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Welbeck Trail (June 2011)

Early afternoon on Saturday 11th of June, all of the Lower Sixth were met on the parade square by the buses that would take them to Capel Curig, North Wales. The journey was uneventful although one bus did break down en route however despite this, a few hours later than planned, the whole of 10 entry had arrived safely, eaten and were enjoying the first night of Exercise Welbeck Trail.

It was, perhaps, less a case of 'enjoyed' the first night than 'eaten alive' so it is unsurprising that it didn't take long before the insect repellent was out and smeared over every bit of visible skin! This encouraged everyone to get an early night in either tents or accommodation to prepare for the days ahead.

The first day started early with cold showers and breakfast at 0700hrs. We then met our instructors and left for the mountains at 0900hrs. For most people, myself included, it was our first experience of the mountains of Snowdonia so the morning waterproofs check was useful as the weather is very unpredictable. Just as we left it started to rain but we shrugged it off as a light shower and headed out.

The 'light shower' then escalated and continued all day until the evening, thoroughly testing everyone’s waterproofs and tent assembling skills. As we ascended the mountains the clouds met us half way meaning at some points visibility was down to just metres. The Austrian Exchange students were having a ball! We arrived back at the camp where some people were surprised to find their tents floating in a small pond so the evening was spent drying out kit and relaxing in the warm games room and on social facilities.

The second day was less windy but more importantly dry which meant we could, for the first time, actually see our surroundings and enjoy the Exercise. The group sizes were around six to eight people so over the first few days you really got to know them and the instructor well which would prove useful for the last few days when we would go on a small expedition.

The third day was probably the best day for most of the students as there was sunshine meaning it was out with the sun cream, shorts and t shirts and away with the waterproofs, exactly what the students wanted. The good weather also meant that we could see where all of the weird jet engine sounds were coming from as we saw the RAF Hawks flying beneath us in the valley, not something everyone can say they have seen. There were also other larger jets such as Typhoons and Tornadoes above us giving us something else to look at, but most of the time was spent looking at the ground in front of you trying to find the next place to step which wouldn’t involve you slipping down the mountain.

The last two days was a time where we could test the skills which we had learnt during the week such as map reading, camp craft and mountain walking skills. Some of the more enthusiastic leaders decided that one night wasn’t long enough so some teams were already out on their second day whereas the rest of us were preparing to leave for one night. The food from the cook house would be missed as we were issued with our ration packs for the trip, some of the menus not being the most appetising but the Welbeck spirit carried us through a truly successful and pleasurable expedition.

On Thursday night all of the teams arrived back at camp for warm showers and a BBQ - a lovely end to a thoroughly enjoyable Exercise. However it wasn't over just yet, as after we arrived back at Welbeck on Friday we had just one day for a full kit turn around to be ready for Exercise Welbeck Challenge starting at 0400hrs on Sunday - that’s right, 0400hrs on a Sunday!

Simon Marr, Portland 10E

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