Gwilym's Adventure Blog

Back out on Dartmoor today for the second day of a Mountain Training Hills Skills course for Mount Kelly students. South of Princetown with some consolidation from yesterday, looking at emergency procedures and some different navigation techniques All in all a great weekend with some keen students and fair weather. Working for i2i Development Solutions Ltd

Out on a cold but dry Dartmoor today running a Hill Skills course for Mount Kelly students. After a quick classroom session it was out into the Wilsworthy Range area to look at Navigation and Environmental stuff. All 6 students have been out on the moor before which was great and allowed us to try some different things out during the day. Today I was working for i2i Development Solutions Ltd

This weekend I have been in Cheddar representing Mountain Training at The South West Outdoor Festival organised by The National Trust. Although the weather was poor, some hardcore people turned out for the bike race on Sat and the marathon/half marathon today. My role was to deliver "Skills for the Hills" workshops in the BMC Skills Tent and to be around to answer any question relating to Mountain Training awards. The Skills for the Hills workshop covered navigation and what to carry and/or wear.

I was out walking on Dartmoor today for the second day of a Hill Skills course for Bridgwater College students. It was Hot! There were a few lobsters at the end of it but all had a good time as the weather was much kinder to us than last week .

Today I was out again with my Bridgwater College students on Dartmoor. The aim for today was to complete the first day of a Hill Skills course including navigation training as well as environment and weather. We walked from Princetown to Dewerstone. The weather was generally kind but there were some very heavy hail and rain showers.

  Today was the second day of the Hill Skills course on Dartmoor that we started last week . During a theory session the students had planned a route and today we walked it to let them show the skills that they learnt last week. Stunning weather, good visibility and low wind gave a nice day out on the moor

Today I was out on Dartmoor running a Mountain Training Hill Skills course for the FdSc students. It was a fantastic day with sunshine and low wind. We looked at Navigational techniques such as handrailing, bearings, aiming off, timing and pacing as well as contour recognition. We also had time to talk about the environment and history of the moor. If you fancy taking part in one of these course then please look at our dates here or contact me directly to arrange one for your group.

I was working on another Hill Skills course today, this time with students from Plymouth College. Fantastic blue sky, sun and (too) hot. Compasses away and it was map to ground navigation and environment. We were lucky enough to see an adder but it was "running" away from us unlike my last experience . We also found an intact fox skull which had a full set of teeth.

I had an epic day yesterday with delayed/diverted flights, hanging around Airports and trying to get back home. I finally made it to Dartmoor nearly 24 hours after leaving the south of France. I could have driven quicker! Today I was out with the Bridgwater College FdSc students for the second day of the Mountain Training Hill Skills course. The weather was poor with low visibility so we built on last weeks session including more difficult navigation and looking at contours. I had to rescue a pony who was caught in barbed wire during the day which gave us a chance to talk about wildlife on the moor.

Today was the first day of one of the new Mountain Training Hill Skills course for Bridgwater College FdSc students. Last night we had a theory session meaning we were able to head out onto the hill promptly this morning to crack on with the practical. We looked at navigation techniques, equipment, emergency shelters and environmental issues. The second day of the course will be next week.