Snowdon Horseshoe in Memory of the Colonel!

Having been up Snowdon and Crib Goch countless times I was still yet to complete the Snowdon Horseshoe circuit until today.

The Snowdon Horseshoe was a favourite route of my late grandfather, he spent many days there with young people from North Herts while working in education as well as taking my grandmother and father on this route. He even pushed for the building of the North Herts centre at the foot of the Watkin path.

So with that in mind Lou and I thought it appropriate that we to complete the horseshoe in memory of him.

To avoid the summertime crowds on this popular mountain we headed out of the Pen Y Pass car park at 05.30 hoping to also get the best of the days forecast weather. The weather unfortunately didn't play ball and we spent most of the day in the cloud and drizzle but with little wind which was a slight bonus.

Our route took us along the Pyg track from Pen y pass before hanging a right onto the Crib Goch route to Carnedd Ugain (grade 1 scrambling), then onto Snowdon and onto Y Lliwedd before descending down to the Miners track and back to the Pen y Pass car park. The early start paid off when we arrived at the top of Snowdon to be the only people there, pretty unheard of for Snowdon.

We were back at the Van by 12.30 so headed into Capel Curig for a spot of lunch at the Pinnacle Cafe.

A really good day spent in the hills completing a route that i've been meaning to do for a very long time, its just a shame the Colonel isn't around to hear all about it but i'm sure he was watching!

RIP - Colonel Colin Brice 

First Time Scrambling for Louise

With a few rare days off together Lou and I decided to jump in the van and head up to North Wales for a couple of days hill walking.

Lou has done plenty of walking in the moors and mountains but never tried her hand at easy grade scrambling so we headed over to Tryfan and the Glyders today.

We started with an ascent of Tryfan's North Ridge, A nice grade 1 scramble with multiple options to make it harder if you wish. After summiting Tryfan we dropped down to Bwlch Tryfan before taking on Bristly Ridge (Grade 1) on Glyder Fach. After reaching the top of Glyder Fach we headed over to Castell Y Gwynt and descended via Y Gribin.

A really good day out in the mountains with intermittent weather. 

Stag Party fun at Wimbleball Lake

Back at Wimbleball Lake on Exmoor today to deliver Mountain Biking and Kayaking for a stag party group of nine booked through Exmoor Adventures. 

We thought we would start with the mountain biking before the strong afternoon sun came out. Our route took us around the pump track at South West lakes Trust before following the green trail down to the dam. Once we crossed the dam we headed out on a loop over and around Haddon Hill taking in some single track, open moorland tracks and a short road descent back to the dam before heading back to our base.

After a short stop for lunch I took the guys for a sit on top kayaking session on Wimbleball Lake, from the lake side near the activity centre we headed across the lake and up the central spur where we got some competitive games going along with lots of getting wet. 

The nine guys were all up for a good time and with their competitive edge they took on all the challenges without hesitation. 

A really good day on Exmoor with a great group. I'm sure the guys will enjoy their climbing session tomorrow with Dan French at Valley of the Rocks.

Another stunning Day at Valley of the Rocks

It's been a busy month with the majority of my work coming in the form of freelance instructing for Exmoor Adventures. 

Valley of the Rocks in Lynton was the venue again today for a climbing and abseiling session for a scout Group from Wimbledon. It was great to be working with two very polite groups of young people at a beautiful venue on a stunning blue sky day. We set up three bottom ropes of varying grades and a top rope that transferred over to an abseil for the scouts to try.

Working with other instructors is something I always enjoy and today I was working with Dave Huxtable who was today also freelancing for Exmoor Adventures but his main job is managing the Pinkery Centre on Exmoor. Its good to bounce ideas of good practise around and see how others set up at venues.

Canoeing on the River Tone

This evening I was out on the River Tone in Taunton Town Centre with a small group of Staff and young people from Cambian-Signpost. Cambian-Signpost are a group of care establishments that support young people with hearing impairments.

The aim of this initial session was to meet the staff and some of the young people with the view to provide regular activities and alternative education.

It was a glorious evening to be out on the water followed by positive conversations about future work. 

Kayaking and Raft Building with NCS Students

It's a busy month with lots of work helping out Dan French from Exmoor Adventures. It's really refreshing when local companies can work together to provide a service.

Today I was at Wimbleball Lake on Exmoor working with a group of 12 NCS (National Citizen Service) students delivering a sit on top kayaking session and a raft building session. The 16 year old students are on a 3 week course designed to make them more rounded individuals with the emphasis being teamwork and confidence building.

The morning session we took the sit on top kayaks out on the lake looking at basic kayaking skills, a short journey and a few games for fun. A few capsizes and some great teamwork meant for a good session in the sun.

