On the 26th September 2025, 20 cadets made up from 1165 (Oswestry), 24 (Market Drayton), 28 (Shawbury) and 1119 (Shrewsbury) squadron and 4 staff made the trip from Shropshire to the Arete centre in North Wales. For some of these cadets it was their first overnight weekend activity undertaken with the air cadets so there were understandably some nerves on route.
On arrival there was the normal arrival admin including being assigned rooms, getting beds ready and being assigned groups ready for the weekend of adventures. Everyone was issued camp t-shirts, a long-standing cadet tradition, a way of remembering the camp and a great way of starting a conversation of locations on t-shirts and allowing those who attended to reminisce about the great experience from the camp they attended. Along with the obligatory camp photo which provided a good ice breaker with the typical difficulties of getting in size order and the odd cadet being found out for being on tip toes! Cadets were then given some free time to get to know each other, especially important for those who only have limited people they know on the trip. It was then an early night ready for an exciting day tomorrow.
Compared to normal cadet camps, the wake-up call was a modest 0700; everyone then made their packed lunch from a fantastic arrangement of sandwich opportunities and snacks and it was then straight into a fantastic hot and cold breakfast that really filled everyone up for a busy day ahead.
The weekend’s activity instructors then arrived and gave everyone a brief for the day. Today’s activity was a trip to the disused mines nearby in Blaenau Ffestiniog and, after a quick kit allocation and lunches packed, everyone jumped on the minibuses and headed out. There was definitely some apprehension as to what the day was going to include as not one cadet had been caving before, so it was definitely going to push some cadets outside their comfort zone. A short but steep climb first faced the group in order to reach the entrance to the caves, with the instructors giving a quick geography and history lesson about the caves on route; some cadets were able to listen and appreciate what they heard while others were more focussed on reaching the top! The group then split into two, were kitted up with waterproofs, wellies, climbing hat, head torch and harness and off everyone headed into the caves. The following 5 hours was spent exploring the caves, going up and down levels, travelling whilst clipped into the rope attached to the cave wall, and even a zip line awaited the adventurers. Some cadets were definitely in their element, taking to the activities like naturals, however the most exciting part was seeing those who were more at home taking more nervous participants under their wing without even being asked, I recall one of our newest and youngest participants who was very able and confident get one of the more nervous cadets to go in front of him so he could help and encourage him. After a unique experience of eating our packed lunch underground everyone carried on exploring the mines and having another climb up the cave rock whilst attached via a rope.
It was then time to head outside and see daylight again before heading back down to the minibuses and back to the centre. After a quick tidy up before sitting down to another fantastic meal, a very hearty fish and chips (vegetarian alternative also available!) with a crumble for pudding which cadets are still talking about to this day! Then a relaxed evening with many tales being compared from the day, especially the tale of a staff member managing to rip their trousers whilst on their way down from the zip line – it’s nice to see empathy extends to staff and not just fellow cadets!
A slightly earlier morning followed, as it was time for all to pack up bags ready for departure later this evening. A whole day’s adventure awaited, but first every adventure has to start with a filling hot and cold breakfast with plenty of options to keep everyone happy and full for the day ahead. The weather was looking much brighter today, so everyone jumped aboard the minibuses and headed down the road to Lions Rock, a fantastic scenic area overlooking Lyn Padarn with Yr Wyddfa in the distance. The cadets were split into two groups and then split down again into groups of 4; each member in the group was attached together with rope and the goal was to work together to climb up the rock face, with the added pressure of knowing that if one person fell, everyone attached would fall so team work was massively important! Even staff were involved, so they were not exempt from being brave and facing fears and it was great for cadets to see everyone can face their fears and overcome them. Everyone successfully conquered the rock face and it was brilliant to see some teams which started cautiously and slowly but by the top, they were working in harmony and everyone was encouraging each other between the teams. The views at the top were definitely a great reward for the hard work to get there. This was only just the beginning for today and we then had a picnic on route to the afternoon’s activity.
