The Celtic Fringe Meeting 2023

A fairly large (25?) group of the usual suspects gathered at Reiff for this year’s get together. As ever, we were blessed with superb weather. It was great to catch up with so many good friends. Unfortunately though, there were a few notable absentees. Their excuses will not save them from a warning letter. We look forward to their return to the fold next year (George Gilmour, Mark Hounslea, Paul Tanton, Paul Wood, Mark Grist,Ted and Christine Rogers this means you, amongst others)

Calm seas and bright sunshine allowed an awful lot of climbing to be done. Reiff was the main focus but plenty of folks also climbed on Stac Pollaidh and a few brave souls made the long slog to get up the nose of Sgurr an Fhidhleir. In spite of warnings posted on line there were actually plenty of parking spaces at Reiff and this was never a problem. Consistent breezes meant that the midges were the only ones to be disappointed. In addition there was a fair bit of hiking and swimming, and fish were even caught.

A notable feature of the meet was the debut of the Club’s new circus tent which provided an excellent hub for post climbing socialising. On one evening we were joined by a group from The Scottish Women’s Mountaineering Club which took the tent close to its maximum capacity of about 30.

The campsite and adjoining bar/restaurant that we used at Portabhaigh were excellent and we owe thanks to the friendly staff who helped make our visit so enjoyable, especially on the great group meal at the end of the trip when club members probably accounted for most of the catch landed that day.

On the last evening Paul Drew was plied with whisky and boldly offered to organise next years trip – a decision he may have rued in the morning. Fortunately for the Club though, he made this pledge in front of at least a dozen witnesses. Details of this meet will doubtless appear on the Club website in due course. It seems Paul did have some ideas of his own but he would probably be happy to also hear suggestions re venue – subject to the proviso of course, that it must be both Celtic and fringey.