There were five weekend expeditions for Outdoor Pursuits this year. The first, to Snowdonia last October, saw 15 members of the school walking and scrambling over the rocky ridges of the area, taking in the famously narrow Crib Goch arête, the north ridge of Tryfan, and Bristly ridge. Poor weather prevented them from visiting all 14 of Snowdonia’s 3000ft peaks, but they made a good effort.

In February there was an expedition to the Black Mountain, the wildest area of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The aim of the trip was to practice navigation in preparation for Ten Tors.

March saw teams out on Exmoor, gaining experience of camping skills as well as walking long miles across the moor. Temperatures plunged to -4^oC overnight, but the days were clear and sunny. Everyone completed their routes, despite some interesting approaches to route choice.

Teams revisited Dartmoor for the final weekend’s preparation for Ten Tors. Strong wind, rain and hail proved a real test for the teams as they battled their way around their routes, but they all found their way to the overnight campsite near the River Dart.

 

Teams from King Edward’s School have taken part in the Ten Tors expedition for many years, and have a proud record of completing their expeditions well inside the allocated time. 

This year’s Year 10 team were among the first groups to complete the 35 mile expedition. They reached their 8^th tor on Day 1, which is as far as they are allowed to go on the first day, and finished the route just before midday on Sunday. The team was ably led by Rosie Coombe, and confidently navigated around the moor by Helen Bartlett, with help from Nick Green, Jake Oldaker, Alex Hill and Ieuan Tranter.

This year’s Year 12 team missed out on finishing the event two years ago when it was cancelled due to flooding, so they were especially keen to do well. They went past their 8^th tor on the first day, covering over 35 miles in 14 hours of continuous walking – an amazing feat. They were through their 9th tor as soon as it opened at 6:00am on Sunday morning, and walked strongly to finish the expedition shortly before 10am, the first team to complete their particular route. The team was led by Louis Bougeard. Alex Hart did most of the navigation, assisted by Alan Bowman, Nora Spicer, Laurence Baines and Peter Medhurst.

Lastly – but by no means least – Nathan Pictor in Year 12 completed the 55 mile expedition with a team from his previous school.

Next year’s highlights include another visit to Snowdonia, and a longer expedition to the Rocky Mountains.

The Expedition Society is a must for anyone who enjoys mountain and hill walking and a chance to visit some of the more remote and spectacular scenery in Great Britain and abroad.