hill walking – Bushcraft Days

June 5, 2018

Golden Peaks – 2017

It was late October 2017 (I know I have a lot of blogging catch up to do) and I set off North to The Peak District with my lad Finlay. We were off to join teams from London and Southern Area Sea Cadets undertaking their Gold DofE Expedition.

It was a busy 5 days and the weather was glorious resulting in some fabulous Golden Peaks.

The cadets and young instructors undertaking their Gold Expedition had four tough days ahead of them carrying all their food and kit as they hiked through The Peaks. It was a windy but warm Peak District that greeted us on their first day.

Setting off from Pindale Farm they soon passed through Castleton and ascended up onto Mam Tor. This is a steady climb but one that affords great views on a clear day.

Day 1

All the staff headed off to different locations to ensure that the teams walked the route (they do this without supervision) safely. I went onto the slopes of Mam Tor with Finlay and Dave Lewis.

After spending a bit of time watching out for the teams from the minibus roof we headed up the slopes some more. Finlay got a bit of nav practice in from Dave and a bit of flying practice from me 🙂

After Mam Tor the teams headed West along the gentle ridge that is Rushup Edge before heading North down into the beautiful Edale valley. We met the teams a couple of times along the way but otherwise left them to their own devices as we explored the countryside and practiced our own nav.

Camp for the night for the expeditioners was the remote but rather well laid out campsite at Upper Booth Farm.

Day 2

This was a tougher day for everyone as the route was up and over the Kinder plateau. The weather was clear so that made the nav much easier for everyone (including ourselves).

I did not see everyone leave camp as I set off to ascend Kinder from the small town of Hayfield on the Western slopes of Kinder with Dave, Nina and Finlay.

There was a temperature inversion that morning and the mist was trapped in the valley. The mist slowly crept up the valley until it topped out onto Kinder reservoir making for a great panoramic. I also spotted for the first time a Mist Bow. This happens rarely – when you get sunlight reflected off water and through mist.

Once on top of the Kinder plateau we settled down into some crags and got the hammock out. I carry my EDC Hammock around with me for just such occasions. We spoke with the teams as they passed through our positions and it was good to see them all in good form.

After a while Nina, Dave Finlay and myself moved North over the Kinder plateau to observe the teams dropping down Snake Path. Finlay spotted a dead lamb along the way an got some more nav practice in from Nina – Dave got his head down and I got a few more pics 🙂

I followed the last team from a distance down Snake Path while the rest went back to Hayfield. We all met up again at the campsite the expeditioners were using that night.

Day 3

The weather turned on Day 3 with lots of low cloud and rain. Finlay had left the expedition the night before with my wife Alison so just Dave and myself headed off up into the woods over Ladybower Reservoir to meet the teams.

We eventually spotted them all as they hiked on through the clouds and rain. Eventually the clouds lifted but the rain did not. The teams walked up onto Stanage Edge later in the day and the wind started to pick up. Luckily they only had a short section to walk along the Stanage path and were soon down into the shelter of the woods and their camp for the night.

Day 4

I did not see the teams on this part of the route but thankfully the weather improved greatly for their last day. Straight after breakfast they were back up onto Stanage Edge and hiking South East to the finish at the Fox Inn.

After a short de-brief all the kit was dried out and the ‘Survivors’ group photo was taken.

There ended a fantastic October expedition to The Peaks.

Cheers

George

March 5, 2017March 5, 2017

Dining Out – Brecon Style

The beginning of this year was the end of an era for the Adventure Training team in London Area Sea Cadets: our bosses Perry Symes and Graham Brockwell were standing down from their roles as Area Staff Officers after many years of hard work.

So to celebrate we headed off to the Brecon Beacons here in the UK for a ‘Dining Out Weekend‘.

It was a weekend of many parts – once we had settled into our bunkhouse at Gilfach Farm it was time for a ceremony of handing out certificates to those students who had recently passed their Basic Expedition Leadership Award.

Kev Lomas awarded Perry and Graham a cuddly neck teddy each to carry about for the weekend. Then it was off to the pub to get some dinner (a beer or two) and to plan for the next day.

