During the first week of the Easter break, 17 Silver and 22
Gold Duke of Edinburgh students, accompanied by DofE Manager and Head of
Outdoor Education, Mr Steve MacPherson, travelled to the Brecon Beacons in
South Wales, to conduct their Silver assessed and Gold practice expeditions.
All the Silver groups were participating in a walking
expedition, whilst the Gold teams were tackling cycling, kayaking and canoeing.
The dreadful weather conditions made the already-challenging tasks harder
still; the high winds and torrential rain bore down on the Shiplake teams.
However, the weather did little to dampen the spirits of the students. Despite
Mother Nature’s best efforts to deter them, they performed well and remained
cheerful.
The Silver team hiked through the Brecon Beacons, loaded up
with supplies for camping, and stopping only to erect tents and sleep in the
great outdoors. Three days of hard graft saw the students from the Silver team
successfully complete their expedition, allowing them to travel back to
Shiplake to enjoy some well-earned holiday.
The Gold group remained in the Brecon Beacons in order to
complete the final day of their expedition. Taking to the river and the roads,
the students dug deep into their energy reserves, managing to ward off fatigue
to complete their challenges. Fortune looked favourably on them, banishing the
rain clouds and offering slightly improved weather conditions. This meant that
the Gold groups all completed their expedition a little drier than they had on
previous days!
The Gold groups now have until August, when they will journey to Scotland for their assessed expedition. The cyclists will embark upon sections of the West Highland and Great Glen Way, taking in the sights
the impressive highlands of Scotland have to offer. The kayakers and canoeists
will be travelling from Fort William, on the West Coast, through the Great Glen
and on to Inverness on the East Coast of Scotland, including two days across
Loch Ness.
Click here to view more photos from the event.
