Arthog

Year 6 Adventures in Arthog

At the end of January, Year 6 enjoyed an action-packed few days in Arthog, Wales.  Their teamwork skills were tested to the limits and the many challenging activities such as gorge walking and orienteering provided some wonderful adventures.

After a winding journey and plenty of ‘ooohs’ and ‘aahhhs’ at the beautiful Welsh scenery, Year 6 arrived at Arthog centre just before 1pm. The children soon knuckled down to the hard task of making beds – not as easy on a top bunk as some found out – their first foray into teamwork!

The first day’s activities ranged from balance games in the rope area, to rope swing group work and a quick walk to the beach. A hearty dinner was followed by a lovely night-time walk along the Fairbourne railway.

After tucking into a hearty breakfast, the groups were split into underground mining, canoeing, gorge walking and hiking for the first full day of activities.

Mr Palmer’s group scrambled energetically up the floors within an old slate mine, ate lunch by candlelight and found out about the history of the slate industry before emerging at the top of Wrysgan mine then hiking back down to the minibus.

Meanwhile the other groups both had a wonderful time gorge walking and canoeing – two perennial favourites. The gorge provided its usual thrills and spills of freezing water in wellies and culminated in the infamous ‘gorge splash’. Canoeing on the lake was great fun; ball games and races were enjoyed and no matter what the boys say – Mrs Jones won the race!

Miss Gibbons’ group loved their hike over the ‘dragon’s back’ hill of Pared y Cefn Hir with lunch inside a temporary shelter, before making a bushfire and finishing off the day with some beach dune scrambling.

Burgers and curry to cater to all tastes were wolfed down at dinner before the last activity of the day – the night line – which allowed students the opportunity to show their leadership skills.

‘Wacky Wednesday’ as the instructors now refer to it, saw the children starting to get a little tired from the challenging activities and later nights. However the day was still as action-packed as any other. The grey, slate town of Blaenau Ffestiniog is well known for its slate mines and two groups went into the Wrsygan mine.

Miss Gibbons’ and Mr Palmer’s groups ventured to a beach slightly further away with excellent ‘slab’ type rocks for scrambling and climbing. The students enjoyed finding crab claws, as well as trying the challenging harnessed climbs as the waves crashed into the shore just metres away.

The evening’s activity was a quieter one: a fun, mini orienteering exercise around the centre, which tired legs, minds and bodies hugely appreciated!

On the last full day Miss Gibbons’, Mr Cothey’s and Mr Palmer’s groups finally got round to the canoeing and gorge walking activities. Canoeing was tricky, with the wind determined to blow everyone onto the far side of the lake. Gorge walking, as ever was exhilarating with some brave souls fully submerging after the mini natural water slide.

Climbing on the beach with Ms Guidotti’s group allowed the opportunity to scale a large rock slab and attempt some ‘weasling’ through boulders which provided some hilarity.

Mrs Jones’ group ventured a little higher into the wind for their climb, with some children proving that scaling the heights in the cold was very much their cup of tea.

In the evening, leader Jay, a legendary storyteller, regaled the children with the story of the Welsh faerie folk under the waterfalls of a Cadair Idris, followed by Abraham Wood’s travellers’ tale of poor old Jack the farmer. It was a wonderful end to a busy week.