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1st Walthamstow Scout Troop activity weekend in South Wales
Ten Scouts from the 1st Walthamstow Scout Troop made the long journey
into deepest South West Wales on the weekend of 19th-21st October
for an exciting water-based activity weekend. We stayed at the Paddlers
Outdoor Education centre in Llandysul, on the River Teifi, where
the very friendly staff made us feel right at home.
We started our activities on the Saturday morning, journeying further
up river by minibus to Cilgerran, from where we canoed in three-man
Canadian Canoes up almost to the mouth of the river where it meets
the sea. The river was completely flat and reflected the forest
on either side of the river like a mirror, making the canoeing a
relaxing start to the weekend, although a few sections of light
rapids and having to canoe against the in-coming tide kept us on
our toes. We were lucky enough to see plenty of birds on-route,
including kingfishers, herons and cormorants during the two hour
session. By the end of the journey we were all a lot better at controlling
and steering the canoes.
In the afternoon we all donned wet suits, buoyancy aids and helmets
for a River Swim outside the centre in the River Telfi. Despite
all wearing two wet suits the water was freezing cold and certainly
took your breath away. The Scouts were taught the correct ways of
jumping in, defensive and aggressive swimming and how to look out
for each other. We certainly needed the warm showers and hot chocolate
that was waiting for us on the return to the centre. After an excellent
dinner cooked by the centre, the Scouts settled down to watch the
not-so excellent Rugby World Cup final – although Estie, our
South African leader was rather pleased by the result.
On the Sunday we packed up our wet suits and headed in-land to
the Brecon Beacons where we had our final adventure of the weekend,
a gorge walk. This was an action packed couple of hours walking
up-stream through a gorge, which involved clambering over rocks,
edging along small ledges, climbing up and through waterfalls, pulling
ourselves through small cave systems and jumping into the freezing
cold water from a number of different heights. Along many sections
of the gorge you could see no other signs of civilisation, with
the plants and rocks giving you the feeling of walking through a
pre-historic landscape. Despite the cold water all the Scouts thoroughly
enjoyed the experience and after a quick packed lunch we started
the long journey back home, with many Scouts quickly nodding off
after all the activities of the weekend.
We had a fantastic, action packed and very tiring weekend and were
very lucky with bright and sunny weather. The staff and instructors
at Paddlers were all very friendly and helpful. Despite the long
journey to and from the centre, and the freezing cold water, we
would all happily go back for another visit!
Paul Lunn
Assistant Scout Leader
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