Page 6 - Cadet Review Autumn 2023

Joint Service News FAIRBOURNE
ADVENTURE TRAINING
By Corporal Macey Ward and Cadet Amalia Malic-Doe
The Fairbourne Adventure Training (AT) week is a joint event run by the two Yorkshire Wings, South and West Yorkshire, together with Central and East Yorkshire and is a joint effort by both Wings and the Regional AT staff.
The staff and cadets travelled to Fairbourne, located to the west of the Snowdonia National
Park, and on the coast, on Saturday 19 August and
on arrival got stuck in immediately into preparing mountain bikes and other kit for the many activities they would be participating in during the week including mountain biking, hill and mountain walking, canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding, white water rafting and many other activities.
DAY 1: The cadets and adults took part in mountain biking at the Coed Y Brenin mountain bike centre on various trails and walked the Precipice Trail nearby Llyn Cynwch reservoir, which was an 8 km walk over a variety of ground with the highlight being the walk along the edge of the ridge looking down in to the river valley and out towards the coast at Fairbourne, where there were some spectacular views.
DAY 2: The fun continued; in the morning the
staff and cadets took part in water sports such
as paddleboarding, canoeing and kayaking. The cadets focused on developing teamwork and communication, in addition to developing a new skill. It’s safe to say that all the cadets had an amazing time even though some fell in the water.
“I was excited to do kayaking and atmosphere made me look forward to the activities that are coming in the week” said Cadet Darcey Jones (59 Huddersfield Sqn)
On the Mawddach Trail, the cadets enjoyed mountain biking. Although it was very tiring we learnt a lot about resilience and having fun along the way. We also learnt to keep our spacings, did a balance exercise and had an awesome time which built on our skills learnt at Coed Y Brenin.
DAY 3: The cadets went out on a trip to the rock slabs above Barmouth, including walking out or back over the famous foot and railway bridge over the estuary, to challenge their abilities at rock climbing and abseiling. These exercises built a better team through trust and guidance from the people around them, everyone made so many new friends through this
fun activity.
“I am so happy to get the opportunity to
do these activities I got to know more new people.” Cadet Amalia Malic-Doe (2527 Lawnswood Sqn) said, whilst one of the
other cadets added “I am really proud to get
the chance to learn how to be the belayer and I loved to see when people who I had helped made it to the top and felt a sense of accomplishment themselves.”
I am really proud to get the chance to learn how to be the belayer and I loved to see when people who I had helped made it to the top
After this fun and adrenalizing activity we went down to the beach and played rounders and football. It really built together a stronger team and helped us all realize that making mistakes is fine and you just keep on playing. Everyone enjoyed playing in the sand and building sandcastles, most of them were based on RAF camps we had already been to. We
all had so much fun and we were all treated to an ice-cream afterwards. We all thought this was the best day so far.
DAY 4: We were split into two different groups, one for low level walking and the other for high level walking. The low level walkers were further split into 2 sub-groups and we each plotted our own route on route cards. This was an opportunity for those who were not as confident to develop their map skills
and put it into real life use. Most had this walk signed off as a Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s award practice expedition, following the previous routes followed.
It was full of winding paths and breathtaking views including waterfalls and lakes. We trekked steep slopes and walked alongside crags. We walked past many sites including a clear blue lake and slate mines.
When the other group reached their destination they arrived at a gate that started their journey to the top of the mountain. They first came across a roman staircase allegedly dating back to as early as 48 AD, but which in reality is probably a middle ages pack horse route. Once they reached a good height they used their map skills to plan a route, using contour lines, compasses and features to guide their way. Due
to low clouds the team only managed to get to just above 500 metres and with very low cloud and a
lack of visibility they returned to their start point by a different route.
“The walk was challenging however due to the support and determination of the team we
pushed through and got to our destination” said Corporal Hollie Kirkman (35 Wetherby Sqn).
“I was really happy with my team because if we didn’t work together then we would
have probably ended up being lost” added Corporal Macey Ward (195 Grimsby Sqn), whilst Amalia Malic-Doe added “I think
6 CADET REVIEW AUTUMN 2023