Tales from Bannau Brycheiniog!
Several of our Year 7 students have penned their memories from the recent week-long residential trip for the whole year group to the Brecon Beacons.
Monday, 2nd June
It was an idyllic, sunny day when we arrived at our accommodations in Llangorse Multi-Activity Centre, in the Brecon Beacons. This place would be where we were going to stay for the next week.
It began in Wilson’s, where all of 7S gathered around in our form rooms with Mr Burton, Mr Walters, Dr Clayden and Miss Riser. Once the coach had arrived, we then walked to the playground, ready to board our coaches. We made sure our luggage was safely stowed inside the coach, then off we went to Wales!
The coach journey was long (about five hours long, with a 45-minute break) but was still entertaining as I managed to get a seat at the very front of the coach with my friend Luke, and I talked to him for practically the whole journey, as well as looking outside the window to admire the “view” (we were on motorways most of the time). We stopped, after two hours on the coach, to have lunch at Membury Services.
After another two hours, we had arrived at Llangorse, and everyone was excited. We found out our dormitories. Afterwards, we had a "briefing" about how we should behave.
That evening, Llangorse was buzzing with excitement about the coming days. We would be heading to Big Pit Mining Museum on Tuesday, before scaling the highest peak in South Wales, Pen-y-Fan, on Wednesday. It would be an amazing week!
Tuesday, 3rd June
The next day, it was raining a little. That would be fine, as we were spending most of the day indoors. After we ate breakfast, we were ready to go on the coach again to Big Pit Mining Museum. Big Pit used to be an operational coal mine, part of the South Wales coal mines.
It was an exciting experience for us because almost none, if not none, of us had ever been down a coal mine before. It would also allow us to learn what life was like as a coal miner. After arriving at Big Pit, we split up into three groups, and each group went down the coal mine in turn. Any items containing batteries are illegal in a coal mine. Therefore, we could not wear watches or bring any phones.
The instructor told us that coal mining was a perilous activity. This was due to the high levels of methane gas present in the coal mine, which could lead to explosions. The tracks on the ground carry carts full of coal to the shaft.
After ascending back up to the surface, we went into the museum. Here, there were many posters and objects that coal miners would have owned and used. The members of staff at Llangorse had kindly provided us with packed lunches.
Lastly, we went into the gift shop to buy souvenirs that we wanted before boarding the coach again to head back to Llangorse.
We then had dinner, which was a pleasant affair because we had time to talk to our friends. Lastly, we took an 8km walk to Llangorse Lake and back.
Wednesday, 4th June
Today, we would be scaling Pen-y-Fan, the tallest peak in South Wales. After breakfast, we boarded the coach again to head to the car park, called Pont ar Daf. We then started climbing the path to Pen-y-Fan.
The path was quite steep, with an uneven surface, which made it difficult to climb. However, we took regular breaks up the mountain. These breaks meant we could successfully climb the mountain. After roughly one and a half hours, we reached the summit of the mountain, at 886m high, where there was a plaque. We stopped for lunch at the very windy (and rainy!) summit. Here, we were incredibly careful to keep all the wrappers safely stored in our bags.
After we had lunch, we started our descent down the mountain, following the Storey Arms Path. Later, we went to the Tommy Jones obelisk, which shows where a boy tragically died from hypothermia and exposure. It was also a tough descent because, again, the paths were rough and uneven. We arrived back at the car park 1 hour earlier than expected, which unfortunately meant we had to wait an hour for our coach to arrive.
On arriving back in Llangorse, we had dinner, and before long, all of us were exhausted and ready to go to bed. Tomorrow, we will have a day full of activities, like horse riding and archery.
Thursday, 5th June
Today was our activities day. It was also our last full day in Llangorse because tomorrow we would be heading back to London. Thankfully for me, today we didn’t need a coach. “Why?” you may ask. Because we were staying at Llangorse Multi-Activity Centre, our activity centre was only 200 metres away from where we were staying.