After lunch the students were split into two smaller teams of 6, given a set of rafting equipment and 45 minutes to plan and build their lake going contraption! As you can see from the photos one teams raft worked a treat whereas the other was a little worse for wear. The difining moment being the race winning team all entering the water to swim out to the sinking raft to help their fellow course members out and swim all the kit back into shore.

Another really good day with a great group of people in a stunning location. The weather is also spoiling us too!!

It's great being an Outdoor Activity Instructor!

The last few days have been brilliant as an outdoor instructor. Continuing on from Friday I have been working for Exmoor Adventures delivering climbing at the Valley of the Rocks, Lynmouth as part of the new Somersault Festival and Coasteering. Here's my last three days.

Saturday

From 11.00 - 13.30 I delivered a climbing session at Valley of the rocks for 6 clients from the festival. The sun was shining and the wind minimal so it was a bit of a hot one. Todays group had some climbing experience so the first part of the session went swiftly allowing the clients to get plenty of climbing in and have a wander around to take in the stunning valley and coastal views.

After a very quick de-rig of all the ropes I headed over to Hele Bay near Ilfracombe to assist Dan (Exmoor Adventures) with a Coasteering session for 14 Stags! We got in on a dropping neap tide and due to the current weather the water was pan flat and clear! After some swim sections, some scrambling and a few small jumps we headed out to the point between Hele Bay and Ilfracombe to take on the larger jumps. The biggest of the day being about 7 meters. The session went really well and just as we got out of the water a heavy shower passed through.

My day finished by heading over to the festival site to collect my free staff entry and camping wrist band before settling into the crowd (3 rows from the front) to see Jack Johnson's set. Pretty Good day!

Sunday

The only work for today was to head back over to 'Valley of the Rocks' to deliver another climbing session for some festival goers. The session again ran from 11.00 - 13.30.

6 clients arrived on the festival transport today for the climbing session. 2 couples and a father and son. The session went really well with all enjoying climbing on warm rock in dry summer conditions and agin with stunning weather and great views along the north Devon coastline and across to South Wales. The highlight of the day being Fergus' comment about the session being a lifetime memory to cherish, spending quality time with his son doing something active outside and away from all the modern technology.

Another Great way to finish a day! Back to the festival site to meet up with Dan and the other instructors for a chilled afternoon catching some great bands over a couple of drinks culminating with local boy Ben Howard headlining the main stage! Another great set!

'The View West from the top of Castle Rock'

Monday

Just 4 guys today for the climbing session, 4 no shows so the festival must have got the better of them!

The session today was another mirror image of the last three days, the only difference being a slightly smaller group. The 4 guys today were really keen to learn the basics and get climbing. We also had a couple who had come down to the festival from Scotland who left the session buzzing and planning on getting more tuition and buying some kit to get out more back at home. The weather was once again amazing and brought the beautiful setting alive. 

Its been a really good 4 days working with some great groups who were all really keen to learn new skills and be outside. The added bonus being able to see some great live music in the evenings after the work was done. Looking forward to working at the festival again next year!

I'll leave you with a view back up the valley from the top of castle rock.

Lovely Day at Valley of the Rocks.

Today I have been working for Exmoor Adventures delivering Climbing sessions at Valley of the Rocks near Lynmouth, Devon.

The participants were all from the Somersault Festival. There are a range of activities on offer for festival goers. The plus side being a free ticket for activity staff so I will be going along tomorrow and Sunday eve to catch Jack Johnson and Ben Howards sets.

The 7 participants who came along today had a little climbing experience which made teaching tying in and belaying pretty quick. They then got to use the rest of the 2.5 hour session climbing as many routes and variations of routes as they liked. 

The sun shone for the whole session but it was very humid, the odd cool breeze that blew through was very welcome.

I am also delivering similar sessions for the next three days all for the same festival but different clients.   

Taunton Academy Sports students 'Go Canoeing'

Yesterday with the help of Dave Bullock from SASP (Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership) I took 14 year 9 students from Taunton Academy's Sports Academy programme Open Canoeing.

Over the 2 hour session the students were challenged to control their canoe and take part in various team and pair tasks. They all came prepared to get wet and took on the challenges without hesitation. We started at Firepool Lock and paddled upstream to French Weir.

Raft Building on the Tone

Today I have been working for Active Adventure South West delivering a Raft Building session to Year 9 students from West Somerset College. 

The River Tone in Taunton was the Venue and the session involved time to build a raft and then enjoy a relay race from Fire Pool Lock to Priory Bridge and back. The students first efforts were not that great and the rafts fell part on attempted launch. We went about building two 5 minute rafts which nearly lasted the duration of the race. 

All the students came prepared to get wet and thats exactly what they did. Lots of smiles and laughter so a good session all round.