Thursday 14 April 2016

Day five in Wales

Group 1

Today we went mountain climbing. First, we learnt how to properly position our feet on rock. The instructor had to climb up the mountain face without a rope to put ours up. We had to rely on each other to hold each other up. When pulling the ropes you had to use the v, knee, 1, 2, 3. If you took your hands off the rope we would of fell.  This became a problem when it was uncle nicks turn, we had 4 people holding him when you only needed two. Then we went absailing down 40 meter mountain face but we had to hold onto our own rope, so we got to control our speed. At the end Ben and Fin a sailed down on one rope and the slipped everywhere. After Billy getting stuck and half of us almost plummeting to our deaths it turn out as a really fun day!

Harry A-W


Group 2

Our activity today was adventure. In the adventure day we got to do 3 things: walking through a pitch black tunnel, doing a short zip wire and walking through FREEZING cold waterfalls and rivers.
We took a fairly short trip in the mini bus to an isolated forest with fields in every direction as far as the eye could see. We were led, by Rich (our instructor), to a train track that seem to have just fallen into the trap of time, decayed and distant from the modern world. We were told to hold on to the person in front with our right hand and make sure we could touch the wall at all times with our left. After about 20 mins of singing to keep the spirits high; an explosion of daylight lit up the way ahead. We were then taken further into the forest where we went on a short zip wire that hung above a stream of rushing water. After eating lunch, we drove back down the way we came. With everyone kited up, we set off against the current of a nearby river. Within 5 minutes everyone was soaked from the knee down. The rock were so slippery that it took ages to get anywhere because we were all being so cautious. We proceeded to scramble up various waterfall and fountains. By the time we had finished every single one of us was shivering and drenched from head to toe. When the group got back to the mini bus Rich treated us all to a warm cup of juice. All in all it turned out to be an exremely wet and cold but enjoyable day.

Jake G


Group 3

Today we went mountain climbing. It was a fun packed day although it was a lot of effort to get to the top of the mountain it all paid of when we got there and saw the breathtaking view of South Wales, we could see everything for miles. We were 713 meters above sea level! It wasn't just the view at the top of the mountain that was beautiful, there were also some incredible sights on the way up. We had to climb up a gully. It was really hard to walk up as there was running water going down and there were loads of stones and slippery things, but with teamwork we all made it to the top safely. We walked around the top of the mountain, stopping at times to take in the scenery. All of a sudden, we heard thunder and there was hail stones, so we had to make our way back down the mountain. Although it was an exhausting day, the experience was unforgettable.


Mia and Cailin

Wednesday 13 April 2016

Day four in Wales

Group 1

Today, we went for a day of adventure. We all had so much fun with our amazing instructor Stu. He took us threw rapids and waterfalls and pitch black tunnels. We started of with a long drive and another train tunnel. We had no torch and only knew to hold on the left wall singing all of the way. After a two second drive we arrived at a zip wire and Rapids. We climbed up the river and used the water falls as slides, eventually reaching our best challenge yet. This was the shuffle bum challenge, with nobody finished but Harry S coming close. The worst of them all was Uncle Nick (aka Mr. Charalambous) slipping everywhere. With a long walk back to the van, another day another waterfall.

By Harry S and Finley


Group 2

Today group 2 did a walk up, along and down mountains. We got kitted out in walking boots and waterproof trousers in case it rained, before setting off from the centre. We walked along a small road and a field before reaching the gulley we were going to walk along to get to the top. After refilling our bottles from the fresh water at the bottom of the gulley we set off, half scrambling, half walking to the top. After a few breaks we got to the top where we ate a brief snack and refilled our water once again. Once we finished our snack we set off along a marshy bit of area where we then came back on ourselves and headed to the peak of our first mountain were we ate our lunch. After a few photos of the wonderful view, we headed along the edge of the mountain, past the gulley and up to the top of the second mountain called (Lord Herefords Knob, don't ask why it's called that!). With some pauses in progress to jump over multiple puddles, we reached the summit of Lord Herefords Knob. We had a nice long break, giving us a little more energy and then started going down the mountain. The way down was quite hard on the feet and a few people slipped (including Mr Thomas!) we reached the bottom and walked back to the centre

By Henry J, Bradley J and Toby B


Group 3
Today we went caving in porth yr orgyth; once we arrived we were given waterproofs, belts and helmets. We then journeyed into the cave. Inside, there was a river that led deep underground, first we entered a chamber which contained the white horse, a formation of limestone calcium carbonate that shows resemblance to a horse (although it looks more like a giraffe). We then proceeded deeper into the cave, squeezing through tiny crevasses and completing challenges along the way. One of the challenges was 'the letterbox'. It was a tiny gap in the wall where we were forced to squeeze our bodies into. Another one of the challenges was 'the toilet'. This was a little hole in the ground which led to a freezing cold body of water. It was named the toilet because of the tiny flooded gap that we crawled through. Towards the end of our day, we all jumped into the lake! Although we were freezing cold and wet, we enjoyed ourselves greatly.