After a good breakfast I had a wander outside and was greeted by a cracking view of Pen Y Fan in the distance. She had a light smattering of snow however the skies were clear.

We were soon off in the cars and mini bus heading for our start point at Cwm Gwdi car park (old soldiers may remember this camp). This spot allowed us easy access up onto Pen Y Fan without all the masses you will find on the route up from Storey Arms.

The majority of the group were outdoor instructors and all had worked with Perry and Graham in one way or another over the years . Today though the emphasis was on ‘doing your own thing’.

Alan and Dave Lewis went for a low level walk as Dave was carrying an injury while the rest of us set off up the Cefn Cwm Llwch track on the northern slopes of Pen Y Fan. The going was wet underfoot at first however we soon climbed above the snow line.

We snaked along the path, well spread out, enjoying the views and chatting as we went along. I decided to record my very first Live Facebook video on this part of the walk. The videos were not top quality because of the weak signal and wind noise but I enjoyed making them.

I spent most of my time scouting out good photography positions and ordering the lads to pose for me 🙂 Kept me happy and I think everyone liked that they could for once go at their own pace and do their own thing.

The final bit of the track up to the summit was quite icy but safe enough if you took your time. Once on the top it was like Piccadily Circus with all the folk coming up from the Storey Arms. We soon got the pictures taken and Ben found time for a few push ups before we set off.

It was at this point we broke up into three groups. The first set off at breakneck speed to ascend Cribyn and Fan Y Big. I bimbled along with the middle group but soon left them, ascending to the saddle below Cribyn. After a break on Cribyn I descended off the hill on its Northern slope down the Bryn Teg track where I met the third group being led off the hill by Jacques.

Soon the teams met up again and while Jacques sped off to pick up the minibus James produced a rugby ball from his bergen (there was not much else in it). I asked him why he had not produced it on top of Pen Y Fan and he said he forgot (would have been an excellent photo opportunity). Anyway the guys had a good half hour mucking about and doing the odd ‘Dab’ on the side of a bridge.

The Saturday evening was spent in the Red Lion pub in Llangorse enjoying a slap up meal. We were given the upper floor to use and it was probably a good move on the staff’s part – it got pretty noisy at times.

When I arrived though we were all downstairs in the bar and some of the guys were playing pool. They had been there a couple of hours to watch England play in the Six Nations rugby championship. I was standing at the bar when one of the locals approached. ‘Be careful,’ he advised me, nodding at my kilt, ‘There’s a bunch of rowdy English fans in the bar.’ I looked over his shoulder – then back at him – and said that it was OK, those rowdy English fans were my so-called mates 🙂 His face was a picture!

The evening was a great success with good food, plenty of wine, speeches, and a few war stories before retiring to the bar downstairs.

In the morning there may have been one or two fuzzy heads as we packed up and made our way to Dinas Rock located in the South of the Beacons. The plan was for some of the guys to do some Mountain Leader ropework on the rocks while the rest of us headed off to the waterfalls at Sgwd Yr Eira. In the end no one got there as we all kind of split up (after going the wrong way initially) and did our own thing.

I found a nice spot to sit in my hammock by the river while Jacques as usual dived in.

Sunday Stroll (top left picture courtesy of Ed Juanrude – top right courtesy of Dave Lewis)

It was a fantastic weekend and it was great to be part of it. I think the pictures confirm that Perry and Graham had a great time. Below, pictured in between Perry and Graham, is Ben McDonald, the latest Mountain Leader to the team who has taken over Perry’s role as Sea Cadet Area Staff Officer (ASO) for Adventure Training in the London Area. Perry aims to stay on as the Assistant ASO for a year before stepping back totally.

The guests were (in no particular order):

Paul Kelly
Kev Lomas
Deano Nicholas
Jacques Daragh Moore-Hurley
James Rawlings
Ben McDonald
Ed Juanrude
Duncan Boar
Jim Stilgoe
Jacob Leverett
Jennifer Burdett
John Kelly
Alan Lewis
Dave Lewis
Chris Bonfield
Chris Cook
Graham Brockwell
Perry Symes
and myself 🙂

Cheers

George

March 27, 2016

Stormy Snowdon – ‘Earning Mountain Wings’

My last trip out into the mountains proved a bit draftier and damp than I was expecting. Last January I headed off with some other instructors from the Sea and Royal Marines Cadets into the mountains of Snowdonia in Wales.

