Our intrepid students (and staff!) have successfully completed their 3 day Silver qualifying expedition this week, travelling from Portland Basin to Macclesfield. Thankfully they fared much better with the weather than last week’s unlucky Bronze group and arrived safely back at school in good spirits yesterday afternoon. Mr Taylor has given us his report…

This year our Silver group had the choice of 2 different expedition activities to complete their awards – half of them chose canoeing and half chose hiking. Each group had to travel a different route that would lead them to the same campsite at the night time.

The canoeists spent 3 days in open canoes journeying along the Manchester, Macclesfield and Peak Forest canals..

..whilst the hikers walked along the Goyt and Gritstone Trails..

..before both groups finished at Macclesfield. The 2 nights of camping were at Furness Vale and Higher Poynton..

The weather alternated between sunny and cool with just one massive downpour which was timed to perfection for the canoe group as they were travelling to the first campsite by bus. On arrival, they were greeted by the hikers huddled under a single tent waiting for the rain to stop..

The canoe route passed through some long dark tunnels, over aqueducts (one a hundred foot above the river Goyt) and through some beautiful countryside..

The walking route involved some excellent navigation along river valleys..

 ..a few meaty hill climbs..

and the odd detour due to a bit of ‘cow-phobia’..

Team work was the main thing on the agenda, with the groups working hard supporting and encouraging each other on and off the water..

At the finish everybody was really tired but they had all coped brilliantly with the demands of the trip and the discomfort of the expedition, staying enthusiastic and positive throughout. Yet again, a big thanks to the dedication and efforts of all the staff involved.

Well done, everyone!!! You can see more pictures of their adventure on our Facebook page here and in just a week’s time we will be letting you know how the Gold group have done on their 4 day expedition to North Wales – we think Mr Taylor may need a new pair of boots at this rate  🙂