DofE society hikes the Brecon Beacons

DofE Society is back again; this time, for their annual term two trip to the Brecon Beacons. From the 23-25 February, DofE society spent the weekend in the South of Wales climbing many mountains, trekking through snow, and exploring a town full of bookshops. Overall, it was a very memorable trip.

As always, our meeting point was a car park where, yet again, we were faced with the task of filling up four cars with 17 people’s kits. Whilst we struggled with this challenge, Aryaman taught us all (several times) how to pronounce his name, and, with many attempts, we eventually got it (tip: it’s like ‘Iron Man’). And with that, we all set off in the darkness for Wales.

After driving past some extremely flooded fields and through some very narrow country lanes, we arrived at our destination: a Scout Hut. One room for us all was a squeeze, but we all lined up our sleeping bags like sardines and managed to fit everyone in. ‘Don’t Get Got,’ was our game for the weekend. everyone had to complete secret missions, such as getting another player to make an animal noise, and not get caught by other players.  Raymond became a very easy victim by the end of the trip. 

The ascent was gradual but extremely slippery. I knew it was going to be cold, but I didn’t expect that much snow

Our first night at the Scout hut was eventful – Isaac and Joel spent their time stacking beer cans to make a tower and then a (cleverly-named) ‘Beerlin’ wall. Though our evening games were entertaining, it was a rough sleep. First of all, sleeping on the floor wasn’t the most comfy of places. Secondly, it was extremely cold –  I think I could see my breath in the air at one point. Third, waking up to a cacophony of alarms at 7:00am was very jarring;I think I heard ‘Let it Be,’ by the Beatles and a Sci-Fi alarm amongst all of them.

With only a few hours of sleep, we set off on our first hike: Pen y Fan, the highest peak in South Wales, almost a kilmoter above sea-level. The ascent was gradual but extremely slippery. I knew it was going to be cold, but I didn’t expect that much snow. At points my feet were completely submerged. After concentrating very hard on staying upright, we made it to the peak –  James and I were very surprised to be two of the first up there (though we did take a shortcut). As always, we took a very crowded group photo and then began our descent.

I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion, but I always find going down a mountain much harder than going up. It didn’t help that our path was extremely icy, with many people falling in the process, but we eventually made it down in one piece. 

We managed to fit all 17 of us along three tables and Alistair’s signature curry dinner turned out to be a great success

Once we got back to the Scout hut, it was time to make our group meal:  a curry for 17 people. Our room of sleeping bags was quickly converted into a temporary kitchen, with many of us cutting up meat and vegetables for dinner. I’ve never seen larger piles of onions and peppers in my life; it was impressive. We managed to fit all 17 of us along three tables and Alistair’s signature curry dinner turned out to be a great success. The rest of the evening consisted of Louisa teaching some of us how to tap dance and others trying to complete their secret missions (again, Raymond was an easy target). Joe, I have no idea how you slept through all of that and Maddy, I don’t know how you read your book with all that noise – that’s what happens when you put 17 people in one room.  

We slept much better that night as we were able to find the heating system, but we still had to wake up once again to the blaring alarms at 7:00am. Our next hike took us to Hay-on-Wye, a town renowned for its bookshops and its unique position on the border between England and Wales. We spent the morning at the town’s castle which involved venturing into its cellar, climbing stairs up to the viewpoint, and trying on medieval fancy dress (Jack and Holly looked particularly amusing as a pair). After dragging everyone out of the gift shop, we split into two groups which I have named the ‘explorers’ and the ‘hikers.’ 

I never have more fun than I do on Warwick DofE Society’s trips. I can’t wait for our term three destination to be announced!

The ‘hikers,’ (the group I was part of) decided to go on a walk. With Matty as our head-navigator we set off through very muddy fields whilst praying that the weather wouldn’t turn on us. Though it didn’t rain, we did have to haphazardly make our way across a river of sorts –  fortunately, we all made it across in one piece…well, Jamie almost didn’t. After three hours of hiking, we met back up with the ‘explorers,’ who had been wandering around the town and other areas and Hazel seemed to have gained a book or two in our absence. 

Our drive back to campus consisted of Ella explaining to Adam what Friv and Fireboy and Watergirl are (sorry for making you feel so old, Adam). I must have fallen asleep for half of the journey as, before I knew it, we had arrived at the ‘Phantom Coach’ for our well-deserved pub meal. 

I never have more fun than I do on Warwick DofE Society’s trips. I can’t wait for our term three destination to be announced!