Page 75 - LBV 2017

INTER-COMPANY TRAINING & VISITS
OCdts McConnell and Crosby enjoy a brew
Having all passed with flying colours, we were looking forward to the next weekend of putting our knowledge to the test. After a comfortable night on camp, morning soon
came around bringing the proud Welsh weather with it. The forecast had warned us of heavy rain and wind speeds of up to 50mph, so we boosted group spirits with
a fried breakfast, and set out
waterproofed from head to toe.
Despite planning our route prior to departure, the poor weather conditions and curiosity of Major Bevin took us on an improvised route, and put our navigation skills to the test. A successful day of walking led us to our first night on a wild camp, and despite the poor weather, morale stayed high
throughout the day. Tents were firmly secured, however not much sleep was to be had due to the persistent winds. We emerged from tents at the sociable hour of 5am, and headed back to the minibus with bleary eyes!
All in all, it was an extremely enjoyable package which we would highly recommend. If you are thinking of signing up, we have a couple of top tips for your expedition...
1). Don’t listen to the end of the sentence when Major Bevin begins “let’s see if...”. Whether that be “let’s see if there’s a bridge over that river”, or “let’s see what’s in that cave up there”, chances are that you’re in for an interesting trip. We are now able to tell you that, no there is not a bridge across the river, but instead a midge infested obstacle course, and no there’s not a lot in that
cave up there! Sadly, this wasn’t common knowledge, and we had already clambered out of our toasty sleeping bags and scaled the steep slope on all fours...
2). The wild ponies in Snowdonia don’t like human attention. Consequently, half an
hour of chasing them with apples is not a good use of your time!
OCdt Murgatroyd
University of East Anglia
A (Kimberley) Company
...not much sleep was to be had due to the persistent winds.
THE LIGHT BLUE VOLUNTEER 73