I live just down the road from Ellesmere College, where I used to teach, and for the last few years they have asked me to take a group of 6th form Geography students into Snowdonia to look at glacial features. In previous years, the trip has been near the start of their time studying glaciation but things slipped a bit this year due to clashes … Read More »
Category Archives: Hill Walking
A Day on Bristly Ridge
It's been a little while since I've managed to get a day out with Chris Hughes and, in recent months, all our excursions have been onto the rivers by canoe. So we made a break from this routine and headed into Snowdonia for a day in the hills. We hadn't settled on exactly where we were going to go, but agreed on tackling Bristly Ridge. As … Read More »
Adventure Education Weekend with Oswestry School
We were fortunate with the weather this weekend as I headed into Snowdonia with a group of cadets from Oswestry School CCF. A couple of times a year, they put on an Adventure Education weekend, normally using the Army Training Camp at Capel Curig as their base for the trip. We had about 18 students in all on the weekend with 2 staff and 6 instructors … Read More »
A Day of Extremes on Snowdon
My foster daughter had an extra day off school today as all the school staff had a Professional Development day. She's not exactly the active type, but has expressed an interest in the type of things I get up to. So,with the fine weather forecast it seemed an idea opportunity to get her out. Snowdon seemed the obvious choice for someone looking to brag about … Read More »
Hill Walking Course with CCAT
Being involved in the cadet organisations opens up the possibility of running Adventurous Training courses through the military. One of those avenues is with CCAT (Cadet Centre for Adventurous Training), who run courses for senior cadets and adults out of Capel Curig and Halton Training Camps. This week, I've been at Capel Curig running a Summer Mountain Foundation which is an introductory hill walking course. We … Read More »
NNAS Bronze Award – Navigation Course in the Shropshire Hills
For the last two days, I've been running a NNAS Bronze Award navigation course for three keen walkers from London, Kent and Hertforshire. Each of them have an involvement with the Ramblers and want to be able to lead groups in the countryside. Although they all had different levels of experience, they each wanted to develop their skills and confidence with map work to help … Read More »
A Week of Multi Activities with Adventure +
This is now the forth Summer of Adventure +, a kids holiday club run by Ellesmere College. They get me in to supply most of the 'adventure', and use other opportunities on and off site to provide the '+'. Although the club runs from Monday to Friday, I normally just get involved with the first four days, leaving them to do something like go-karting without … Read More »
Shrewsbury School along the Llangollen Escarpment
The year 10 pupils from Shrewsbury School had a day off lessons today for a Field Day, during which all the pupils got off site to do something a bit different from the usual academic timetable. There were a number of different options available to them, but I joined a member of staff and a group of 17 lads for a walk along the Llangollen … Read More »
Summer Mountain Foundation with Welbeck DSFC
I was delighted to be approached by Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College back at the beginning of March about delivering an SMF (Summer Mountain Foundation) course for a group of their students. Welbeck actually brought the whole of their Lower Sixth form over to Capel Curig to spend a week in the mountains of Snowdonia. With so many students, there were a total of about … Read More »
An Expedition Through Letterewe And Fisherfield
After spending three separate days in the hills with cadets from Ellesmere College CCF, the last three have been spent on an expedition. Each year, these expeditions try to give the cadets the opportunity to tackle mountains that most people wouldn't attempt due to their remoteness. By allowing three days, it gives them a day to walk in, a day to make their ascent and … Read More »