Name change for Club's oldest Special Interest Section

Tuesday 15 October 2019

The Club’s Mountain Activity Section has been renamed to reflect a shift in its membership and to better reflect the activities its members enjoy today – walking, cycling and getting out into the great outdoors. It is now known as the Walking and Cycling Section.

The Club has nine special interest sections that combine camping with members’ specific leisure interests such as photography or canoeing. Plans to rename the Mountain Activity Section, which at 87 years old is the Club’s oldest, were agreed by the Club’s National Council.

Trevor Masters, the Chairman of the section, said: “We found potential members were put off by the Mountain Activity Section name. Our origins were indeed in mountain activities but today many more of our members enjoy walking, cycling and getting out in the fresh air together, and not all of us have the good fortune to live within easy reach of challenging peaks.”

He added: “Our new name better reflects the activities our members enjoy.”

Earlier this year saw the first-ever public showing of 35 black and white photographs taken by members of the Club’s Mountaineering Section, as it was then known, in the 1930s. The photographs were displayed in an exhibition – called ‘Climbing, Camping and the Club’ – which ran at Castleton Visitor Centre in the Peak District National Park, before moving to Plas y Brenin National Outdoor Centre in the Snowdonia National Park for a popular six week summer tour.

For more information on the Walking and Cycling Section visit www.walkingandcycling.org.uk.

Details on the Club’s other Special Interest Sections.

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For more information or images contact:

Simon McGrath, simon.mcgrath@campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk, 024 7647 5094.

Andrew Robson, andrew.robson@campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk, 024 7647 5291.

Notes for Editors

1. The Camping and Caravanning Club is 118-years-old and is the largest and oldest Club in the world for all forms of camping. It has 105 award-winning sites throughout the UK.

2. The Club has 9 Special Interest Sections. These are:

• Association of Lightweight Campers

• Boating Group

• British Caravanners’ Club

• Canoe-Camping Club

• Folk Dance and Song Group

• Motor Caravan Section

• Walking and Cycling Section

• Photographic Group

• Trailer Tent and Folding Camper Group

3. Each Section has its own regular magazine or newsletter with information about forthcoming Meets, Temporary Holiday Sites and events, member letters and useful articles.

4. The Club’s Mountaineering Section was formed in 1932 at its inaugural meeting in Edale, in the Peak District. It later changed its name to the Mountain Activity Section in 1987.

5. Get involved: for the latest news, information and inspiration from The Camping and Caravanning Club, and to engage with those who’ve enjoyed holidays with the Club, visit www.facebook.com/thefriendlyclub, www.twitter.com/campandcaravan or check out our Instagram page www.instagram.com/campandcaravan.

6. To view the Club’s comprehensive video directory, visit www.youtube.com/thefriendlyclub.

7. Learn more about the benefits of joining the Club.