On Thursday 4th April, 14 intrepid adventurers, supervised by James Bridges and Victoria Briggs, set out for Exmoor. With poor weather and three days of hiking, totalling 45-50km, on the horizon, the bus journey down to Minehead was a quiet one. Friday 6.00am came about all too soon and the group was checked and ready to start their adventure from Withypool, Exmoor. During the weeks of training, Mr Bridges had always been amazed at how both the DofE Silver groups were so resilient to the concept of many contour lines being so close together on the OS Map. Both groups had planned their routes with the intention to tackle the hills straight on, as opposed to trying to circumvent them. It was a very brave idea and only slightly scuppered when the groups were travelling to the start point and realised the awesomeness, and steepness, of the Exmoor valleys.
By the half way check point on Day 1, both groups may as well have climbed a mountain each, and hiked through a continual rain shower, however their positivity was what shone through. It was fantastic to see.
Saturday’s (Day 2) weather was better. With the rain showers clearing, the students had the opportunity to take in the stunning scenery that Exmoor has to offer. Quoting one of the students, “we were 20 minutes early to a check point so we took our rucksacks off, removed our waterproofs and just sunbathed for a while.” The day was uneventful for the most, apart from the emergency services being called out to aid a wild pony that had managed to tangle itself in barbed wire. The boys in the group decided it worthwhile to show Mr Bridges, dragging him up the hillside only to decide that they could not help the situation and instead ‘surf’ down what basically was a scree slope of loose stones, all in the dark.
The final day arrived and the groups were keen to get going. Perhaps it was the thought of a Sunday roast, or MacDonald’s that drove them onwards. Unfortunately the fog had set in and with both groups heading for the moors, the groups knew that the walk would be a cold and difficult one. Waiting at the checkpoint for them to pass, Mr Bridges’ car registered a chilly 4 degrees. Through the mist they came though. Once again, considering the situation, all of the students were incredibly cheerful. As time went on, one group decided not to appear at the checkpoint but at another location ‘fairly’ close by and a couple of hours later. We shall say no more about that but would add that when Mr Bridges finally met up with them, they were relieved to have been located, were assisted with their location and sent back on their way. All got to the finish line. All passed their DofE Silver expeditions.
Congratulations to all of the students! Well done for all of their hard work! Next goal is DofE Gold!