Our “class” of forty-two people split into four groups, with one going to each of the four activities. The four activities included horse riding, abseiling, indoor climbing and caving, and archery. My group went to do archery first, in fairly rainy weather! It was fun, with each of us managing to hit the target at least once. After that, we proceeded to ride horses for one and a half hours. It was a new experience for me because I had never ridden a horse before. Despite my horse being slow, I had a pleasant time in the woods.
Afterwards, we had lunch in the café before participating in some more activities. For me, that was abseiling and indoor climbing (and caving!).
Indoor climbing was something I already knew, having partaken in it on my Year 4 residential. This time, I knew it would be harder. Before that, we did “bridging”, which is where there are ropes in the air and you walk across them. There was also an indoor “cave”. It was a bit like a maze but without any dead ends. However, only 1 route led to the exit, whilst the others returned to the entrance. I did manage to exit where you were meant to, and I think most people did as well.
Lastly, abseiling. The activity where you walk down a vertical wall. It looks very scary, and I thought that as I approached the start. However, be assured, because once you start, it isn’t that scary. There was a small wall (about 2 m high) and a big wall (about 50m high). I chose to abseil on the big one, and the “risk” paid off. It felt like a great achievement near the end, and something that I can be proud of over the years.
Friday, 6th June
I couldn’t help but wake up feeling excited, as today we were heading back to London. We had our “farewell” breakfast in the café, and after triple-checking I hadn’t left anything behind, we made our way onto the coach. Again, after about 2 hours, we stopped at Membury Services, to have our packed lunches. I also used my leftover money to buy a doughnut.
We then returned onto the coach after a 45-minute break, but sadly this time, there was some traffic on the M25. Mr Burton told us our ETA of 2:20pm on the M25. I was delighted at this news: we would be leaving school earlier than usual.
Sadly, our residential trip ended the moment we stepped back on the concrete playground of Wilson’s, although I was looking forward to being with my family again!
Conclusion
This trip was my first at Wilson’s, and a very enjoyable one as well. We learnt what life was like in the countryside and, of course, to promote team spirit within the houses. This trip is one of the most memorable that I have been on, and I can’t wait for more of these in the future!
Report written by Leo W (Year 7)
Brecon Beacons & Llangorse - Day 1
My heart was racing with exhilaration from the moment I woke up until the moment we got onto the coach. The teachers coming with us were Mr Burton, Dr Clayden, Mr Walters and Miss Riser. Once I had sat down, I was immersed in conversations about our place of stay, the activities like Pen Y Fan and Big Pit and even how late some would stay up! After a tedious 2.5 hours, we stopped at Membury Service Station, for a quick lunch. I was astonished to see how many people went immediately for KFC, but I went for a sublime yet humble glazed donut from Krispy Kreme.
After another long rest of the journey, we could perceive a pink farmhouse which would be our abode for the trip. After a quick stretch and unravelling, I raced down to the lush grassy area where we played cricket, where many arguments were made but an overall enjoyable sport. After a surprisingly early dinner, we had to write diaries about our day, which was not a great time. As I drifted to sleep, I was woken up at 2am because of a defective watch!
Big Pit - Day 2
After a 45-minute journey, we could see a dilapidated train for coal transport and lofty towers (used for lifting the elevators to the mines, I learned later). As we rushed through the gift shop, we descended 90m to the dim, damp mines. We traversed past eras of mining, using machines to get the most of the versatile, valued coal. Astonishingly, horses (shown by the stables) were kept to transport coal and were looked after than the workers and they were more valued than workers! As I went past, I realised how important mines were in the development of machines and power (electricity and heat) in the UK and the world. As the day ended, many rushed to the gift shop to buy snacks and souvenirs.
