Gwilym's Adventure Blog

Well, it wasn't carnage really but just wanted the title to follow Tuesdays Kayak Chaos . Out with only 4 of my Level 3 Bridgwater and Taunton College Outdoor Students today. Starting further up the canal than normal, we paddle downwind towards Taunton, grabbed a quick lunch then battled the wind as a mega raft on the way back

Just because no blog for last few days doesn't mean I wasn't busy. All the Mountain Leader course admin and some general kit maintenance over the weekend. A day yesterday showing new college staff around the local climbing venues and then back aflaot today. L3 Outdoor Education students from Bridgwater and Taunton College  refining their open boat skills before they start leading some sessions next week.

The last day on The Wye with a 7am start say use down to Symonds Yat by 11am and back on the bus heading home by midday. A lively day on The river where we saw loads of wildlife. All 5 students made it to the end in good form and that is the end of the watersports module for them. I will be working with them on land based activities after Easter.

Back on The Wye today from Lucksall Campsite to Ross on Wye. Fast flows certainly helped the progress but there were some wicked headwinds at time. I did get a tail wind and the sail up for a very short time but probably wasn't worth the effort. 

Today was the first day of a River Wye expedition. Hereford to Lucksall Campsite. The river was flowing well at arou d 3 knots meaning very little paddling to do. Some wet rain periods interspersed with sunny spells.

Working for Bridgwater and Taunton College again today with my L4 Public Services students. With only 1 week left before the expedition, they were experimenting with loading boats, poling and rescuing packed boats. Today's lesson is "not all dry bags are as dry as others"

Out on the Canal with my Level 4 students today from Bridgwater and Taunton College . The 3 day trip is getting closer so we are trying to get afloat as much as possible.

Out on the canal with Level 4 students today and being watched by a pig! It was all about solo canoe skills today and we had a bit of wind to play with as well.

A short blast along the canal and a quick rescue for my Level 4 students today. The nights are really drawing in now and daylight is in short supply for these afternoon sessions.

Some rescue training today for my Level 4 students on the canal Sorry, battery died after only one picture.

Today with my Level 3 Outdoor Students we spent the afternoon looking at Canoe skills both Solo and Tandem before moving onto trying out some Canoe Rescues and basically swimming about having fun.

This time out with my Bridgwater College Level 4 students for some boating in the sun. Looking at some solo skills today and as it was a bit windy then that added to the challenge.

Today with my L3 Outdoor students we took the Open Canoes for a spin along the canal. This was a nice trip with a few stoves onboard so we could brew up over lunch. We covered essential skills such as how to duck under a low bridge and how to carry milk in a dry bag without it exploding.

Out on Bridgwater Canal today in Open Canoes with my new cohort of Bridgwater College Level 3 Outdoor Ed students. Introduction to the course and basic boat manoeuvring today including how to get around a swan on the slipway.