Upland Adventure I and II are multi-activity packages that RGS High Wycombe CCF run in conjunction with a Third Party Provider, Call of the Wild, the package runs over four days for 24 cadets, but is then repeated in total for a second group of up to 24 cadets.
UPLAND I
Day 1: Travel – Day one as most first days on trips was semi-chaotic with some cadets turning up 10 minutes early or 20 minutes late as the first of us began to load our bags and luggage onto the minibuses, one of which then had a flat tyre. Nevertheless, after a tyre change, we set off on our trip to Wales with an arduous (for the drivers) four-hour journey. By the time we had arrived at our accommodation it was around 7pm when, after familiarising ourselves with the bunk house accommodation, most of us crashed into bed.âŻ
Day 2: The second day we were starting with caving which was as much terrifying as it was fun but still quite useful for finding out about the geography of what was underneath Wales – no dragons unfortunately but there were fossils of snails which I thought interesting and there were plenty of opportunities to get into cramped spaces.âŻ
Afterwards we would go to an indoor climbing centre which was a good warm up for the next day where we would do climbing but outdoors. It was actually very fun; the centre had bouldering walls, huge areas to rapel down and even a smaller mock-up cave which hurt our knees more than the actual cave we had visited no less than a few hours before. Overall, it was awesome and pretty unique to be able to climb up walls and into caves for the day.
Day 3: With another prompt wake up at 6:30am it was time to do gorge walking and outdoor climbing with an appropriately cloudy day. We started off climbing the rock faces and walls which, due to the weather, made it quite hard to scale the rock but eventually I managed to get to the top of a few of them which I found very enjoyable as it was difficult to find grips and footholds on which to plant my poor choice of shoes, but despite this it was great fun. Next came gorge walking which I found to be my favourite part as we started off with jumping into the freezing river and floated down a bit before fighting our way up. This was awesome as climbing up the fast-flowing river was a good challenge trying not to get swept away, yet was an absolute blast with some of my mates getting the full effect of nature in the mouth.
Day 4: On the final day we had the long trek which involved a short drive to the starting point before we began to make our way up the Welsh hills. There was a lot of navigation training, and this helped us learn how to properly read a map and all of its features to try to make sure we were heading in the right direction which, in a few cases, we werenât. This was also one of my favourite parts as once we got to the peak it was a lovely clear day allowing us to see plenty of the Welsh countryside, but sadly no sheep.
Overall, it was a blast and equally enjoyable as it was helpful for developing skills and just as good as I remember it being last year. We departed on the Wednesday night on the same coach that brought our colleagues for Upland II out to Wales. (Tom Year 11)
UPLAND II
This year was the first time I (Gabby) went on Upland Adventure, and I have never enjoyed a cadet trip as much as this one. From abseiling to cooking to playing darts, I enjoyed every second of it. While for me (Johnny), this was my second year going on Upland Adventure with the CCF and it was even more enjoyable than the first. Ever since coming back from Wales over a year ago, I have been excitedly anticipating going back; safe to say, this trip lived up to my expectations and then some.
Day 1: On the first day of activities we went climbing outside and gorge walking – which despite being extremely cold it was my (Gabbyâs) favourite activity of the trip, the current wiped me out and made me slip a lot, but that just made me more grateful for the experience, and gave me many funny memories which I know I and my friends will laugh about for many years to come.
Day 2: On the second day of activities we went caving where I (Gabby) got to experience being âpostedâ through âthe letter boxâ and going up âthe toiletâ, which was an original experience for me, but still an incredibly valuable one as it challenged me in ways I havenât been before. Similarly I (Johnny) asked where else do you get to drag your history teacher by the shoulder straps across the floor of a cave or dive headfirst into âThe Elephantâs bottomâ? These experiences taught me things about myself (Gabby) that I donât think I would have learnt by the time I was 25, like I am brave and a good leader, which is another thing I am incredibly grateful for as I know that this will help me as I go through life.
Day 3: This was upland navigation where the weather was not as good as earlier in the week, but we still learned useful navigation skills for future outdoors activities and the importance of teamwork.
Throughout Upland I & II
Every morning and evening there would be a group of cadets that would cook either breakfast or dinner under supervision which was an opportunity for our teamwork to be strengthened and put to use as well as teaching all of us key basic skills. Honestly, I (Gabby) loved it, and to my surprise nothing was burnt or undercooked, in fact a series of seriously good meals were made and happily devoured by everyone.
However, I think that my (Gabbyâs) favourite memory from the trip was in the bunkhouse after the daysâ activities trying out darts for the first time and finding out that it is not as easy as it seems. Somehow, I managed to throw all three darts anywhere but the board, which wound up with my friends in absolute stitches of laughter. In addition, the walks, the scenery, the sense of camaraderie and communal living all elevated the experience for me (Johnny) and often constituted some of my favourite memories from the trip. Upland Adventure was and continues to be my favourite CCF trip of the year and you can be sure I will make every effort to be there next year (Johnny Year 12). To sum up, I had an amazing time, lots of laughs and an incredibly valuable experience! (Gabby Year 12)
Two of the five staff involved are veterans and are grateful for the opportunity to develop the next generation through AT and the outdoors.
