Gwilym's Adventure Blog

After a few days of Admin and Quality Assurance work, it was great to get out for a nice blast round the hills with Crys who was over on the mainland for a few days. Blue Sky, 14km, deep puddles, a bit mud and some great views. All this was followed by coffee and cake at The Foxy Bean cafe

This week has been a blast from the past for me. I am temporary, part time, acting Head of Outdoor Education at Plymouth College for two weeks paternity cover. A couple for indoor climbing sessions including coaching lead climbing, a few classroom lessons and a day at Haldon Hill on mountain bikes interspersed with some paperwork and other essential admin to keep the department running until everyone comes back to work. Today was so wet on the bikes, big effort from the students as we rode through deluge after deluge with mud and water flying everywhere.

An early Christmas ride with Mike and Hannah. Well, I say "ride". Perhaps someone should have brought two wheels for their bike! So it was a 14km for Mike and I whilst Hannah had a run instead. Excellent views across to the Severn estuary and plenty of puddles to ride through. No where near frozen but still very cold when they were so deep that our feet got wet.

I was out with Plymouth College Outdoor students today exploring a Mountain Bike route (as recommended by the guide - see top pic). Well we had lots of walking and carrying to do as well as well as some riding. We even had a few river crossings. It was certainly an adventure and we all had great fun but I am not sure I would recommend it as a bike route rather it would make a really nice summer walk.

A bit of a change today with a quick 12km blast on the bike around The Quantock Hills with Matt and Hannah. Not been out mountain biking for quite some time so a bit of a shock to the system and a reminder that I should do it more often to keep my self cycle fit. Nice lunch at Paisley Cafe to replace the calories.

This week I have been working for Wet and High Adventures Ltd managing an activity week for a group of apprentices from Bridgwater and Taunton College .  As I had 42 clients, 9 instructors, 4 minibuses and 2 trailers to sort out I don't want to bore you with pictures of what I was doing so these are what the groups were getting upto whilst I was co-ordinating everything. We had groups out kayaking and canoeing, mountain biking and on a mini expedition across Exmoor.

Hard to tell from the pics but there were a number of snow blizzards today as I rode around The Quantock Hills following a group of Bridgwater and Taunton College Public Services students as they navigated a bike route in the open and through the woods

Out on The Quantock Hills with Public Services students from Bridgwater and Taunton College today. They were being assessed at planning and leading their own ride. It was cold but dry as all the puddles were frozen and although little bit of snow in the air, sadly it didn't settle. Given the baltic conditions, all did well and we hurried back  to eat lunch in the (relative) warmth of the minibus.

Out with my first year Level 3 Outdoor Education students from Bridgwater and Taunton College today up on The Quantock Hills looking at Mountain Bike skills as we have moved from Water Based to Land Based activities. Less muddy than my last trip up there but still a few deep puddles lying about to play in.

More mud and 2 wheel mayhem on The Quantock Hills with L3 Public Services students from Bridgwater and Taunton College .

Out on The Quantock Hills today with Bridgwater and Taunton College Public Services students for an introduction to Mountain Biking. Lots of mud and forestry work going on which ended up with most of us covered head to foot and the bikes were filthy. However, as enjoyment is directly linked to how dirty you get, it was a very good day.

On The Quantock Hills today with my Bridgwater and Taunton College  L3 Outdoor Education students dodging the hail showers whilst riding around in pretty chilly temperatures. All of us were pretty wet, muddy and cold on arrival back at the Activity Centre and after washing the bikes down it was off to find somewhere with the heating on.

Last day of the Bridgwater and Taunton College L3 Outdoor Education residential so we visited Haldon Forest Park on the way home. After a skills check on the skills course and a group ride around the light blue trail, we split with me taking half the students around the Red Trail whilst Tyne guided the dark blue with the remainder. Only a couple of accidental offs during the morning before heading back to college to pack up and get home for some well deserved sleep. I am on the road at 5am tomorrow morning heading up to The Peak District