Salisbury Meet
"Elaine: The January meet at Salisbury was the third time I'd camped with the ALC, and as with the previous two meets everyone was really friendly and made me feel so welcome. The site was clean and tidy and its close location to Salisbury and a pub made it a super choice for the weekend. Friday night saw a few of us heading to the local Harvester for dinner, and with the temperature below freezing this was a welcome treat, as I wasn't really looking forward to cooking in the dark and cold.
No one froze overnight and we woke on Saturday to a lovely clear sky and sunshine. I walked into Salisbury along the river and spent the day exploring the town, heading out to the old town and the Trinity Hospital as well as the water meadows, the old mill and of course the Cathedral and a bit of January sale shopping thrown in for good measure. Saturday night we met at Wetherspoons in town before a group trip to the pantomime which was on at Salisbury Playhouse. It was the first time I had ever been to a pantomime, and I loved it, it was much funnier than I had expected, I would never have gone if it hadn't been suggested and I'm so glad it was.
Sunday I walked around the Old Sarum, a medieval city which is next to the site, and has a super view over Salisbury I then headed home. I had a great weekend and am looking forward to the next time I can join the ALC for a weekend away."
"My two take away items from the weekend are:
The World Crazy Golf Championships are held in Hastings every year, attracting professional players from all over the world, and it's a massive event. Who knew you could play crazy golf for a living, I think I might retrain.
If you put a wick in your Trangia burner it is much easier to light.
Every time I meet up with the ALC I learn something new, I love the diversity of the members and the different collective knowledge we all have. Happy Camping. Elaine
Susan: This was my 3rd visit to Salisbury with the ALC and I haven't tired of it yet! For a winter Meet it has a great deal to offer, a rail station close to the centre, a market, good range of shops, plenty of eating places and opportunities for evening entertainment. If you haven't visited before, the cathedral and its close are well worth exploring. The site has a sofa in the laundry room (a fabulous retreat for lightweights if it rains), a pub and Co-op nearby and walking along the river to the city centre takes about 35 minutes. There's also a bus stop at the site entrance.
For those of you who don't camp in the winter months we've included Salisbury in our summer programme for 2025. It's a Sun-Tue booking and follows on directly from a weekend at the Devizes site, creating a four-day event if you book both Meets."