AAA Hiking & Outdoor Adventure/ Birmingham
Birmingham, 43
AAA - Action Adventure Activity
The most established and active international hiking group has been active since 2008 as [AAA Outdoor & Hiking - Adventure Travel](https://www.meetup.com/AAA-London-Group/)
If you don't want to miss out and receive early notification of events then please sign up [for our newsletter.](http://eepurl.com/dj1ykn) We only send updates when we have something useful to share and never more than once a week.
**Our aim is simple:**
To get outdoors and visit new places, enjoy the beautiful scenery with people who want to have fun and meet new friends. We have a simple philosophy; provide fun and sociable events that incorporate the best an area has to offer with experienced hike leaders.
**Who we are?**
We were established in 2008 and have run well over 500 events and hosted over 20,000 members. We usually run around 50 events per year ranging from mid-week evening social events, such as treasure hunts and kayaking sessions, to weekend and week-long UK and overseas hiking trips to Europe and beyond.
The AAA crew is made up of a lot of outdoor enthusiasts with decades of experience, a number of our principal hike leaders originate from the British Army who all have extensive navigation, mountain and first aid experience. So you'll be in steady hands! Your taste buds will also be very well catered for by our team of chefs, cooks and kitchen helpers.
AAA's mix of great food, capable hike leaders, interesting destination and inclusive social aspects has been very popular with our members, so popular that we are proud to recognise that other larger groups have now been replicating both our events and format and menus.
**What do we do?**
We organise the logistics for our hiking trips so that you don’t have to. We find the locations, book the venues and organise all catering for weekends. We even help coordinate transport and lift shares. If you don't have transport contact the organiser who will help put you in contact with someone who's driving.
**How do we do it?**
We create appealing trips that are affordable to all. They are affordable because we generally use Youth Hostels and cater for ourselves and everyone helps and contributes towards the weekend.
**About our events:**
* Our most popular events are weekend hiking trips to locations around the UK.
* AAA has some basic principles for ensuring successful events. They are quite simply;
* Great Hiking Destinations. If we are not interested in the destination, then we don't host a trip there.
* Quality accommodation is suitable for the event.
* Only using Experienced Hike Leaders and or qualified instructors for other activities
* Comprehensive Destination Research which we always pre-visit before proposing an event.
* Control of the finances, we don't use third-party operators on the ground to book transport and accommodation. We control the money, this reduces any risk of ground operators going into liquidation without the Meetup Group having any recourse.
* Control of the logistics. If we don't have control of the finances we can't control the logistics. If we have control of the logistics it enables us to adjust the programme if needed.
* Social Hub. Socialising is a big part of Meetup, after all, it's in the title! So wherever we are we look to ensure that there is a point where everyone can socialise, whether it be a dining room, local bar or lounge.
**Hiking and activity events**
Typically we organise two or more weekends per month in all parts of the UK. Trips usually involve a visit to the National Park or an Area of Natural Beauty throughout the UK. Sometimes we organise optional activities that can range from Yoga to cycling. Since 2013 we have included even more climbing & Abseiling, Caving, Canoeing, Scrambling, Kayaking, Surfing and Wine Tasting. But nothing is off-limits so if you have an idea let us know.
**Day hikes and outdoor activities**
Visit this page to learn more about our day hikes in London – *coming soon*
**Overseas trips**
We enjoy experiencing new places and we are sure you do, too. So we are always looking to host hiking orientated trips in new overseas locations. We typically organise the accommodation, catering etc as well as plan with detail the hikes in the local areas. Often we will pick you up from the local airport or provide you with details to organise your own transfers to the accommodation. We will even recommend flights and help you coordinate your travel arrangements with others in the group.
When we are in the location we help to facilitate additional activities from mountain biking, paragliding, white water rafting to a wine tasting or local sightseeing trips.
**Who attends our events?**
The majority of our active members range in age between the mid-20s to late 40s, but age is no barrier so long as you are at least young at heart.
A large proportion of our members are international, providing an interesting and diverse mix of experiences and cultures. We also have a significant proportion of single members on events, although you certainly don’t need to be single to attend. We have many couples attending our events.
If you are nervous about committing to a weekend trip, don't be, almost everyone has turned up at an event before without knowing anyone. We all know what it's like. If you are still concerned try one of our evening or day events, they act as a taster and you are sure to meet like-minded people. We also work hard to ensure that the trips are inclusive for everyone. We usually provide a minimum of two hike leaders on weekends and overseas hikes to ensure we can offer a mix of hikes to meet the group's needs. We rarely have hikes that exceed 28 people (day hikes only with 1 guide) and usually, the hikes are pitched to a group of no more than 10- 16 people of similar fitness and ability on a weekend away. To learn more about day hikes visit this page:
**Evening socials**
We arrange a host of evening events that usually provide an element of the activity. We believe it's better to get people together and involved in an activity that they can participate in rather than just organising a Meetup in a pub. However, we normally conclude our events with a social drink or two in a pub.
**Accomodation**
Normally we hire for the exclusive use of a Youth Hostel or similar accommodation, sometimes it can be a hotel or lodge. AAA almost always host breakfast and evening meals as we are very particular about maintaining a reputation for providing quality food on our weekends. We will be there to greet you on arrival and allocate rooms etc. There is always a warm supper on a Friday night followed by some cake. The weekends then take on a well-rehearsed routine that ensures we can maximize the time for hiking.
