Gwilym's Adventure Blog

     Blue Sky Day Day 3 was much brighter than the rest of the course. We started by looking at different types of tents and stoves and discussed the guidelines around cooking in tents. This as always caused lots of concern and horror that I would even consider it let alone actually do it. Navigation continued with varying legs at assessment level to see how the candidates got on. All candidates did well and some will be ready for assessment in the near future.

      The storm clouds rolling in Day 2 say the weather worsen and we went out for a few hours navigation practice. This morning I got the candidates to come up with a Navigation strategy but then give it to someone else to follow. This ment the strategy had to be good otherwise the other person would not end up at the objective. After lunch we continued but with the candidates navigating their own legs, as it got dark (and wetter) we continued plodding around the moor until we we in complete darkness. At this point the navigation got harder and it became more difficult to correct any errors made. However the occasioanl flash of lightening did show the way We made it back to the car by about 19:30hrs

Overcast and by far the best visibility all day     A couple of locals Today I was working for Andy Holborn on Day 1 of a Walking Group Leader Training Course. We have 11 candiates between us of mixed age and experience. The day started well (without waterproof trousers) but as expected soon changed to the normal bad weather that is so good for training navigation yet so nasty to be in. All my waterproofs had a good testing and managed to stand up to the weather, but then we were only out for 3 hours before retreating to the classroom for some theory input. Tomorrow is a long day out to include navigation into darkness. The question is not so much "Will I get wet?" but "How wet will I get?"

Andy testing out the routes     Today I took a group of Bridgwater College students climbing at Goblin Combe. The weather held out for us although it was a bit chilly at times. All students completed a number of climbs and an abseil as well as learning how to belay safely.

  Taking a break in the sun A quick leg stretch  Today I was in the classroom this morning but the afternoon was spent leading a group of students along the Bridgwater Canal for a 2 hour journey. The weather was changeable with the rain showers coming in fast and heavy yet inbetween it was quite warm and sunny. This was also the first day out for my new kayak and I am pleased with its performance on placid water. It seems to turn well and also holds its own in a straight line. Tomorrow is climbing, I hope the weather holds out for me

Project RIB at its worst   Quite a bit to do     All the interior ripped out ready for a rebuild Yesterday I picked myself up a winter project, a 4m Avon Searider RIB boat. The idea is to have it on the water for Easter and use it for Coasteering Support and ringo/banana boat rides. Being me of course I managed to put a hole in the tubes whilst putting it on the trailer but that doesn't matter too much as it is an easy repair. As I progress with the rebuild I will post on here

At the top of the Quantock Hills A weird bike we found, must be for twins! Me at Bicknoller Post Jonny practising puddle jumping Today I took Jonny out on The Quantock Hills to work on Navigation and Riding Skills. The weather was kind to us even though it had rain loads overnight. This made conditions somewhat wet and muddy which just added to the fun. We were riding for around 5 hours and covered a fair distance (almost the whole of the hills) before returning to the car and a quick skills session. My new kayak (the bigger one) The day ended with me making a dash to Performance Kayaks to purchase a new boat, a Pyranha Karnali which I have been after for a while.