Christmas Meet 2025
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
It’s the Christmas Meet!!!
Location: Mendips
About:
The Christmas meet is more of a social and festive occasion than a climbing focussed meet. However if weather permits there is plenty on offer in the local area for those looking to make the most of it.
This year the meet will a different format to those of previous years. We have decided to move it closer to home so the journey is not so long. Instead of relying on a small group of people to cook a meal for everyone, we will be looking into making a book at a local pub on the Saturday night.
We are staying just around the corner from Fairy Caves, half an hour from Cheddar Gorge and 45 mins from Bristol Redpoint, with loads of climbing options in the local area.
Accommodation
We have the Mendip Bunkhouse booked for 2 nights – Fri 12th and Sat 13th. We have initially booked 20 space but can open up more if these sell out. The hut is cosy with several sleeping areas, kitchen, showers, and lounge area with a stove (bring our own wood / coal).
For those who wish to stay in their vans there is parking space outside.
The meet will cost £23 per person.
Please note – when booking a place on this meet you are committing to attending. We cannot offer refunds for meets where the Club has booked accommodation in advance as this leaves us out of pocket. If, after booking, you cannot attend for any reason you can recoup the cost by finding another SCC member to ‘sell’ your space to. If you do this or cannot attend, please let the meet secretaries know asap as there may be people signed up on the wait list.
Suitability
This meet is suitable for all abilities, we only ask that you bring your Christmas cheer!
Pub meal
We will be looking to make a booking at one of the local pubs for the Saturday night. Once you have signed up to this meet, head over to this event to select your menu choices.
Secret Santa
As is the SCC tradition, during the festivities on the Saturday we will have a secret Santa (this is optional) for which we suggest a £10 budget. Your gift will go into a big sack after dinner and will be randomly allocated by our very own Santa. Gifts could be anything! The more random the better.
What to Bring
Warm things! There is bouldering, trad and sport, so bring what you have and what you need. In particular, do remember to bring waterproofs, your best Christmas jumper, and bedding!
Kit – where possible please bring your own equipment*
- Bouldering mat (there will be a few going so don’t worry if you don’t have your own)
- Climbing shoes
- Climbing harness
- Climbing rope
- Trad rack
- Helmet
- Your own chalk/tape (liquid chalk if possible)
- Pack lunch & water
- Layers – being quite exposed to the wind you might get chilly in-between problems.
- Waterproof – just in case
- Sturdy pair of walking/approach shoes
- Personal alcohol gel/hand sanitiser
- Personal first aid kit
*Club equipment is available on loan, please see https://southamptonclimbingclub.org/club-gear/scc-equipment/ for more information
Being Mindful and Environmental Considerations
For those new to outdoor climbing – We are given access to many crags by land owners, and are expected to treat the land with respect. Please be mindful of any litter (you will see many of us picking up and taking litter home, to help keep the area clear). There are no toilets once we are at the crag so please be prepared for this. It will be cold, very cold! Bring warm stuff and lots of positive enthusiasm. However, on a more serious note cold fingers are no excuse for leaving rubbish, so please as always, be considerate of the crag and surrounding area.