The Duke of Edinburgh expedition season really seems to get going each May, and this weekend saw pupils from Oswestry School getting stuck in to their training with a weekend based out of Carrog Station campsite, along the River Dee to the west of Llangollen. As is normally the case, they came with varying degrees of previous experience and skill but they had all received some recent training in school. However, for some, this was their first time venturing into this sort of terrain.

Training started off with a round robin of stands, looking at cooking with trangias, emergency procedures, how to pack an expedition rucksac and using grid references / squares. With these important skills covered, it was time to head out for some navigation teaching and practice. The emphasis was very much on orientating the map correctly, and relating the map to ground and vice versa.

The evening provided an opportunity to put their new cooking skills to the test. It’s always interesting to see what people bring for expedition food, and even more entertaining to see how they manage the logistics of cooking several food types when only able to heat one pan at a time. On the whole, I was very impressed with how well they managed, but I’m sure that many will have learnt some valuable lessons for next time!

After a good meal, what better way to spend the evening than running around playing team games? This was a great opportunity for them to run off some excess energy while giving us the opportunity to see how they worked together. Again, I was impressed with the way that everyone entered into the spirit of the occasion, getting a balance between the desire to win, encouraging each other and having fun.

Day 2 saw us heading out for a longer walk to practice the navigation techniques already covered, as well as introducing more skills. Our ascent of Moel Fferna was blessed with sunshine for most of the day, which was an unexpected bonus. By the end of the day, there were certainly some tired legs and sore feet looking forward to getting home for a rest!

It was a very productive couple of day’s training, with another weekend’s worth of training and practice due in a fortnight’s time. I’m looking forward to it already. Thanks for a great weekend.