Wednesday 27 August 2014

Late August Round Up

So the month of August is drawing to a hectic close!

After returning from Snowdonia it was back to "Cumbrian Home Territory" with a couple of days in boats on Derwent Water; a fine, sunny & very enjoyable day at Headend Quarry; before three days camping on Ullswater where we were once again blessed with dry, sunny weather. Today's brief pause will run into an evening underground at Nenthead tomorrow & a canoe micro-expedition this weekend! For now, here a few images from the last 10 days or so!

Ullswater From Waterside House Farm

Open Canoes on Derwent Water


Beautiful Weather on Ullswater 


Group Waiting to Abseil at Headend Quarry

 
Dave & Mary's Tarp At Ullswater!



Marion on Open Water



Family Canoeing!
 

 Marion - "Demo" Abseil at Headend

Monday 25 August 2014

Snowdonia 2014

Flat Calm, Perfect for an Evening on the Shore - Llyn Tegid

If you follow any of the social media outlets we use you will have picked up the picture that the last couple of months have been way busier than we could ever have envisaged - so firstly a big thanks to everybody that we have spent time enjoying the outdoors with, its been an inspiration & a real encouragement!! We've got a couple of quieter days ahead, so hopefully amidst all the sorting of kit we'll be able to get caught up with emails, blogging, photographs & everything else in life!

This post, which is likely to be the first of a few, is a catch up on the Canoes, Mountains & Caves holiday in Snowdonia. The location was a new one - we camped on the shores of Llyn Tegid at Pant-yr-Onnen campsite which is a great facility & suited our needs very nicely. Over the course of the week a total of six folk joined us, we did catch up with one or two others & between us we ticked all the canoe, mountain & cave boxes!

Our departure from Carlisle was a hurried one as we re-scheduled travel plans in an attempt to avoid the worst of Hurricane "Bertha" so rather than travel all the way on the Sunday morning we ended up leaving Cumbria on Saturday evening & spending a night with my Mum & Dad on the way - a good start to the week!


Day one in Snowdonia saw us travel up to the familiar area of Nant Gwynant for a Gorge Walk in Afon Merch. It was a warm & windy day, the gorge didn't disappoint with its climbs; crawls and small jumps. The after activity visit to Caffi Gwynant was, as usual, most welcome!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Day 2 saw Andy & Sara head off to the National White Water Centre for a spot of rafting while we visited friends in the area & made a short re-visit to Cwmorthin Slate Mine (more of this later). 

 
 
On Day 3 Ian, Emma & "the kids" arrived & it was back to Nant Gwynant for another Gorge Walk - this time in Afon Cwm Llan. This is not a well used venue at all but some of the slides & jumps above the footbridge are excellent!

 

Day 4, Thursday, was Cwmorthin "for real" & we set off underground to explore the enormous voids with Ian, Emma, Tilly & Iola. Its a trip that just doesn't disappoint: big abseils; "airy" traverses; more abseils & yet more abseils all in the most vast underground caverns.

 
 
 
 
 

We ended the week with a "last night" fire on the beach alongside a flat calm Bala Lake, followed by a morning paddle & another visit to Afon Merch on the way home - what a week - non stop activity; great company & amazing Snowdonia locations!





Wednesday 20 August 2014

Canoes Mountains & Caves: Community Programme Autumn 2014

Canoes Mountains & Caves: Community Programme Autumn 2014

Canoes, Mountains & Caves: Community Programme Autumn 2014 
 
Please see below our Community Programme for the rest of this year. The programme is designed primarily for adults / older accompanied young people. We will issue a series of family events separately. Look forward to seeing you out!!
 
 
13 Sept - White Water Safety Workshop (River Tees; Max 6 persons)
[An extra event will be scheduled if numbers demand]

25 Sept - Evening Underground (Cave / Mine weather dependent)

11 Oct - Canyoning (Lake District; Max 8 people)
[An extra event will be scheduled if numbers demand]
...

17 Oct - Evening Underground (Cave / Mine weather dependent)
[Please note this is a FRIDAY evening]

08 Nov - River Trip (Canoe / Kayak) joining our friends at COAC

13 Nov - Evening Underground (Cave / Mine weather dependent)

22 Nov - Mountain Day (Lake District)

28-30 Nov - Activity Advent Weekend - details to follow separately

18 Dec - Evening Underground (Cave / Mine weather dependent)

We will also add some Kayak pool sessions: skills development / rolling etc - details to follow

All of these events will be provided on the usual basis of "free at the point of delivery".
A big thank you to all who do offer financial support either on a monthly basis or as "one off" contributions to allow these events to be offered in this way.

If you would like to participate in any of the activities please just get in touch:

cmcmmt1@gmail.com
Or by phone - you know the numbers!

Friday 8 August 2014

Busy Times: Continuing

Apologies to regular readers, the last couple of weeks have continued to be very busy on the work front with much time spent: underground in the Yorkshire Dales; Ghyll Scrambling in the North Pennines and a marvellous three days "living in the woods". We'd anticipated a quieter spell than this so: meetings with our good friends at Terra Nova (regarding new  possibilities with their X-tremities range); some very exciting development opportunities and a planned week away from Cumbria have all made for an excellent time!

We are currently engrossed in last minute preparation for the Canoes, Mountains & Caves holiday in Snowdonia - for which we have a great group of folk coming along this year!

So once again, apologies for the brevity of recent posts, we will get back to longer more in depth articles but for now here are a few pictures which capture a little of the last couple of weeks:

Three Days in the Woods & It Only Rained Once:




Have Never Known a Summer Like This in the North Pennines:



Diversion to the Yorkshire Coast - What a Sea Kayaking Venue: