INSIDE THE WORLD OF MEETUP

With tier 4 (lockdown) on the cards it was a case of getting a last meetup in for an unknown length of time. At this time of year meetups seem to have 30 people turning up only for half of them to drop out and this was the case again. Weather was ok for time of year cool but now wet or icy, it snowed the next day. We headed by boots PLC until we got to the canal before looping back round to Wollaton park. There was a stop 3/4 of the way round with some food stalls. Christmas themed of course but I'd already got my own. Had interesting people to talk to all the way round so much so I forgot to take any pictures.

 If you told me a year ago that I'd be catching 2 buses for the best part of 3 hours each way to go walking on the edge of the peak district on a cold, damp December morning I would have thought you were insane. These were no ordinary times living one government decision away from complete lockdown. So I was taking every opportunity to get away from home that I could. Only about a dozen turned up but it was always good to meet and talk to new people as per usual. It's never a good sign when the usually excellent walk organizer doesn't turn up and we are making the route up as we go along going in the opposite direction to what was planned. The first hour went well heading north up an old railway line from from Bakewell, then we turned onto a busy main road heading in the general direction of Chatsworth. After the village of Pilsley and a few fields we discovered that the main road to Chatsworth was unwalkable and had to turn back. By this point 4 of the group dropped out wi...

 Missed the previous weekends walk with the Nottingham group. With another lockdown on the cards this was going to be the last opportunity for at least a month. To make this walk involved booking a day off work and spending the night at a small bed and breakfast at Market Raisin. I walked the few miles to the small village of Claxby where I met the group, they had stayed in a hostel which was convenient but the power was out all night so I made the right choice. After about an hour it started raining and was very windy, not enjoyable in the slightest. My choice of footwear didn't help in the slightest. We headed across the fields and hills to Walesby where we did a figure of 8 before heading back.  Several dogs were on the walk and the sun did come out in the end so it turned out to be a good day.  Got a lift back to town and had a nightmare journey home........

  It was a 3 bus connection to Belper, but under the circumstances I didn't mind. Having been raining almost non stop for a week it was a bright and sunny day. I only knew a couple of the dozen or so people on the walk so it was another opportunity to get to know some more people. Typically topic of conversation was the coronavirus situation, which was understandable but I could sense that the general population have just had enough.  Belper is a nice area, we got most of the uphill sections out the way in the first half an hour.  Headed towards Belper lane end, some of the group were scared of the horses in the fields. Towards the end finished off with a drink at the Bulls Head, it was getting a bit cold by that point. Overall one of the better walks and I hoped to be back in this area soon.

These was a lot of questioning over if we were allowed to walk with this number of people due to coronavirus restriction, but apparently we can so no problem. A nice area between Loughborough and Nottingham that I'd only had been through on a bus before. We met in the village of Gotham and headed unto the hills.  It was a sunny day but not too hot this was our halfway point........... On our arrival back in Gotham we learned about the batman connection. Then it was a quick drink at the sun inn before heading home. 

  After an exhausting day I almost cancelled this one but after a good nights sleep I was ready to go again. Met several of the group by accident at the bus stop in Nottingham, never heard of Stoke Bardolph before I signed up for the walk so it was just as well. Thankfully it was a fairly flat route with the exception of one small hill, we headed back through Burton Joyce and into the countryside. Stopped off at a pub called Inn for a penny for about 40 minutes before heading around Netherfield Lagoons. Enjoyable walk overall on a sunny afternoon and got sunburned again. Would have been nice to stop at the pub at the end but I was offered a lift into town which shaved over 90 minutes off my getting home time.

  I'd walked here the previous summer with the Derby group, but it was a slightly different route. Some of the people were on the previous walk at the monastery. It was a clear sunny day but not too hot so good for walking. We headed through Staunton Harold, then to the village of Ticknall.  Our halfway pitstop was at foremark reservoir a bit windy but very scenic. We done a lap of the reservoir then back to Ticknall. /Headed back to the start point via the old lime yards and lime pits. After the walk a few of us headed to the Crewe and Harper pub at the end of swarkestone bridge. Very tired, had to go sleep early as I has another walk planned the next day.