Pen-Y-Fan - Day 3
After months of waiting, it was time to climb Pen-Y-Fan, rumoured to have unpredictable weather. It was certainly a lot further than the walk from the Lower school to the Science Block! As we arrived, I was entranced, staring at the mountains, hills and valleys all in one place. I also saw Pen-Y-Fan, with its iconic flat top and 886m of walking distance. When Dunfield finally arrived, we still went after them with Mick and his border collie, Arwin (a Welsh name). As we started and stopped with intervals of walking and relaxing, I only realised how gruelling it would be with the uphill slope and slippery terrain. We were also surprised to see DofE Year 12’s and our new house captain. The view near the top was brilliant, we were overlooking other hills with a certain serene atmosphere. As we reached the top, it was frigid, and we were surrounded by cloud, gusts and I was somehow prepared for this. After a brief lunch, we headed down another memorable mountain, Corn Du, which was more vertical but much quicker. We were now using less effort as if going down a slide and we passed more lush green plants and long grass. As I reached the bottom, I told myself I had climbed the highest mountain in South Britain (and boast about it) !
Activities - Day 4
This was the day where we would be doing activities at Llangorse like horse riding, caving and much more. We started with indoor activities. Caving was extremely exciting as we crawled through small crevices in the midnight-black environment. We also went through high ropes, where we went over numerous different paths of bridges over 10m above ground. As well as this, we went to the climbing wall and the abseiling one.
After lunch, we were sent outside to the vile stables with specialized boots and a hat. I was chosen to ride Flower, a white horse with black spots and a perfect mane. We first had practice around a track, with horses diverting because people weren’t pulling their reins. It seemed that you didn’t really need the reins as they were so well-trained. Afterwards, we took a stroll around the farm, with some horses going for a bite of the flora! Once we were relieved, we headed to archery, which was a vast outdoor space. At first, many were nowhere near the target, flying away to a non-existent place. As we progressed, many hit near the bullseye or on the bullseye. My arm turned as red as a tomato because of the friction of the swift arrows.
Last Day - Day 5
It was quite a sad atmosphere as we headed out to the coach as we left this stunning place. Halfway through, we stopped at Membury Services, and I got a small snack with my meagre pocket money. As we continued, I started to recognise all the local shops and the astro pitches of Wilson’s. I was quite shocked but elated that we came back at 2.20pm. Although I was sad about leaving Llangorse, I was happy to relax on my sofa and watch TV for the rest of the day.
Report written by Nikhil N (Year 7)
Brecon Beacons Report
There I was, standing in the hot summer air as we swarmed the coach, eager for a good seat. The three-hour drive was the least of our worries as some of us fretted about our limited pocket money while some of us were checking if we had packed everything. The journey, however, was punctuated by the service station, a paradise to us boys, naturally. Sweets were guzzled and KFC and Burger King were consumed with relish. Finally, we arrived at Baskerville Hall.
The next day, we set off to Big Pit. It was a fascinating experience, if not a tad scary, under so much rock. After we finished, souvenirs were bought at the gift shop, I got my hands on a drawstring pouch emblazoned with the mine’s emblem, and we returned to Baskerville Hall.
The next day was arguably the best and the worst! We kicked off by enduring the torrential currents in a river and our boat, although doing its best, eventually collapsed into pieces. Dripping like mini waterfalls, we dried ourselves up and savoured our sandwiches in the scorching weather. Then we created a go-kart, a literal machine that smoked every competitor in its wake while our steerer led our chariot of power to the finish line faithfully.
For the final day, we completed the hike itself: Pen y Fan. It was a treacherous journey that required extreme strength. By the summit we were in agony. The rain only made it worse as our ‘waterproof’ trousers got soaked like sponges. Finally, the clouds cleared, and we were able to walk down with the sun beaming at us.
An unsung part of this tale is the free time. I sincerely enjoyed the experience of playing cricket at school even without being in the school team and was able to create many memories at Baskerville. This is most likely the best part.
But then it was time to leave. A sense of melancholy filled the air as we piled into the coach. Many had their last looks at a place where so many memories were formed, and a name was made for themselves.
We arrived back at school and that was the end of our exhilarating experience. I would like to thank the staff who made this possible and were the architects of such great memories!
Report written by Yashwit (Year 7)
