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.First time members must contact the secretary or walk leader before coming out as we can only accomodate a limited number of people on a new walk.

Grade 1 walks meet earlier.

(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 to 25 people on most walks depending on the grade of walk and the weather!
New or prosepective members must come out on a grade 3 hikes first and you should contact the leader of that walk advising them of your interest.
MI members are most welcome with own insurance. Most of the grade 2 and one hikes are for members only unless you have already come out on a grade 3 walk and know what to expect.

New Members:

* If you are interested in hiking with Bogtrotters, there is at least one moderate level hike at various times which is 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 hike.

* Clothing is important. Please read the Safety page for details. e.g. no boots no hike, jeans and tracksuits are a no no as they are dangerous to you on a cold and wet hike.

*Our secretary can be contacted by e-mail.- see contact below - to ensure the hiking 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 hikes (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)

You should also note that the membership for the club and consequently Mountaineering Ireland runs from November to November and not when you join and this is decided by MI not us. If you join late in the season you will have to pay again in November so be warned! Also the MI only process application when the get a batch so it may take a while to get your card after submitting your application to us.

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 Chris at

bogtrotters.secretary @ gmail.com (take out the spaces either side of the at sign!)

or if you want to come out on a grade 3 walk for the first time please contact the secretary in advance (and definitely not that morning or late the previous night please!)

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