I was invited to spend this weekend working with a group of pupils from Oswestry School. Several times a year, the Adventure Education department organises a weekend trip to North Wales, taking advantage of the fact that they have such a fantastic area just an hour and a half away. These weekends are aimed at both introducing the pupils to adventure activities, and developing the skills of those that get ‘bitten by the bug’.
This weekend, I was asked to work with a group of six (five pupils and one member of staff) developing 2 Star paddling skills. Due to the number of opportunities that the Adventure Education department offer, there were several members of the group with extensive journeying experience in a variety of boat types, while others were relatively near the beginning of their paddling development. Looking to develop general paddling skills, rather than simply in one craft, I decided to split the weekend into distinct sessions.
After looking at general boat issues such as securing to trailers, carrying and generic paddling principles, Saturday morning was spent paddling in tandem in canoes. The breeze coming down the valley from Pen-Y-Pass was much stronger than expected, so we remained in the sheltered bays that Llyn Padarn has to offer. All the crews were managing to get the canoe to do what they wanted pretty much from the off, but there was work to be done on achieving these things with greater efficiency in most cases. As is often the case to start with, the communication required between the two paddlers puts an additional link in the thought and decision making process which led to a certain amount of flustering and some interesting combinations of strokes. Once we seemed to be getting the hang of things, it was time to switch paddling positions. Some took this in their stride, while others felt like they were starting again.
After a leisurely lunch stop, it was time to jump into the river kayaks. Having got used to the much longer canoes, with the weight of two people in, it was a bit of a shock to be in boats that would ‘spin on a six pence’ with very little effort. Having spent a bit of time working on forward paddling and sweep strokes, I noticed that the breeze had died down, so we took the opportunity to go on a short journey across Llyn Padarn. It was still a bit choppy, but provided the ideal opportunity to practice some of the skills in context.
Sunday morning saw us getting back into canoes, but paddling solo this time, which was a first for a couple of the group. The bays of Llyn Padarn provided flat calm water, which was ideal for enabling the paddlers to concentrate on technique as we worked on their J-strokes, sweep strokes and stern rudders. With the whole lake being like a mill pond, it was the ideal opportunity to explore a little with a bit of a journey, practicing those J-strokes along the way. As soon as we got out of the bay, we were all transfixed by the beauty of the majestic view looking up towards Pen-Y-Pass, and an awe inspired silence descended on us, enhanced by a magnificent heron on the bank to our side.
This was strangely interrupted when we found ourselves being chased by several model motor boats, whose owners seemed to enjoy ramming us – definitely a first for me! However, it was all good fun, and Leo even got the chance to hitch a tow for a while. It was quite impressive watching this miniature lifeboat pull a full size canoe and passenger along at a fair old pace.
The original plan had been to save all the wet elements of the 2 Star (such as rescues) until after lunch on Sunday, to save the need to paddle in wet kit for any longer than necessary. However, the Adventure Education department decided that they would cover this section of the syllabus in the comfort of the swimming pool back at school. Not only did that give us more time to work on actual paddling technique, but the warmth of an indoor pool will be much more conducive to learning and experimenting with such things than a very chilled Welsh lake in mid November!
I’ve always enjoyed my weekend trips with Oswestry School. It’s nice to work with people that want to be there, and to develop, and these guys made it a lot of fun. Thanks to the Adventure Education department for inviting me along again, and to the group tfor making it a special couple of days.