By James B and Oliver W


Some images...

Group 3 group shot 

Group 3 canoeing practice

The quarry climbed by students

View from the quarry

Group selfie with Mr Charalambous

Group 1 preparing to enter the cave

Mia and Harper at the top of the quarry

Preparing to climb 

Tuesday 12 April 2016

Day three in Wales

Group 1

Today we went canoeing in a canal. It was very fun and we developed lots of new skills, this helped us to control the boat better. Our time was good with our amazing instructor called Rich and he supported us the whole way through the day. Everyone fell in which was very funny and not one person finished dry. Close to the end we gathered two canoes and we made a very cool slide and everyone had a go. Overall everyone had an enjoyable day canoeing.

Sam and Vinni


Group 2

Today we went caving which was great fun. We had to crawl through tight, small spaces and walk through deep water. Water went into our Wellington boots and we all had wet feet. It wasn't the greatest feeling but was worth it. Johnny also went head first into the muddy deep water and his body all went numb for the next five minutes. We also turned all of our lights off so it was pitch black and we couldn't see so we had to put our fingers right in front of our face. Overall it was a great day.

Zac and Johnny


Group 3

Today we went climing! It was so fun! We got all our clothes, harnesses and helmets ready and took a drive to the rocks. When we got there we had to do a short walk to the quarry with the ropes and all our equipment. Our instructor went ahead and tied up all the ropes so we could get started. The best thing about it is the fact that it was real rock! Everyone was doing really well, some parts were harder than others but we all had a go on each spot and tried our best. Most of us even reached the top!

Harper

Monday 11 April 2016

Day two in Wales

Group 1
At the start of the day we got our caving suits, belts, lights and helmets and headed into a disused train tunnel. This was so we could get used to being in the dark. After that we headed along a steep revine slipping and sliding along the way. Once we reached our cave we had to face our first challenge, a waterfall. We eventually climbed over it and went deep into the cave. Not to long after being in the caves we stopped to look at some fossils and find a way around a pond. The caves were really dark and we had to navigate through some very tight spaces. Mr. Charalambous almost got stuck!! It was so dark in the caves that we even came face to face with bats! After climbing through a long wet, dark tunnel we eventually saw light and found our way out. We had to head back up the revine and to the mini bus. Another caving expedition done for now!!!

Finley and Harry 

Group 2
We got suited and booted in mountain boots, waterproof trouser and coats and took a long journey to the rock we were going to climb. Once we arrived our instructor set up three ropes for us to climb up. We were then taught how to keep the person climbing steady by using ropes. These were the steps: V to the knee 123. As the rain was pouring we braved the rock but the whimp Mr. Thomas only got a third of the way!! We then had to lower him down to safety. Finally we took a trek to see a 30ft waterfall. The view of the waterfall was breathtaking. With our bodies aching we headed back for dinner.

Zack and Bradley

Group 3
We went canoeing today on the River Wye, it was really raining. At first we found it hard paddle and kept going into the sides, then when we where half way it got very easy. Most people in our group fell out (some willingly jumped out) and got soaked. We stopped a few times to look at the scenery and eat lunch. We had water fights with our paddles while we floated along the river. Near the end of our journey all we stopped by rapids and then all jumped in them and floated down them. After we were all frozen we got straight back to have showers to warm us up. 

Rosie and Lois

Sunday 10 April 2016

Day One in Wales

After a long journey (with a few delays), we finally got here safely. The people at the centre are really friendly and are making us feel very welcome. There is a wonderful view with amazing wildlife around us. We were showed our rooms and were given a chance to settle in. Next, we came downstairs again for dinner, which was chicken pie and vegetables. We celebrated Harper's birthday this evening and had birthday cake for dessert. Soon, we are going to be told what we are doing and what it is like at the park. We have a big day ahead of us and will be in touch soon.

Jasmine, Sydney, Molly