Bridgwater College Residential - Day 5

After a very productive but wet week so far Gwilym and I decided to take the student to Dartrock Climbing centre for their last activity in stead of the planned group activity out on the moor.

The students spent an hour climbing in the main area with Gwilym and an hour with me bouldering and having a go in the artificial cave system. 

During my session we covered efficiency when climbing and those that wanted to took part in a competition to see who could get through the cave system the quickest.

Today wrapped up a really good week. It has set the students up for a great two years on the course and given them an insight into the various activities involved and the types of leadership involved with delivering them.

Bridgwater College Residential - Day 4

Anstey's Cove in Torquay was the venue for todays activities. We headed over to the3 coast from Dartmoor with a fleet of tandem sit on top kayaks and coasteering equipment. The bay was well sheltered from the south/south westerly winds which meant great conditions for an introduction to kayaking on the sea.

I took half the group kayaking while Gwilym took the other half coasteering, the groups swapped activities after lunch.

During the kayaking sessions we looked at paddling along the coastline and crossing the bay discussing the potential risk involved. The students applied the transferable skills they have learned in their Open Canoe sessions over the past few weeks. There was also time to play a few games and get wet! As the swell picked up a little we also had a go at rock hopping, using the swell to our advantage to get in and out of small gaps in the rocks.

Another great day with the students taking control of their session with just a little help from me. 

Bridgwater College Residential - Day 3

Due to the lack of forecast rain yesterday it meant the River Plym had dropped in height enough for the students to go Gorge/River Walking so we headed to the Dewerstone car park where Gwilym took half the group in the river while I took the rest for a half day session on Navigation. We swapped over activities at lunch.

The main aim of my session was to get to grips with the level of navigation skills the students had in preparation for their up coming Land based outdoor activities module. Both sessions we headed up through Dewerstone Wood to find some high ground on the moor on the way back down we found some steep ground to test their route selection and group supervision.

During the two hour session we looked at the following navigation techniques:

Orientating the map (using features and the compass)

Collecting and catching features

Grid Bearing to check correct direction of route choice

Pacing

Their were various levels of prior knowledge but all had an encouraging level of experience to work from.

The afternoons group were hit by some heavy showers which gave them a great opportunity to test their new college branded waterproofs supplied by Montane.

Bridgwater College Residential - Day 2

Today I was out on Dartmoor delivering Mountain Biking to the Bridgwater College Outdoor Education students. The group of 16 were split into 2 groups of 8. While I took one group Biking Gwilym took the other half Rock Climbing at Sheeps Tor and then  we swapped over groups at Lunch.

The morning group rode from White works via Nuns Cross, Ditsworthy and Sheeps Tor village before meeting the Rock Climbers at the Sheeps Tor car park for Lunch.

After lunch I took the second group for a slightly longer ride along the disused railway to Princetown and returned to Whiteworks via South Hessary Tor.

A really good day looking at basic bike handling and leadership. The students did really well negotiating the terrain and supporting each other.

Bridgwater College Residential - Day 1

For the next 5 days I am working for Bridgwater college in my role as Associate Lecturer on the Level 3 Outdoor Education programme delivering their induction residential with Gwilym.

The aim of today was simply to pack all the required equipment and drive down to Dartmoor where we will be staying in Whiteworks bunkhouse and get all the students settled in and prepared for the next four days activities.

We plan to take them:

Mountain Biking
Rock Climbing
Gorge/River Walking
Coasteering
Sea Kayaking
Hill Walking

The forecast weather will play a big part in our day to day activity provision but the fact we are self sufficient with suitably qualified and experienced staff as well as having all the equipment we require will enable us to change the planned activities as we see fit.

Here's hoping the weather is kind to us and we have a productive week.