors thrown open, light, music and fireworks pouring down the valley. Members came flooding back, those who had previously eschewed the cottage as a grim health hazard came in for a peep and ended up staying. New members were keen to join; 14 aspirants attended a weekend meet and have kept coming back. The club is buzzing again now, a vibrant climbing cooperative, based in Liverpool, commuting to North Wales nearly every weekend, climbing their socks off.
There are many reasons to join a club. The “old” reasons were partly financial: to share lifts, to split the cost of accommodation. But the true benefit of club membership is the opportunity to meet like minded folk with whom to dream and plot and scheme. With the advent of indoor climbing walls, new partners have become easier to find. Since the roads have improved, Liverpool to North Wales can be done in a day trip, although rising fuel prices may curb this tendency! However, the best part of any climbing trip is the craic around the fire; glowing with adrenaline, alcohol and achievement we can re-enact the highlights of the day, retell the tall tales, rehearse the dreams. Without a functional hut, the Vags were drifting and fading away. There was climbing aplenty going on; individual achievements in those homeless years were spectacular, (E7, 8a, new mixed routes in Scotland, new routes on the “Great Wall of China”, new peaks in Greenland) but there was no cohesion, no collective inspiration. Now we are a family again. The hut is occupied every weekend, membership is increasing, beers downed and routes climbed soaring. The crags of North Wales are crawling with Vagabonds!
If you are lucky enough to live in the Cheshire/Merseyside area you can join the Vags. If you live elsewhere but are a member of an “adult” BMC affiliated club then you can apply to use the main room and see North Wales in its true glory. This room is available one weekend per month, see website for dates and rates (www.vagabondmc.com). We are justifiably proud of our Hut, the location is truly unique and the facilities now more than adequate for your perfect climbing weekend. We will share it occasionally, partly because we are still paying for our collective dream, but most of all because we would like others to have the chance to see the sun set over Snowdon from our front lawn after the best of climbing days!
growing up
centre of the known universe
Don’t forget to look back