We run this every year as a weekend for experienced instructors to expand on their mountain navigation and as an introduction to mountain skills for the less experienced. Twenty two of us set off and thankfully the same returned – the weather though, was something to behold that weekend.

Photo 27-03-2016, 14 57 49 — Stormy Snowdon (bottom picture courtesy of Perry Symes)

The winds were particularly strong that weekend and my friend Perry Symes (he is an International Mountain Leader) said that the winds were some of the strongest he had ever experienced. You can see the white tops on the surface of Llyn Idwal (picture above) and when you see the surface like that it is not advisable except for the most experienced to climb further.

Photo 27-03-2016, 14 57 49 (1) — Batten down the hatches (top two pictures courtesy of Perry Symes)

We decided to have one group stay low around Idwal and one to climb up on the rather more sheltered side of Tryfan up to an area called Heather Terrace. Perry and John took the lower route and Graham and myself took the higher route.

When I spoke with Perry and John later that day they said that at one stage they could not stay standing and had to hold onto the rocks to prevent them selves from being blown away.

We thankfully were not affected by the wind as we were in the lee of it on the other side of Tryfan. Our group was made up of instructors with different skill levels and fitness levels. We took the day at a slow pace introducing the newer members to scrambling. Even though the wind was not a problem eventually everyone was soaked through from the persistent rain.

Photo 27-03-2016, 14 57 55 (1) — Scrambling

The higher we got though the tougher the going got. We could hear the wind cracking like a whip in the crags above us once we got to about 650m’s. We took one last look at the towering crags of Tryfan and decided that the mountain could wait another day for us.

Photo 27-03-2016, 14 57 52 — Tryfan – Wind ‘Cracking’ above

It was not all doom and gloom (though a few of us did want to top out) as we had fun slithering down again, doing a spot of bouldering, spotting some local mountain goats or like Dave did, partaking in some mountain paddling :-).

Photo 27-03-2016, 14 57 53 — Fun for everyone

It was an extremley hard day on the mountains that day and I was particularly impressed with everyone’s patience and resilience. To some of the instructors this was nothing new but to some it was their first experience on the mountains. We had a couple of students develop some slight aches and pains however they persevered and completed the day safely.

Everyone was soon back in one of the Moel Siabod Cafe in Capel Curig drying off and drinking coffee.

Photo 27-03-2016, 14 57 53 (1) — Homeward bound

To finish off the Saturday we had a de-brief on the day back at Capel Curig Training Camp before heading off down to the Swallow Falls hotel for an enjoyable evening.

As the wind was just as strong the next day we decided to stay low down in the hills and concentrate on micro navigation. We headed off from Snowdonia up into the hills just above Conway.

Photo 27-03-2016, 14 57 54 — Re-cap and start of day 2

We split up into smaller groups and I was joined by Mandy, Tara and Sian. They all had different levels of map reading skills however they were all keen to get on and have some fun along the way.

I gave each of them different locations to find, sometimes with the map, sometimes with just a compass and sometimes by dead reckoning alone.

Photo 27-03-2016, 14 57 54 (1) — Micro nav with a smile

We had fun along the way and met some of the other groups on our travels. The wind got so strong at times we had to stay away from the cliff edges and were able to lean right into the wind without toppling over.

Photo 27-03-2016, 14 57 55 — Taking it in there stride (top left picture courtesy of Sarah Diss)

Even though we did not top out mother nature tested us all out in her own way. For me it was to make sure everyone learnt, had fun along the way and came back safely.

Those that earned their mountain wings (you could say that after the winds we had) were Mandy Blackmore, Tara Green, Sian Avenell, Thomas Conway, Jasmine Turner, Sarah Diss, Lee Diss, Maria Griffiths, Amy Pizarro-Griffiths, Alan Lewis, Dave Lewis, Ben MacDonald, Rob Hina, Carol O’Brien, Jess Edwards, Jennifer Burdett, Rachel Selby, and Chris Cooke. The instructors were John Kelly, Perry Symes, Graham Brockwell and myself.

