A Landmark Adventure to Ogwen Cottage, Snowdonia - A Student Perspective
On Monday the 26th of July, the majority of students from Years 8, 9, and 10 embarked on an extraordinary five day trip to an Outward Bound centre six hours away, in the north of Wales. The week consisted of many challenging, exciting, and wildly different activities, even including a two day expedition.
Arriving at the centre on the coach, I found the scenery of Snowdonia National Park quite impressive, feeling the strong presence of the vast mountains that surrounded us. After we had familiarised ourselves with the accommodation and the instructors, we were split into three mixed groups, so that each group could carry out their own activities each day. In my group, for example, the first, second, and fourth nights were spent at the centre, while the third was spent camping on top of a mountain.
I found the outings with my group highly memorable; our instructor, Dom, took us for walks around "llyns" (Welsh lakes), telling stories about the Dragons and Giants who inhabited the area. We went for a "scramble" (somewhere in between hiking and rock climbing) up a mountain, followed by a walk down to a llyn where we had a canoeing race. And if that wasn't enough, on the same day, another instructor called Paul led us to a large pool in a stream full of waterfalls, to have a dip in the freezing water.
Of course, there was also the expedition. We were driven to the foot of a large mountain which used to serve as a slate mine, and hauled our large rucksacks up a steep lane, until we began following the map as the crow flies, over marshy fields, to the llyn next to which we would set up out tents for the night. We then decided to spend the evening walking up another mountain, Dom's favourite mountain, to watch the sunset from its summit. As soon the view from that top of the mountain met my eyes, I no longer felt worn out from the hours of walking before. The next morning, we walked downhill to Llyn Dinas, the lake where we would be picked up and driven back to the centre, for a hot shower. Had my map reading skills not been so atrocious, I would not have unneccessarily led the group down and back up the steep side of a mountain; in hindsight, I think these extra kilometres were a good extension to the overall challenge, although they did not make me particularly popular at the time.
As well as pushing us physically, Dom also engaged us psychologically in his activities; every challenge we faced was a metaphor for daily life, helping us build resilience and respect for each other. Moreover, we learnt how to properly pack a rucksack with all of the essentials for an expedition, and how to use the equipment which we were given, like cooking on the camping stoves and using water filtration tablets.
Overall, I consider the whole experience precious; the friendly instructors, outdoor adventures, working as a team, and the masses of good food in the dining hall, will always be remembered very fondly.
By Kai Year 10