**Food**
The food you enjoy has been said by many to be the best they have experienced at any Meetup event. We strive to ensure we provide a cooked breakfast, not just a cold continental buffet, after all, if you are setting off on a day's hike you want a hearty meal. We set everything up in the morning for you to make your own sandwiches with fillings of your own choice. AAA dinner is always very popular with wholesome ingredients including a variety of salads, vegetarian dishes as well a typical main selection followed by a cake for dessert. After supper, we all get to relax and socialise, sometimes with some games, whichever is most fitting. Whilst we all enjoy a pub visit, we include the dinner within the cost, so it's not an extra cost or a car journey (with no alcohol!).
**Frequently Asked Questions**
Many people ask us questions about our trips, we hope that we cover most of the usual questions in the event description. We also have some answers to the popular question in our [FAQ section](https://mailchi.mp/aaalondongroup.com/directory?utm_source=AAA+London+Group&utm_campaign=7075645e78-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_04_16_06_18_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_40e90685ed-7075645e78-476258409&mc_cid=7075645e78&mc_eid=0a6ed911c1)
**Safety**
Our main hike leaders have undertaken the six-day Mountain Leader course (accredited by the MLT) as well as having undertaken the two and three day Wilderness & Outdoor Activity First Aid course. One of our hike leaders even undertook a 6-month military-medical course culminating with practical training in an A&E Hospital and 2 weeks with paramedics. Both of our principal hike leaders have over 20 years of military experience, not just as conscripts. Much of their experience was focused on fieldcraft, navigation and first aid, making them ideal hike leaders.
All of our events are run by very experienced hikers, most of our hike leaders have a minimum of Mountain Leader training and an Outdoor Activity First Aid qualification or similar experience/qualifications. It would, however, be unfair to say that this makes the outdoors safe, there is always risks present, but with our experience, training and meticulous planning, we aim to minimise the risk.
Generally, our hikes tend to be limited to 20 people when in the hills and 24-28 in lowlands as our training indicate that this is a safe number, it's also important for everyone's enjoyment that the hike is not hindered by big numbers, or a very slow pace as you constantly find yourself waiting and it prevents people getting left behind, as we hear so often occurs in other groups with 40-50 people on a day hike.
**What type of activities do we do?**
Over the past three years, we have offered a wide range of events. These have included;
Hiking & walking (of course), kayaking along the Thames, camping & canoeing, yoga breaks, fitness weekends, potholing, historic sightseeing, overseas trips, indoor and outdoor rock climbing, cycling, trekking, backpacking, adventure weekends, coast walking, long distant walking, caving, countryside conservation, charity volunteering, sea kayaking, treasure hunts, paintball, the Yorkshire 3 peaks challenge, abseiling, recreation weekends, gorge walking & canyoning, rafting, navigation courses, culture trips, community trips, tennis, orienteering, coasteering, go-karting, horse riding and paragliding…
Unlike some larger groups who claim to have offered these activities, because it's good for their marketing and Meetup listing, we have actually offered all these events. Please, check out our past events.
**Where do we visit?**
Our usual destinations include the National Parks of the United Kingdom such as:
Brecon Beacons, Norfolk Broads, Cairngorms, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Lake District, Loch Lomond, New Forest, Northumberland, North York Moors, Dark Peaks, Peak District, Pembrokeshire Coast, Snowdonia, South Downs and the Yorkshire Dales.
Look at our events page to learn more about future hikes and destinations.
We have also organised events with visits to the following areas of natural beauty that have included:
Arnside and Silverdale, Chichester Harbour, Chilterns, Cornwall, Cotswolds, Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs, Dedham Vale, Dorset, East Devon, Isle of Wight, Kent Downs, Lincolnshire Wolds Malvern Hills, Mendip Hills, Nidderdale, Norfolk Broads & Coast, North Devon, North Pennines, Northumberland Coast, North Wessex Downs, Quantock Hills, Shropshire Hills, Solway Coast, South Devon, Suffolk Coast & Heaths, Surrey Hills, Tamar Valley and the beautiful Wye Valley.
Many of our hikes have included some of the popular long-distance routes, these have included:
Cotswold Way National Trail, Cumbria Coastal Way, Highland Way, East Riding Heritage Way, Grand Union Canal Walk, Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail, Herriot Way, Hertfordshire Way, Mendip Ring, North Downs Way National Trail, North-West Coastal Trail, Offa's Dyke Path National Trail, Peak District High-Level Route, Norfolk Coast Path National Trail, Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail, Pennine Way National Trail, Snowdonia Round, Solent Way, South Downs Way National Trail, South West Coast Path National Trail, Southern Upland Way, Thames Path National Trail, Wainwrights Way, Wales Coast Path, Wessex Ridgeway Trail, West Highland Way, Westmorland Way, White Peak Way, Wilts and Berks Canal Towpath, Winchcombe Way and Wye Valley Walk.
We have also organised overseas trips to destinations such as:
The Pyrenees, the Dolomites, Austria, Slovakia, Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, different parts of Croatia, Poland, Madeira, Scotland, France: Corsica, Swiss & French Alps and Russia & Ukraine.
We have plans for trips to Ireland, Norway, Kilimanjaro, Andalucía and as the group flourishes we will offer many more, too!
**Note 1**
The destinations and activities listed are examples of events AAA have organised or part of an AAA event. They are not places and events added here to improve our Meetup search ratings and mislead members. We accept that imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but we don't feel flattered when it misleads others. One of the other larger groups has the almost identical text as ours in places, the most notable error on their part is the inclusion of the West Highland Way, Highland Way and Winchcombe Way which are in countries and locations their group has not visited. We are not even going to comment on the activities listed we will leave you to make up your own minds. Come on guys, you know who you are, let's all be honest about what we do and where we go.
