Gwilym's Adventure Blog

Is that a Golf Course?   Weather closing in   Misty views The final day saw us in torrential rain navigating around the South East corner of the Moor trying (in vain) to stay dry. We also saw one of the oddest sights, a golf course on a very steep hill on the edge of the moor. I had a different 3 candidates to the last 2 days and they were able to find all the points I asken them to go to.

    Crazywell Pool   Looking for our next point   More amazing fungus as promised Day Two of the Walking Group Leader Assessment saw us on Dartmoor just south of Princetown looking for various contour features. The weather was poor to say the least and I particularly enjoyed the horizontal rain during the afternoon. We stayed out into darkness to continued with poor visibility navigation

On the first leg of the journey   Crossing the stream   Amazing Fungus Today I was working on Day 1 of a Walking Group Leader Assessment on Dartmoor for Andy Holborn. We have 6 candidates and split into 2 groups on the North side of the moor for some fine navigation work. We stayed out in the rain and continued into darkness before returning to the cars somewhat damp. Weather conditions are poor with heavy rain at times. The ground is very soggy undefoot and will flood easily if the rain continues throughout the weekend. Streams are getting wider and becoming more difficult to cross safely. There are a huge number of interesting fungi around and no doubt I will post a few more photos of it over the next 2 days.

At the start Stripped down Complete with winch and rollers Today I was due to take a group out Mountain Biking but the weather (particularly the wind) was too bad, so I spent the day renovating the trailer to go with my RIB. I converted it from a winchless bunktrailer for inflatable boats into a winched roller trailer for the RIB. Alhtough not the hardest job in the world, undoing some of the rusty bolts took a lot longer than expected.

Students battling against the wind   The Locals   Serious wind under the M5   My Dad and I This morningI was working for Bridgwater College taking Public Service students on a trip along the canal from Bridgwater YMCA to The Boat and Anchor Pub (no we didn't go in) as part of their course working towards the BCU 2 Star Award. The afternoon was more peaceful as my Dad asked me to take him on the same trip. The weather held out apart from a quick shower in the morning but there was some pretty stromng wind about which made paddling difficult.

Journey along the Canal   Under the M5   Fighting the wind Trying to ignore my leaking trousers Today I was working for Bridgwater College and took a number of students on a trip along the Bridgwater to Taunton Canal as part of their 2 star training. We paddled from the YMCA to the Boat and Anchor Pub at Huntworth and back.  They were allowed to pick either a Kayak or Canoe and paddled for 2 hours demonstartinmg their paddle skills and ability to stick together as a group. I had two groups during the day and both completed the same trip in a similar time. Unfortunately I have deiscovered my dry tousers are no longer correctly named and they leaked casuing me to spend most of the day with a wet backside. Nice!

      Today I was working for Bridgwater College and took 12 Public Services students rock climbing and abseiling at Goblin Combe. I set up a number of top ropes and an abseil and the students were able to work together at both belaying and climbing. The weather held out for us though I am not so hopefull for the coming weekend.