It always seems that someone you know has either just had, or is about to have, a birthday. Today is the turn of my daughter, Emily, as she turns 14. Having enjoyed a nights camping with some friends last night, during which they cooked potatoes on a fire, we headed down to the Adventure Rope Course this morning for a couple of hours fun. As … Read More »
Category Archives: Personal
Alfie’s First Lead
The eldest of my 2 sons (Alfie - aged 12) has been showing an increasing interest in climbing over recent months. He's done quite a bit of bottom rope climbing, both indoors and out, during the last few years but has started to show an interest in leading. For those that are not familiar with 'leading', this is where the rope is not secured to anything … Read More »
Ellesmere Triathlon 2010
Today Ellesmere hosted it's annual triathlon competition. I say annual, but last year it had to be cancelled which was a great shame for both the competitors and the small North Shropshire town of Ellesmere itself. This year saw the event gain status as a qualifying event for the World Championships, which helped draw competitors from across the country. I must admit that I toyed with … Read More »
Congratulations Adam!
Just a quick note to say congratulations to Adam for passing his SPA assessment this weekend. Adam has been gearing up to this for quite a while, and I'm delighted that he was able to perform just as well under assessment conditions as he is normally. Well done!
Stiperstones with Adam
Today was another opportunity to give Adam a hand with his preparations for his SPA (Single Pitch Award - rock climbing) assessment. With only a few days to the big weekend, Adam was keen to practise set ups and it's always useful to try this at new venues. Although I hadn't used the crag before, I had heard of a venue at Cranberry Rock on … Read More »
Climbing with Adam
Adam is a local outdoor instructor who is preparing to do his SPA (Single Pitch Award - Rock Climbing) assessment next month. This will be a 2 day assessment, looking at his personal climbing abilities but, even more importantly, to ensure that he can set up climbs and abseils safely for other people and manage groups appropriately. Adam asked if I could spare him a day … Read More »
Climbing at Trevor
Today I had the chance to get some personal outdoor climbing in. It doesn't happen very often - I think the last time may have been September. I'm fortunate enough to have a local climbing partner, who introduced me to rock climbing while I was still a teacher, but opportunities don't arise too often when we're both free. However, today was one of those days … Read More »
Climbing at Llanymynech
With the Easter holiday drawing to a close, it seemed like a good idea to get the kids out and about again before they head back in to the classroom for a new term. This time I decided to take them rock climbing on an outdoor crag and thought it would be nice to take them somewhere new. We often go over to Trevor Quarry, … Read More »
3 Star Sea Kayak Assessment
After completing the training 4 weeks ago, I had hoped to get a few additional sea trips under my belt before going into today's 3 star sea kayak assessment. Although I really enjoy getting out in a sea kayak, I find that I'm not able to find the opportunities very often, so my paddling is not as proficient is it is in an inland kayak … Read More »
Family Paddle
Having taken a week off to enjoy some time with the family, it made sense to take advantage of the fantastic weather by getting the children active outdoors in some way. The suggestion of paddling on The Mere in Ellesmere went down well so, with 5 boats on the car and neoprene on the kids, we headed to enjoy some time on the water. I find … Read More »