We then arrived at the beautiful Welsh coast where the sun even made an appearance! A quick change into wetsuits and buoyancy aids and we had a brief for what coasteering was going to include and, again, for probably 90% of our cadets, it was a brand-new experience which definitely had plenty of apprehension attached to it. There were a few squeals when first getting into the slightly refreshing sea temperature but soon concentration for the activities ahead took over. Everyone started with small jumps into the sea with a little scrambling needed to ensure everyone had the correct technique ready for the bigger jumps ahead. This activity was definitely a big hit – smiles were plastered on faces, encouragement being given all over and memories certainly being made for life. Then came the biggest jump, and everyone went for it; every single cadet jumped off the largest rock available during the activity and it was incredible, with every single cadet walking away from the activity buzzing as to what they had just completed, so proud of themselves for doing something they never thought they would do. A quick journey back to the activity centre to return all used kit and get ready to head home, some big thank yous made to all the staff at the Arete centre for putting on such an incredible weekends activity (and some great food!) and then the sad goodbyes to each other before the journeys home.
These adventurous activities were a fantastic opportunity for our cadets to put all the skills we try to impart during training on squadron such as teamwork, leadership, communication and empathy into a real-life activity and I am sure it will have taught and strengthened these qualities way better than we could do during our day to day squadron activities.
It pushed cadets outside their comfort zones and some of them probably close to their limits, (actually close to where they thought their limits were), because each and every one of them completed activities which they were initially apprehensive of or cautious about and yet they still completed them and hopefully, when presented with challenges in the future, they will be able to recall this weekend and know they have already gone above and beyond ‘their limits’ and can do so again in the future.
In a world when our young people are under more pressure than ever, mental health is something which sadly more and more young people are struggling with, the benefit of being outdoors and completing physical activity is well documented to be good for mental health and it was great to see our cadets just enjoying being in the moment, with no phone signal in the caves meaning there was no point taking phones and being far too busy whilst completing rock climbing and coasteering meant phones were barely used all weekend which no doubt had a great impact on everyone.
Unfortunately, activities such as those we completed this weekend do come at a cost. Due to their risk, staff have to be highly competent and qualified and this, along with equipment, causes the cost and although we are fortunate to have many staff qualified with various qualifications, it was not possible to complete these activities in-house. In addition, one needs a centre close to the heart of activities to make the activities accessible as the journey would be too long to complete these activities just for a day. The grant given us, together with fundraising we completed as a squadron meant everyone who wished to attend could, which is a real privilege as I would never want anyone to have missed out due to financial barriers and we are very grateful for the Ulysses Trust for their help in this.
Some quotes from our participants include;
Cadet Flight Sergeant RL – “I thought this weekend was an extremely successful AT camp. The accommodation was pristine, and the instructors were friendly and encouraging. The activities were so far from the basic camp activities, they had to be the best AT activities I have ever done! The food was on point and all dietary requirements were accounted for.”
Cadet Corporal LR – “I absolutely loved the weekend; the activities were fulfilling and definitely pushed me outside my comfort zone. The accommodation was impeccable and food was lovely. I would 100% do an AT camp again.”
Cadet Corporal CL- “I wanted to go on the camp because I thought it would be a great experience to meet new people and make new experiences On the camp I did coasteering for the first time ever, I loved the camp so so much it was probably one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life, it was amazing, the instructors were fun, everyone was so nice. It was just one big team that worked together to experience all the fun we did. I have slightly overcome my fear of heights due to the climbing caves, especially because it was in wellies. The camp has inspired me to do more scrambling so I am going to be looking for some things to do in that area, maybe not so much rock climbing because of the height, but the scrambling aspects seem to be really fun and I hope this is the start of more adventures like this in the future.”
Cadet Corporal AM – “AT camp was an unforgettable experience, not just for me but for everyone who took part. I initially signed up for the camp not knowing what to expect but knowing that I wanted to try something new and have a great time with good people whilst doing it. During the weekend we explored abandoned mines, went rock climbing surrounded by the amazing view of Snowdonia and even did some coasteering. These are all things that I probably never would’ve had the opportunity to do without this camp, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the experience! What made this even better was being surrounded by others who also embraced the experience, overcoming their fears and encouraging others to do it too. As well as experiencing new things, I also got to meet some great new people and bond with them through these activities, helping me learn to work as a team and motivate even when being with people you may not know as well, and embracing it! Overall, the AT camp was an amazing opportunity and experience. I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who helped make it happen for me and all of the other cadets who came along.”