23 cadets take a trip of a lifetime!

Andrew Lester, SO2 Adventurous Training, led a group of 23 cadets to Knoydart, the great wilderness in the Highlands of Scotland, which is only accessible by boat or foot and he explains about the trip.

We began the expedition at the Cadet Training Centre in Dingwall near Inverness. On arrival the participants divided into four teams and spent the next 36 hours preparing, this included creating a transport plot, route planning, identifying campsites and attending a series of presentations on the history of Knoydart, mountain weather, access and conservation, mountain hazards and risk management.

Each team was given responsibility for different aspects of the expedition, which included transport, weather and environmental consideration, media comms, welfare and management. Once they had completed the pre-training, the group took a coach through the Great Glen, past Loch Ness and the Commando memorial to Fort William. They then jumped onto the Jacobite Steam train (Hogwarts Express) which took them over the magnificent Glenfinnan viaduct to the port of Mallaig. Once there they took a converted fishing boat to Inverie, where they spent the first night wild camping on the beach.

After the group arrived at Barrisdale, the tents were pitched and dinner was cooked, helping to lighten their rucksacks a little. Now it was time to begin planning their assault on Ladhar Bheinn.

Ladhar Bheinn is the biggest mountain on the peninsula standing at 1020m, a serious undertaking from sea level. The group began the assent early in the morning and after six hours of trekking and scrambling they all finally made it to the summit - a great achievement for people who are not used to looking after themselves in a harsh remote environment. They didn’t have much time to rest at the summit and soon needed to make their way down, which with tired legs on exposed rock ridges was definitely the trickiest part of the day. Finally, after a full 12 – 14 hours on the mountain, everyone was safely back in camp and after a late dinner, plenty of sleep and a big breakfast, it was time to pack up and move on to the next challenge.

Next stop was the summit of Luinne Bheinn (939m). In their teams and with tired legs they moved back to the Mam Barrisdale ridge (465m) which divides the peninsula. For some the physical and mental hardship of the last few days proved too much and they opted to wait on the ridge before all descending back to Inverie and the campsite. But for those who did go to onto the summit another 10 hours of adventure on the mountain was awaiting them - a great achievement considering they were already physically exhausted. The final night was spent sitting around a campfire watching the sun set exchanging tails and reflecting on the last few days.

All in all it was an adventure of a lifetime.