Cheers, George

March 18, 2015March 21, 2015

Winter Fun in Snowdonia

January is usually the time that as outdoor pursuits instructors in the Sea Cadets we venture up into the mountains and moors to do a bit of skills training. This is just not as a bit of extra training for ourselves but as a way of introducing some of the newer instructors to the world of hillwalking and mountaineering.

This year we went to Snowdonia National Park where we walked and scrambled around Mt Snowdon and stayed at Capel Curig Training Camp.

There was a smattering of snow on the mountains when we arrived but not a great deal. The winds had been very high in the few days leading up to our weekend and had blown most of it away. The weekend was organised in quite a relaxed manner. One group decided to walk over Moel Siabod and the surrounding area while the group I was with decided to do a bit of scrambling and winter skills around the base of Mt Snowdon.

We had arranged to meet up with some non-Sea Cadet friends that day who were also training in the area and set off early on Saturday. We were not aiming to summit that day but concentrated on working on our micro-navigation skills, leadership and group management. For me, it was also a good opportunity to practise my photography skills. I have a separate post on these pictures in this post on Special Snowdon Scenes.

Photo 10-03-2015 17 27 01 — Smattering of Snow

Our route took us from the car park at Pen Y Pas, up over The Horns, below Crib Goch, up to Glasly, around the southern shore of Llyn Llydaw before heading back to Pen Y Pass via Cwn Dyli.

While we were ascending up to The Horns and then onto the base of Crib Goch some of the lads took the opportunity to get a bit of bouldering in. The weather was cold but clear, making it ideal for keeping what little snow we had and perfect for photography as well.

Photo 10-03-2015 17 29 04 — Bit of Bouldering

We got some good views as we worked on taking bearings on near and far features so as to double check our positions. Also we spent some time working on rope skills, learning to ‘dog lead’ a nervous student over tricky terrain.

Route finding is always a good skill to practise, whether that is to avoid great big coils of barbed wire or picking your way across a stream.

Photo 10-03-2015 17 49 39 — Skills training

While we were wandering around having a good time a shepherd and his collie dog came by. As soon as the shepherd stopped the collie sat perfectly still. They both looked around, scanned the mountainside and then were away. In a couple of minutes both the shepherd and collie had disappeared. This moment reminded me that our playground is also someone else’s workplace.

Later in the day Graham and myself came across the Cym Deli pipeline that feeds water down to the oldest hydro electric station in the valley below. It is known locally as ‘the chapel in the valley‘ due to its design. I did not know this until I read the wiki page on the site but the pipelines appeared in the James Bond film ‘The World is Not Enough’

Photo 10-03-2015 17 36 18 — Working Snowdonia

We had hoped to scramble up Cribau but decided against it as there was a lot of ice at the top. Not everyone had crampons or ice axes so we decided to head down to Llyn Llydaw instead. We walked around the southern shore of Llyn Llydaw to get off the beaten track and concentrated on micro navigation.

The route is not obvious but well worth the effort. When we reached Cwn Dyli it was time for a snowball fight. Needless to say no prisoners were taken.

Photo 10-03-2015 17 39 22 — Enjoyment in different forms

We all decided to stay down low on the Sunday morning. Some of the guys went to the Pinnacles to do a bit of rock climbing and the rest of us walked from Capel Curig Training Camp up to the cafe in Capel Curig.

It was a stunning morning with low-lying mist and beautiful sunshine.

Photo 10-03-2015 17 41 38 — Sunny Sunday

We did a little bit of navigation but to tell you the truth we mainly just enjoyed the walk. It got a bit muddy in places but we just took our time.

Photo 10-03-2015 17 44 40 — Navigating and a bit of R & R

Just before we reached the cafe at Capel Curig I met up with Dan Keefe and his lovely family. They had all come up for the weekend and were staying at Llanrwst to celebrate Dan’s birthday. This was also the first time I had met Dan’s little lad Oscar.

Photo 10-03-2015 17 45 10 — Meeting the Keefe clan

The rain came in just after I took this picture so it was time to get a bit of lunch before heading off home in the minibus.

Cheers

George