This was another session provided free of charge through the BBC Thrill Seeker campaign, aimed at encouraging people to try new activities for the first time. One or two of the participants proved to be familiar faces, having taken part in previous Thrill Seeker canoe session on The Mere in Ellesmere, although this time we ventured across the boarder into North Wales to Trevor, near Llangollen. Once again, I was so fortunate with the weather, as we enjoyed clear blue skies and fantastic views over the Vale of Llangollen.

The aim was to give everyone the opportunity to try a couple of relatively straight forward short climbs on a real outdoor crag, to introduce the principle of belaying, and give the braver members of the group a chance to abseil. Having got over the usual hesitation about trusting the rope, everyone made some really encouraging progress at their own pace, and it was good to see some very trustworthy belaying skills.

After successful completion of some simple climbs, I thought it was time to give everyone a bit of a challenge with a much harder route. Not everyone gave it a go, but those that did worked really hard and managed to conquer it in the end. Congratulations guys!

The abseil was a nice way to finish things off. Once again, not everyone felt up to it, but I still remember how nervous I was on my first abseil, so I can’t blame them! The abseil at Trevor is in a wonderful setting, particularly on a day like today, and seemed to capture the imagination of some – there was even talk about trying the much bigger abseil at Nesscliffe.