An action packed week in Snowdonia for Hallfield Seniors

On Monday morning Hallfield Seniors set off on their residential trip to Snowdonia accompanied by Mr Hewer and Mr Somers. Full of excitement and anticipation for the week ahead the pupils enjoyed a cheerful coach journey through the beautiful Welsh countryside arriving at the centre just in time for lunch. After settling into their rooms the Seniors enjoyed an afternoon of climbing up Lion Rock in glorious sunshine.

Wednesday started with a hearty cooked breakfast and making packed lunches, before setting off in the minibuses on a 45-minute journey to the remains of a Victorian quarry: Rhiwbach slate mine. After a 1km walk into the hillside along the old mine track, pupils journeyed through multiple caves and chambers which had been carved out by Victorian workers since the early 1800s (often children), via explosives and pickaxes. Head torches and helmets were essential. At one point, they turned them off to experience total darkness. Seniors were stunned that they could not even see their own hands in front of their faces. The history was rich and fascinating; a new-found appreciation for those who lived and worked before us was built.

After a brief boat journey across a lake inside the mine, everyone stopped for lunch. They had to leave no trace, to ensure no mould would grow on sandwich crumbs that would risk damaging the air quality for future cave dwellers, for there are no animals there that could pick up our scraps.

After 5 hours and 6 different levels of mine, daylight was in sight, as pupils reached the exit at the top of the quarry. A welcome sight for all! They certainly earned their dinner: lasagne or chicken curry with brownie and ice cream for pudding. A fantastic, challenging and fascinating day!

After packing our bags and stripping our beds, it was time to make our lunches, ready for the coach journey home, later.

We had a lovely selection of cereal, toast, croissants, fruit and yoghurts to choose from for breakfast, before getting helmets and buoyancy aids fitted for later. We loaded the minibuses and headed to Llyn Padarn (Lake Padarn) for our canoeing session. We worked as a team to carry the boats down to the lagoons, before tying them together into paired, stable boats.

After some paddle skills practice, we headed out into the centre of the 100m deep lake, with the mountains of Snowdonia as our backdrop. Lots of games, including swapping places on the boats, before a race back to shore. Lots of fun was had by all: A fantastic way to finish a fantastic week.