BTEC Public Services Level 3 (Uniformed)– Peak District Expedition Training
On Thursday 12th May the BTEC Public Services group took part in a one day field trip to Edale in the Peak District in order to develop their skills in expedition planning, risk assessment and navigation. The field trip was designed to allow students to gather practical evidence towards units of their course under the watchful eye of experienced mountain leader Richard Ayres and course tutor Steve Mills.
The weather was unusually glorious for the planned route and this contributed to a fantastic trip, one which exceeded expectations in terms of the range of knowledge and experience gained. The group started in fine spirit and were soon challenged by the steep terrain and hot conditions. However, once on top of the crag, the views were stunning and the beauty of the isolated moorland environment could be appreciated by all.
Choosing the long route back to ‘basecamp’ i.e. the minibus was perhaps not some of the students’ preferred descent given the hot conditions but none the less the students rose to the challenge and can look back with a real sense of achievement on the day. Thanks goes to Mr Pike (Course Leader) for organising the field trip and Richard Ayres for imparting such a diverse range of knowledge about mountaineering and the natural environment throughout the day. Bear Grills eat your heart out!
Putting the course requirements to one side, the trip definitely left me with a feeling that we should all really get out more. If you haven’t been to this part of the world then it is highly recommended. We are now looking forward to other planned outings to the Roaches for rock climbing and Lake Bala for a camping /canoeing towards the end of term.