Bogtrotters Hillwalking Club New Members Page

New Members / Joining the Club

BOGTROTTERS - Description of Our Walking Club

We meet at the Tuning Fork pub in Rathfarnham, Dublin, at 09.45am for the Sunday walks.
All walkers please remember that from February onwards all our Grade 2 and 3 walks will have a new meeting time - meet at 09:45 at the Tuning Fork to leave at 10:00.
Grade 1 walks meet at 9.15am to leave at 9.30 sharp unless otherwise stated!

(The Tuning Fork pub is at the fork between Willbrook Road, Ballyboden Road and Whitechurch Road for directions and an interactive map click here >>>

We usually walk in Wicklow (Discovery Series Map No. 56), have about four day trips and four weekends-away each year - see other events page.
There are usually between 8 to16 people on most walks.
If in doubt please check the walk schedule
MCI members are most welcome with own insurance.

New Members:

* If you are interested in Hillwalking with Bogtrotters, there is at least one moderate level walk each month suitable for new hikers who are reasonably fit (check below for a description of a Grade 3 walk) - see Sunday Walks page for the next walk.

* Clothing is important. Please go to the Safety page for details.

*Our secretary can be contacted by telephone or e-mail.- see contact below - or the Walk Leader can be telephoned beforehand to ensure the Hillwalking will match your expectations. Remember climbing hills / mountains can be very aerobically challenging and is far different than walking on the flat for hours.

If you are interested in joining then contact one of the leaders of a grade 3 walk and then come along and see if you like it. Usually after a couple of walks (usually 3) you can then decide to join the club or not as we don't expect you to buy before you try! (Please note though that the membership covers insurance and at present is only €40 per year which includes the Mountaineering Irelands mountain log magazine and buys items for the club such as first aid kits and GPS units etc)

When leaving from the Tuning Fork for a Sunday walk we car pool and you may either drive or grab a lift to do our bit on mimimizing our impact on the countryside. If you do grab a lift we give the driver 6 euro each to help towards petrol money. (So if you have a people carrier and can cram loads in then happy days!)

Application Form
A membership application form can be downloaded here. Please note that you must come on at least one walk before applying for membership so you can access us to see if we are the right club for you primarily with regards to speed and fitness required for the walks as we a great bunch of people so no problem there ;-)

Secretary
For information on the club you can contact the secretary Susan Walsh at

bogtrotterssecretary @ bogtrotters.ie (take out the spaces either side of the at sign!)

Mobile:087 326 0451

The club walks are graded as follows in accordance with their challenge.

Grading of Sunday Walks

Grade 1 – Tough / good level of fitness required *Typically grade 1 is 18-24km (with substantial climbs
(6 hours +)

Grade 2 – Strenuous / suitable for most regular walkers but tougher than grade 3 (5 – 6 hours) 14-18km

Grade 3 – Moderate / suitable for people if they have a reasonable level of general fitness ans some hill walking experience (4 – 5 hours). Please note though that these walks are mostly off tracks and are across rough terrain and steep hills. 10-14km
In addition although it is a grade 3 walk we are out for most of the day and would on a grade 3 walk not be back in car park until about 7ish or sometimes a bit later in the summer as we drop into a local er tavern for soft drinks! and maybe a bite to eat and chat so be warned just in case you have concert tickets or some such definite time to be back at.

Also bear in mind that we are walking mostly in the mountains and much of the time on boggy rough ground or through heather so you must have appropriate hiking boots or the leader will ask you not to walk for your own safety.

Tuesday Evening Walks
The Tuesday evening walks have alas ended for this summer due to lack of light! You can check out the previous walks we did from photos to the routes.

If you want to organise an impromptu walk midweek just use the members email list and post it in the impromptu walks section of the forum.

Tuesday evening walks take place during the summer and early Autumn. They are usually about one and a half to two hours long and take place in a variety of settings from mountain, coastal and urban.
The meeting place varies as time is limited due to the available daylight and difficulty for people getting to the Tuning Fork with our horrible traffic. A full list of walks is available on the walks page.
We meet at 7pm on a Tuesday when the walks are on.