Back in October, as a part of our drive to offer different activities from within the Unit, 14 Explorers and 4 Leaders spent a damp weekend camped at Llanthony Priory in South Wales in The Black Mountains.
Taking in a full days hike of over 22km, climbing from Capel-y-ffin up to Twmpa (or Lord Hereford’s Knob) in a gale, walking SW across to Rhiw y Fan and SE past the Grwyne Fawr Reservoir and returning through driving wind and rain via Bal Mawr back to the campsite, it was a good first experience for some of the Explorers, seeing how their equipment held up and what they could leave behind or might need to take next time. The overnight storm was quite spectacular too, luckily all of the tents held up.
With the many of the unit members showing more and more interest in undertaking longer distance hikes, both in the mountains and through open countryside, we also took the opportunity to see how they faired at micro navigation, with some interesting outcomes. All in all, a successful trip that they would love to do again.