May bank holiday weekend (the first one) usually sees us head off on camp somewhere, and this year was no different. We headed off to Cornel Scout Campsite in Snowdonia for an extended weekend away. Cornel is about 10 minutes out of Llanrwst, just north of Betsw-y-coed and is a stunning location, at the end of a valley, by the side of a lake, miles from anywhere and much to the consternation of the Explorers, about 5 minutes drive to the nearest mobile signal.
It was a young group this year as schools have very inconsiderately put exams on when we want to go away, meaning many of the older Explorers were back home revising (although we did have one explorer who bravely brought there revision with them and managed to do a whole 5 minutes!). Friday evening was spent travelling there, (bank holiday traffic wasn't great), moving in and relaxing, ready for the adventures ahead.
Saturday - Moel Siabod
The main objective on Saturday was to climb the 872m high Moel Siabod, our route took us up the left hand side of the mountain on the picture above, up what is known as the most expensive ridge in the UK - Daear Ddu (some of them got it) and then down the right hand side. Getting out into the fresh air, in stunning scenery and having a great scramble is all part of the fun, but learning is important as well. The only way to learn how to read a map in my view is get out there and do it on the side of a mountain. The route even tested some of the leaders navigation skills.
The first part of the day took us through open countryside, through some woods, across streams before we started going up, up some more, then up a bit more - but the views were definitely worth the effort!
After a quick lunch stop to refuel, we were ready for the final scramble to the top and again were more than rewarded when we got there with the summit views, including looking over to the biggest of them all, Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in the background.
After a while taking in the views it was time to head down, sometimes the easy bit, sometimes a bit exhausting, but the best dressed man on the mountain took it in his stride - can you guess which one he is?
After a long hard day, it was back to Cornel, showers something to eat and a bit of time chilling and relaxing, which with no mobile coverage meant back to traditional ways of entertaining yourself - cards! Looking at some of the faces in these pictures a game of cards is way more complicated than I remember!
Sunday - Climbing and Abseiling at Union Rock
Sunday we didn't have to be up and off quite as early, which was good as there were a few tired teenagers after the previous days exertions! A slightly longer drive from Cornel, past Yr Wyddfa, through Llanberris and we arrived a Union Rock for a nice day of climbing and abseiling, in the one spot in the UK that was apparently dry on Sunday. Having a check of the weather and having a bit of local knowledge always pays off! Not only is climbing and abseiling great fun, there's also more stunning Snowdonia scenery to take in.
Did they enjoy it? Could they quite believe what they had achieved? Or is Adam just trying to work out if we were joking about the full Sunday roast that was coming up when we got back?
We weren't, we did have full Sunday dinner on return to the hut, Roast Beef (or Quorn Roast), Yorkshire Puds, Roast Potatoes and all the trimmings to celebrate a great few days. Unfortunately there are no pictures to prove it, as as soon as it hit the table it was being devoured, by both Explorers and Leaders.
Monday - Pack Up and Off Home
Monday morning was a pack up and go sort of a day. Which, without having the older Explorers along to organise the younger ones I was a little concerned about, especially as at the start of the weekend washing up wasn't being done and leaders had to step in to remind the Explorers what was expected. Despite working with teenagers for more years than I care to remember, they never fail to amaze me at how awesome they are. We set them a target of being packed and having the whole house cleaned by 12, which I thought might be ambitious, but they had learned, they had taken on board what had been said they worked together as a team and all got stuck in and it was done by 11:30. Yes a fantastic weekend on the mountains and climbing, yes they learned mountain skills, climbing techniques and navigation, but more importantly they learned how to look after themselves and each other and learned a whole set of skills for life. Bring on the summer!
*** A special mention has to go to one of our Leaders Mr Hairy Gaz for the vast majority of the photos (the decent ones). Bigfoot photography is available for any of your special occasions.***
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