LMC Mountaineering Club is a small, informal walking club consisting of people with a past connection to Shell, other non-Shell members, and an extended network of 'friends of friends'.  Members are mainly based in London or the south-east, with other members spread around the UK. 

We meet roughly once a month, either for day walks around London or weekends further afield.  We stay mainly in B&Bs or pubs, and there are also a few meets based in self-catering cottages or hostels during the year. 

We aim to provide a diverse and enjoyable Programme of walks.  Weekend meets over the past few years have included the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Teesdale, Northumberland, Shropshire, Isle of Wight, the Gower Peninsular, the Cambrian mountains and the Brecon Beacons amongst others.  Day walks have included sections of the North Kent Way, the London Capital Ring, the London Loop, and members have walked many sections of the S.W Coast Path, the North Downs Way and the North Kent Way.  A few members within the club organised self-guided walking weeks in Italy in 2016, Austria in 2017, and Portugal in 2018.  Plans for another Portugal trip in 2020 were sadly halted by Covid-19, which also caused the temporary suspension of our walking programme during April, May and June 2020.  We were pleased to be able to re-start a programme of day walks with limited numbers and under appropriate Covid-19 guidance in July 2020.

Please refer to our Programme page for updates.

We circulate a monthly Club Newsletter by email, containing reports and photos of meets, and news about forthcoming activities.  The Club is informally run by a small Committee and we hold an AGM weekend and dinner once a year, usually in January. 

We are affiliated to the BMC and most of our annual membership fee (currently £22) goes to the BMC in return for affiliate member benefits.  These benefits include combined liability insurance for members, officers, meet organisers and walk leaders, and significant  discounts on outdoor suppliers like Cotswold, Blacks and Rohan.

In November 2015, the Club held a 40th Anniversary Reunion Dinner at Lensbury in Teddington: a memorable event attended by over 60 past and present members, including a good number of the original 1975 founders of the Club.  (You can read more about the History of the Club below.)

New members are very welcome.

Click here to view monthly Newsletters
and other club documents
(including Club Rules 2022 and Privacy Notice 2021)

Please email us if you are interested in joining future meets of the LMC Mountaineering Club, or if you just wish to get in touch. 

Click on LMC Programme for details of the current Club programme.  

 
You can contact us at: LMC@hillsandvalleys.co.uk  

A brief history of LMC

The original Lensbury Mountaineering Club was established by a group of walking and climbing enthusiasts working for Shell/BP in London in 1975.  There was a monthly programme of meets, ranging from indoor climbing walls and local day walks, to weekends away when we stayed in hostels in the winter, and camped in the summer.  Some memorable occasions were: camping on Rhum in 1978; epic New Year weekends in the Blencathra Centre above Threlkeld (with Wombat Catering) and Steps Bridge YHA on Dartmoor; the Youth Hostel and Barrel Inn above Bretton in the snow; the LMC abseiling tower at the Lensbury Club summer fairs; cold showers and games in Jesse James' bunkhouse in North Wales; the successful completion of the Welsh Three Thousands on several occasions; the French Alps in 1987, Corsica in 1988 and the Dolomites in 1989, wild camping/bothies in Letterewe, Knoydart and Glen Affric in the 1990s - plus countless other cracking walks and climbs completed in all weathers; long drives up motorways after work on Friday evenings; many convivial evenings over a pie and a pint; and last but not least many lasting friendships formed.

We used to hold regular social meetings in the basement leisure area of Shell Centre in Waterloo, and on one occasion in 1978 we were privileged to meet Sherpa Tensing (of 1953 Everest fame), a contact setup by LMC officers Mike Westmacott and George Band (also members of the same expedition).

In the early 1990s, the previous supportive relationship between Shell and Lensbury was terminated, and the Lensbury sports and social club in Teddington, Surrey became a profit-making private club open to the general public.  All the old Lensbury clubs and committees ceased to exist ..... and so "Lensbury Mountaineering Club" gently became .... "LMC Mountaineering Club".

In November 2015, over 60 past and present members of LMC gathered at The Lensbury in Teddington (scene of many past Club dinners) for a memorable celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the first meet of the Club in 1975.  You can read about the event here..

Club membership nowadays is an extended and diverse group of friends - mainly non-Shell/BP folk nowadays, although at least eight current members were members of the original LMC in London the 1970s and 1980s.  New members are most welcome.

Please get in touch with us ....

Please email us if you are interested in joining future meets of the LMC Mountaineering Club, or you just wish to get in touch with old friends. 

Click on LMC Programme for details of the current Club programme.  

 
You can contact us at: LMC@hillsandvalleys.co.uk