  Making up for lost time it was 2 meetups in a row, with a bank holiday the following day it didn't matter what time I got home. It was a bit of a trek just to the start with a skylink to Nottingham (95 minutes) then a tram that I'd never used before . Met the group for the first time then got the nice coach to Harrogate arriving before midday. First time having to wear a mask for more than 15 minutes which took some getting used to. We had several options on arrival, I joined the majority on a walk around the historic town, I knew nothing about the town and nobody told me much about it but I was just happy to be more than 5 miles from home for the first time in 6 months. By 3PM we stopped in Weatherspoon's for food and first proper drink in a pub since March. Weather was ok but not great. It was good to meet a new crowd and discuss future meets. Had an hour before heading back.   

  First meetup for 6 months, first with this group and a little strange being so close to home. Walked 15 minutes across the fields to mount St Bernard's Abbey to meet the group. We did a lap of the quarry before heading down the road to Charley woods and the area near the scout campsite. Some of it was tough going with steep hills and high ferns to push through. Amazingly I seen places I'd never walked despite being less than 4 miles from home.  We had several pit stops on the way round, headed back to St Josephs tea room (again never been before) to finish off. The rain held off as it has been bad the last few days, until I was walking home. After months of nothing but working and uneventful weekends it was a well needed start.

After months of nothing but online events via zoom some of the groups started putting events on. Obviously no wild nights out clubbing due to social distancing laws but simple things like walks and meals. Given the fact I'd spent 5 months doing little or nothing at weekends I wanted to sign up for as many events as I could not only to make up for lost time but the knowledge that a second wave of the virus could could shut the country down again or at the very least lead to more local lockdowns. It seemed obvious that everyone else had the same idea, I seen a simple 4 mile walk with a 22 person waitlist a couple of days beforehand. So leaving things until the last minute was out of the question. I got the calendar out and started signing up for events weeks ahead, it was better to drop out (with notice) if something better came up than miss out. Saturday night I'd signed up for night out in Nottingham, it was 2 separate events at 2 pubs with prebooked  tables. I unexpectedly got...

With the corona virus starting out as a story from the other side of the world and gradually getting closer to home it was becoming clearer that life as we knew it was going to be put on hold for some time.  I lived in hope that some of the meetups I signed up for would go ahead but one by one they were cancelled. Lockdown went ahead and I lived in a world that consisted of little more than work, eat, sleep, exercise, repeat.  Meetups went into the online world, virtual quizzes, zoom meetings etc but to be honest unless I was going out I couldn't be bothered with that sort of thing. One meetup group I was a member of folded but then again it was the one where I travelled 15 miles and nobody turned up. Another at the time of writing sent an email saying the group organizer was stepping down so it was grim times indeed. Full lockdown ended but a lot of restrictions were in place, I couldn't go down the pub without pre booking a table as well as other things. I wanted a "prop...

It's one year ago today since I first signed up and at the time of writing this I have attended 17 meetups with varying degrees of "success". The following is a summery of my first years meetup experience. 1) It's made a big difference to my social life. Before joining I spent 90% of my weekend nights sitting in the same 3 or 4 village pubs, wishing that this was the night someone wanted to go out and do something different. Now I have a calendar full of events often having to choose between multiple events on the same day. 2) If you life outside a big city be prepared to travel . The nearest meetup to date from my home was around 10 miles and required a change of buses. I constantly have to use infrequent night buses where possible to get home from Leicester, Derby and Nottingham to keep the costs down. 3) You need to attend at least a dozen meetups across different groups and different types of events to get a proper feel of it. There is a big variation b...

After a terrible Christmas in which I was struck down by a horrible flu for nearly a month a good night out was long overdue. We met at the standing order for a couple before heading off to the flowerpot, nobody seemed to be doing dry January as both places were packed. Apparently it's a popular live music venue in Derby but I'd never been before. The band were great and the atmosphere was outstanding, I met a load of familiar faces with the group as well as some new ones. Had a few drinks after the band had finished, I didn't have the energy to carry on after midnight but everyone else seemed to be going anyway. Got absolutely soaked walking back to the bus station......