'Cloggies' celebrate 40 years of Lakeland gathering

4:46pm Tuesday 9th February 2010

By Gazette newsdesk

A CLIMBING club which boasts a famous comedian, a former British rally driving champion and the lead guitarist from a tribute band among its members has celebrated 40 years of visits to the Lake District.

Members of the Girt Clog Climbing Club - affectionately known as Cloggies - have been visiting the Sawry Hotel at Far Sawry every year since 1970.

The club, named after the Giant Boot which is in a glass case in the Queens Head in Hawshead, was formed by a small group of young men from the Birmingham area in 1970.

TV personality and host of ITV’s daytime Golden Balls programme, Jasper Carrott was a founder member. Back then he was a little known folk singer.

“In fact we would not have got together had it not been for a car crash”, said Russell Brookes, another founder member and British Open Champion Rally Driver in 1977 and 1985.

“There was a minor bump at a roundabout in Warwickshire and we all repaired to the pub to exchange names and addresses. An informal camping club grew from that and in 1970 we came to the Lakes and the Sawrey Hotel. We’ve been back every year since.”

Chairman John Robinson said the club has dropped the climbing now and the walks are becoming more gentle.

“Well we’re getting on. Most of us are in our sixties. We are more into the food and drink than scampering up mountains”, he said. “Most of the members have known each other since they were young men starting out on their careers.

“We’re a real mixed bunch from an international financier to an ex BBC newsreader and a guy who sells sheds”

This year, 36 Cloggies attended the AGM at the Sawrey Hotel and Cloggies regularly return from across the world to be there. Tony Fisher, who runs a car hire business on Kangaroo Island off Adelaide, Australia had brought along his 20-year-old son, Will.

The club had hoped that their only titled member would be there too, but sadly Sir Mervyn Pedelty, former chief executive of the Co-operative Bank died a month ago at the age of 61.

A member who joined only 15 years ago is the former presenter of BBC TV’s North West Tonight, Martin Henfield.

“I come originally from the Midlands so I fitted in pretty quickly”, he said. “It’s a great club with laughter now more important than climbing. We even have our own club song which is sung with great gusto at the start of every AGM.”

This year’s 40th reunion was not only a nostalgic occasion for the Cloggies. The family which has played host for all that time has put the hotel up for sale and the AGM is likely to be their last.

In recognition Ann and Steve Crabtree and Ann’s sister, Rachel were presented with engraved glass goblets. The girls, daughters of the late Sheila and David Brayshaw, had been children when the Cloggies held their first AGM at the hotel.

In an emotional speech, Ann told the Cloggies they had become like family too and the return was the highlight of the hotel’s year.