Having been on camp with my own cadets at Wathgill last week, I stayed up for another week to run the cadet kayak sessions that made up part of the adventurous training day. The other instructors had already done 2 weeks worth of sessions before I arrived, so a routine had already been established for me to slot into - it was just a matter of … Read More »
Category Archives: Cadets
Cadets on Camp with CCF
After 4 days of being on exercise with Ellesmere College cadets last week, I spent this week with them on camp at Wathgill, near Catterick in Yorkshire. Camp usually starts on the Sunday, after travelling on the Saturday. This year was delayed a day due to the Tour de France, which made some of the travel arrangements interesting and longer than usual. However, we all got … Read More »
2 Star Paddling Course
I've done a number of Adventure Education weekends with Oswestry School cadets over the last few years. More recently, I seem to have spent more time in boats, coaching canoeing and kayaking skills. This week, the senior cadets, that have given a lot of time and commitment to instructing younger cadets over the course of the year, were rewarded with a week of AT. I … Read More »
A Harsh Day on Stac Pollaidh
After completing 5 days of quite big outings into the Scottish mountains, I thought we'd end the week with a slightly different sort of day. A short day on an iconic hill that would involve more rope work, giving more of a climbing feel to the day. With this in mind, we headed north, through Ullapool, to Stac Pollaidh on a clear morning. Stac Pollaidh can … Read More »
Expedition in the Glencanisp Forest
After 3 day outings into the mountains of northern Scotland, it was time to set out on an overnight expedition. Whenever we've been on similar trips to this area in recent years, we've undertaken a 3 day, 2 night expedition through the Letterewe and Fisherfield Forests. However, this time, we opted for a change and decided to head further north to explore the lonely peaks … Read More »
An Teallach
Today's outing into the Scottish mountains had a bit of a false start. Having selected to ascend An Teallach, there was no need for transport as we could walk straight out of our accommodation. The other two groups, however, took off with the minibuses to head to different locations. It wasn't until we were almost ready to walk out of the door that we realised … Read More »
A Long Day in the Fannichs
After yesterday's gentle start to the week, I took my group into the Fannichs today. The target was Sgurr nan Clach Geala, with the options of scaling Sgurr nan Each and possibly even Meall a Chrasgaidh as well if the group were feeling strong enough. We started by following the stalkers path, heading south along the banks of Allt Breabaig. It's first time I've walked up … Read More »
A Gentle Start on Cul Beag
Having travelled up to the Scottish Highlands from Shropshire yesterday with 11 students from Ellesmere College, today was our first day out on the hill. Consequently, we opted for a relatively gentle day, and headed into the Drumrunie Forest, north of Ullapoll. Two groups, including mine, ear marked Cul Beag, while the third group went for Cul Mor. The route was always going to be relatively … Read More »
Adventure Education Weekend with Oswestry School
I'm very fortunate with my work to get to do some awesome things with fantastic people in great places. The Adventure Education weekends with Oswestry School have become one of my favourite fixtures in my work diary. It's brilliant to get to work with young people with a desire to learn skills, push themselves and have responsible fun in the outdoors. This time we had cadets … Read More »
5 Day Rock Climbing Course
I thoroughly enjoy running courses through CCAT (Cadet Centre for Adventurous Training), due to the skills progression and coaching that takes place over the duration of a 5 day course, and this weeks rock climbing course was no exception. It's great to see people with a genuine interest in learning skills progress in such a concentrated timescale. The courses are open to members of the … Read More »
