Abingdonian 2017

49 www.abingdon.org.uk jackets, helmets and wellies and then it was off to the caves. Our instructor was Martin and Mr Deasy also came along with us. The first cave was small at the start but had a massive chamber at the end. It was the most amazing place I have ever seen in my life. The second cave was very tight, but everyone got through it. People were scared of it but they loved it by the end, and we were treated with a beautiful view. The third cave was called the white lady, named after the outline of a white lady in the cave. The water went up to our necks so we were all soaking wet. It was definitely my favourite activity and I’m sure others will agree. In the afternoon we went swimming. It was good to know that our legs still worked after the last few days! The pool was also very deep, making it a challenge to see who could touch the bottom first. Day 4: At the start of the day we were tired but we had to get ready for a nine mile walk, including climbing up three mountains. The first mountain was Crybyn which is 795m tall and the second mountain we walked up to was Pen Y Fan. We all stood at the top of the 886m mountain, posed for a picture and then went off to the third mountain which was called Corn Du. It is 873m meaning it’s the second highest peak in South Wales after Pen Y Fan. Luckily after the tough walk, a seat on the minibus rested our legs. In the evening we got into four random groups and we got ready for our last evening activity, problem solving. Each group had to go round completing all of the required tasks. Probably my favorite challenge was when there were 25 plates across the floor with each one having a different number on it. We had to remember the number on each plate. The hard part was to remember the sequence of the numbers. We worked really well as a team with each person remembering three different plates. We got it first time and completed it in the fastest time with Mr McDonnell. We were improving as a team but we had more tasks ahead so we went to Mr Jenkins. There was a vertical tube with holes in and a ping pong ball at the bottom so we had to pour water into the tube to get the ping ball out whilst also covering the holes. In the end after all the other tasks we got the results and my team were the winners. Day 5: On the last day, we knew that we were going on the gorge walk. The first part of the gorge walk was walking down a pitch black tunnel with no lights and just using sticks against the wall and a hand on the person in front of us. Then we walked down to the bottom of a waterfall where we could sit on the bottom and slide down. It was a short waterslide but still very exciting. We also got on our hands and knees to crawl underneath a waterfall and climb out onto the rocks. We were then allowed to fall backwards and flop into the water. It was very funny as most of us back flopped, making a huge splash upon impact. At the end of the walk, most of us were colder than we had ever been. After a brilliant week we got our bags ready and thanked all the teachers and instructors for letting us have this opportunity. A special thanks goes to Mr Jenkins, who organised the trip and the best week of our lives. Matthew Jarvis, 2SW and Daniel Keeble, 2SW Lent Term