DANIELLE MUSTARDE AND LGBT CLIMBING CLUB, NOT SO TRAD, ON WHY CLIMBING COULD BE THE PERFECT NEW (YEAR) HOBBY

As a fresh-faced 18-year-old starting university in Newcastle, I decided I quite fancied joining a sports society. But after arriving at hockey trials and being scared off by the team’s (far) superior skills, I realised I needed to turn my attention to something more “beginner-friendly”. Enter climbing. Not hanging-off-towering-rock-faces climbing, but indoor climbing – the warmer, fuzzier version.

With equipment readily (and cheaply) available for hire, an “all abilities welcome” vibe and the very real prospect of a post-climb pint, I was in. Had there been an LGBT club like Not So Trad at my university, I’d have been doubly in.

NOT SO TRAD

Lynn Liu is the membership officer for Not So Trad (notsotrad.org) and has been a member for eight years.

“We might be based in London, but we have members in the Lake District, Sheffield, the West Country, Brighton and further afield”, she tells me. “Over the years, we’ve had members move on from London, but many remain in touch and still join us on our outdoor trips around the UK – something we run pretty much every weekend during the UK climbing season, which starts around late April and runs through to October. We also keep things going at the end of the season by going abroad to Italy, Spain, France and new places.”