From the 8th to 13th July, cadets from Pangbourne College and Denefield School attended an adventurous training expedition in North Wales. The cadets were based at Capel Curig Training Camp, ideally located for a full range of adventurous training activities, aimed at providing the cadets opportunities to stretch and challenge themselves, and develop teamwork and leadership skills.
Day One included an evening of paintballing in Snowdonia to start off the adventures which came nicely at the end of a long journey on a coach.
Day Two began with gorge walking up a stream and waterfall in the Conwy Valley, with cadets having the opportunity to rock climb, jump into plunge pools, swim and do a lot of slipping over. Although the weather was wet, the cadets embraced the experience and put in a fantastic effort.
Day Three had the cadets undertaking abseils from a cliff edge near an old lead mine in Trefriw. Many of the cadets were challenged and managed to overcome their fears, leading to a huge sense of satisfaction later on that evening when they returned to camp. This sense of elation was topped off by watching England win their Euros match later on.
Day Four involved raft building, ropework and orienteering around a large lake in Llyn Geirionydd. Some staff used this as an opportunity to take a swim in what was a beautiful setting, spotting the cadets as they took to the rafts, which, for the most part, floated.
Day Five became the most memorable and talked-about day by the cadets who switched between coasteering along the cliff edges of Porth Dafarch on Holy Island, Anglesey, and a big abseil a little further down the road in Caffi’r Parc. Our 6’9” SSI seemed to touch the bottom of the sea far more often than the Cadets did.
At least one of the cadets remarked:
“I would never have done this unless I came on this trip”.
Another cadet stated that:
“I never would’ve been able to do the abseil unless I had everyone else here to motivate me.”
All staff in attendance remarked on the outstanding behaviour of all pupils in attendance, as did the staff from North Wales Active.
Our final full day saw a slight change in plans due to rainfall, and the cadets headed Penrhos Bay in Anglesey to take on a day of rock climbing and abseiling.
We would like to thank North Wales Active for their outstanding leadership of the activities, and their engaging manner with our cadets. We would also like to thank the Ulysses Trust who sponsored this trip, allowing us to keep the cost of the activities down, allowing for a larger number of cadets to attend.
