Warm Gower Limestone

Working at Kilvrough Manor at Parkmill on Gower - we headed to Southgate for a spot of Climbing and Abseiling. Low tide was at 2pm so we also managed to find a million starfish, jellyfish etc. Charlie in particular managed to show great promise in his bouldering skills, he managed to traverse above water into a cave - however the return proved a little more tricky - and so he got wet..

Beautiful Day - Let's Go Caving !

Nope, I still can't read the Welsh..

Open Bronze D Of E Assessment

Congratulations to Sophie, Sophie, Gemma, Jordan, Matt and Lewis on completing their tough Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Expedition...

I was working for A to Z Expeditions. I found myself in Exmoor starting an assessment in Dunster near Minehead. The group arrived on time and we quickly set about preparing for the exciting 2 days. Kit was checked, routes were planned, food was eaten, the ice cream shop was looked at! Eventually the group was ready and the adventure started...
The group discovered that they liked sitting down a bit too much, and time slipped by, and even with no navigation errors (well done) they somehow managed to get into campsite after 9pm!! They'd walked for about 9.5hours! - But this is only Bronze!
Emotions were high, but still tents were down, so there was work to be done. Everybody rallied to get it done, but somehow they were only ready for bed by 11.30pm - tired (when do the midges go to bed - they'll be waiting for us in the morning).
Well done on getting up early - Lewis, did you get up on time? The day started well, But at about lunch time the group didn't spot an awful mistake, South instead of North, right instead of left - and so the adventure turned.
Fields were crossed, even streams were crossed, and eventually they got somewhere where they could strike for the finish - Minehead.. Eventually after over 8 hours of walking (how much time sat down!) they got to their waiting parents - and it was over. Smiles all round, blisters all round?
Gemma, Sophie and Sophie, will probably never see Lewis, Matt, and Jordan again. The boys were terrific, they helped the girls so much (even helped carry the heavy rucsacs for a bit). The team really came together in the spirit of D of E. A true success story and an Expedition to be proud of...
Get the Presentation done now..
Then finish the other parts of Bronze ans go for Silver...
Thank you, all, you made my weekend interesting, a little stressful, but also fun..

Trewern

A great day to visit Sgwd yr Eira and the other classic waterfalls. The kids loved the journey behind the falls - and my promise of a clean dry day proved a complete lie.

Kilvrough Manor

Back at Kilvrough Manor today - off caving. We went to Porth yr Ogof. I was with Ben and his group of 11 Year 6. Above Ben is in the 'Letterbox' and below he is enjoying the delights of the 'Washing Machine'. We also did the 'Corkscrew' and the 'White Line' etc..
Of course the day finished with everybody thouroughly wet, we got changed out of our wet clothes into our dry - in the rain - so ended up as wet as before... A typical day.

Up The Road To Manchester

I went to Altrincham Grammar School for Girls on Tuesday night to meet my Peru Expedition. The Expedition is being run through Outlook Expeditions. In the group are 15 girls and 2 link staff from the school. We met up and had a quick training session on the School lawn before moving the training to a local pub for food. I was impressed with the 2 courses for £10, but surprised to see a Lamborghini outside (my car looks a bit old now - I parked in the corner out of site lol).
We all know each other better now. Unfortunately the Assistant leader, Henry, couldn't make it, so we'll meet him for the first time at Heathrow - wow.
After dessert - quick dash home to Swansea...

D of E Accredited Assessor Course

On the Saturday 13th I went to Plas y Brenin for the Duke of Edinburgh Accredited Assessor Course.

The course was good and so soon I hope to be an accredited assessor for all levels of D of E.

The venue was of course PYB, a place I know well, so I thought I'd take these photos from the centre to show the stunning views for all to see. You can see the Snowdon horseshoe in the distance.

The course finished early, so I managed to get onto Grooved Arete on Tryfan. As I topped out, I realised there were so so many goats on the mountain. I was able to sit and watch the goats at the top of Tryfan as the sun set - magical.