Forty eight cadets aged between 13 and 18 years from Greater London South East Sector, Army Cadet Force spend the half term break (27 May to 3 June 2023) in Eryri (Snowdonia), North Wales as part of an adventurous training package aimed at challenging and developing the young people by encouraging them to try new experiences and promoting a sense of adventure and challenge.
As part of the action-packed week, the cadets took part in a series of different adrenalin-filled activities which included: mountain walking, kayaking, coasteering rock climbing, and mine exploration. The week also included a local walk including a fascinating and educational visit in and around the Llanberis Slate Museum followed by a trip to Caernarvon. During the week, many cadets also made an effort in learning some Welsh words.
One evening we were also privileged to receive a presenter from the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Centre who provided some fascinating and also sobering tales of mountain safety and rescue which was very popular with the cadets and adults.
The young people are from a wide range of diverse and multi-cultural backgrounds from the South London Boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth, Lewisham, Greenwich Bexley and Bromley. The camp was an opportunity for cadets to learn outdoor skills and stretch comfort zones in a safe environment. It also strengthened their teamwork, confidence and communication skills as well as many other inter-personal skills.
Several cadets overcome their initial fear of water and swimming and quickly developed to the extent that they volunteered later on for quite challenging water tasks and on a following day coasteering which was an amazing achievement in building confidence and stretching their comfort zones.
Our adult staff also reported that their cadets were raving about the camp afterwards to adults and to each other.
The weather was exceptionally favourable - warm, sunny and blue skies all week, quite rare for Snowdonia!
Overall, it was a great really positive week. For some cadets this was the first time for many of them to access the great outdoors and from conversations during the camp it appears that some cadets had not really been out of London before. Therefore, this adventurous training camp was very important in building the motivation and wider outlook of cadets and adults in our Sector. And after the success of this camp, we aim to continue providing adventurous training in Snowdonia and elsewhere as part of our wider offer to our cadets.
The cadets and adults are immensely grateful to the various organisations that gave grants, specifically RFCA and the Ulysses Trust. The vehicle fleet and help of PSS staff was also critical in making the week such a great success. This support was really appreciated!
