SIXTEEN ramblers celebrated their mountaineering club’s 130th year by gathering at Otley Chevin’s high point to mark completing visits to 130 of Yorkshire tops.

Despite almost being named the Three Peaks Club in 1892 they chose to be called The Yorkshire Ramblers’ Club, YRC. But they do more than ramble – they pothole, put up new climbs, and trek in the highest ranges. Already this year they have climbed on the Costa Blanca and skied hut-to-hut in Norway. Next week they head for the Cairngorms and then the Pyrenees in June.

As England’s longest established regional mountaineering club they marked their 130th anniversary by asking members to make their own visits to 130 of our magnificent county’s tops with a target of doing so within 130 days starting from a February meeting in Wharfedale. Over 50 members took part including Andy Syme, President of the British Mountaineering Council, and honorary member, Alan Hinkes who has climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000m peaks. Collectively they made over 400 ascents in ticking off all 130 on the list in just 51 days.

The tops are not all in the Dales. From Stanage Edge’s High Neb near Sheffield to Roseberry Topping overlooking Middlesbrough, The Three Peaks in the west to Scarborough’s Seamer Beacon, they are widely spread. Some had good paths but others needed careful navigation to reach their tops. Members enjoyed these outings with Alan from Ilkley admitting: “I thought I knew the Dales pretty well but this challenge took me to some new areas.”

Though founded as a Victorian gentlemen’s club, the YRC has moved with the times. Its members have surveyed caves in China, made first ascents in the Andes, explored new mountain areas, and regularly hold sociable meetings across the UK and in Europe.

The Yorkshire Ramblers should not to be confused with 1935 newcomer, the Ramblers Association, now called ‘ramblers’. The YRC are the original Ramblers and its founders chose the name with Victorian understatement in mind. Members are independently-minded hill-goers with a wide range of interests and abilities. They are scattered, mostly across the UK but with a handful overseas, though their heart is firmly in Yorkshire, especially the Yorkshire Dales. Many live in or around the Bradford or Leeds areas. They welcome like-minded newcomers. The YRC’s largest clubhouse is near Clapham with a smaller one in the Lake District.

For further information about the club visit: https://www.yrc.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/yrcuk