Small walk throught the Valley of Rocks

Getting Casper used to the Canoe on a Sunny day in Tiverton @JonnyC: Launching from Tiverton onto the Canal, good parking and facilities and a good launch, but a pedestrian chicane between the car park and the canal necessitates two people to get the Canoe into position. A very challenging paddle with Casper wanting to be everywhere, all the time, including in the murky canal water. Perseverance eventually resulted in managing to paddle a few bridges upstream. Some glimmer of Casper calming do ...

OSCE mocks in Bournemouth led to desperate measures @AdamEvans: With 3 consecutive days of 'school' and tired of commuting 1h30 before and after each day, I opted for a cheap camp site close to campus. To my surprise, I found a £12pp pn camp site near (ish) pool in Lytchett Minster. On arrival, there was no reception, no staff, and no sign of anyone. Called the landline I found online, and was advised to pitch wherever and the warden would probably come round and see me later on (he did not). I opted for ...

Swildon's short dry, twenty, inclined rift, sump 1 & return via same route, normal water levels - party of 6 @JonnyC: Deciding to relive memories of "Cold dips and chilly showers - April 2015" where KC & CC successfully (albeit slowly) tackled Sump One and to push a little bit further from "What an adventure! - 9 Jul 2022" where AC took his first steps into Swildon's Hole, a trip was (eventually) organised to also give NK her first trip of this amazing cave. Due to the nature of the party, progress ...

Trialling a roof tent on the adventure bus. @JonnyC: Having agreed first refusal, decided to trial the roof tent on the adventure bus. Calendar being full, and an unescapable commitment the Saturday day time pushed us toward a brief overnight camp in the rain. Arriving at dusk, pitching was relatively quick amongst two other vans. The mud and rain made us change our mind on testing the awning. A pleasant evening was had, despite all local wood being too damp to burn (lesson learned, carry a li ...

Mines Rescue familiarisation trip to one of our scheme Coal mines.

Wet moorland walk after night in the van @AdamEvans: After a blustery, rainy night, the prospect of going out on the moors seemed rather bleak. However, we mustered the bravery to face the weather with the promise of a cafe only 3k down a decent path into Princetown. Just as well as TJ realised his boots had died on a previous trip, only at the time of deployment. After a gentle jaunt along the motorway footpath, escorted by Jimmy the black lab, we arrived in Princetown with birthday pleasantries complet ...

First joint training day to learn intra operable capabilities and network between teams @RichM: Great venue in the disused Livox quarry which offered mixed terrain including cliff, rough ground and a lake. First class catering provided by Rapid Relief Charity. Bases included water rescue from land, cliff scaling using a ladder from a boat, team building challenges, rope rescue casualty care, cave rescue (pff site Piccadilly cave) hauling up 3 pitches using Larkin frame and Z rigs. Very effective ne ...

Another brief paddle after work, cooler conditions but dry and still @JonnyC: On arrival at Tithe Barn, I was greeted by a Kayak trailer which turned out to be a Corsham cub troop intending to go for a paddle when their ticket holder escaped the motorway traffic. We were set up and in the water fairly swiftly, this time heading into the town. Going wasn't as easy due to the shallow waters and volume of reeds, but we managed to navigate. It wasn't long before we were upon the weir, and starting ...

Playtime and technique improvement on the Avon from Tithe Barn, SUP & Canoe @JonnyC: Given the relative proximity of Bradford on Avon to my workplace, a plan was hatched to RV there after work. We launched the SUP and the Canoe and pootled around avoiding the club rowers. Danka and Noemi shared the SUP and took it in turns to be at the helm. Before long they were headed down river and I had to pull fairly hard to catch them. We enjoyed the evening sun as we paddled down to Avoncliff weir, sto ...