The Gallery
Outdoor Adventure Club
Trewern Trip (March 2003) IntroOn 7th - 9th March 2003 nine members of the Outdoor Adventure Club travelled down to Trewern - Barking and Dagenham's Outdoor Education Centre near Hay-on-Wye for a weekend of caving and whitewater kayaking.
The weather was foul, very wet and windy on the Saturday and so along with Graham our unstructor we decided to explore underground. The group spent the day in the Clydach Gorge, exploring old tunnels and after lunch caving in Clogwyn Cave. We managed to stay remarkably dry for most of the cave, by scrambling our way along the limestone ledges. However on the way out, Graham intructed us to 'keep going down until we got to the bottom and then crawl!' We then got very wet - the worst bit was lying on our bellies in muddy cold water. Our way out was 'The Toothpaste Tube' - the tightest tunnel yet. The pictures in the gallery show pictures of the group exploring the tunnels and passages and squeezing and squirming their way out of The Toothpaste Tube - all except David that is - he was small enough to walk out.
On Sunday after all the rain the River Wye was travelling fairly fast and set a challenging pace for the group. Led by Ali, the group set out from Aberedw, hoping to get to Boughrood, some 6 miles or more downstream. After practicing breaking in and out of eddys on the Edw, a small tributary of the Wye we made our way out onto the main river and were soon bobbing along in the fast current coping with waves and dodging stoppers.
We negotiated the first rapid successfully but at the next rapid Ian crashed through a standing wave, but it got the better of him and he took a swim. However he was soon back in his boat and once again battling through the rapids. We stopped for lunch above the infamous 'Hell Hole', where we walked along the bank to inspect the next section of river - our biggest challenge yet! Rivers are graded 1-6 and this was Grade 3. Three paddlers Josie, Ben and Sam P decided to leave it until they had a little more rough water experience, and took the dry route with their boats (along the bank - a sensible choice!). Everyone else braved the torrent, even Ian who after his early bath was delighted to get to the bottom eddy still upright -and so he should be. His sister Becky wasn't so fortunate, and was the River Wye's second victim of the day. Lesley and Ali fished her and her boat out, and apart from being a little chilly she was none the worse for wear. Stephen and Matt made it look easy, and so did Richard and David in the canadian canoe until they reached the bottom where they had a few very wobbly moments. Unfortunately we don't have any photos of the rapid as we were all very busy with throw lines, and watching out for boats and bodies to fish out of the river!
We had a very tiring but very fun filled weekend and the OAC hopes to arrange a similar trip next year.
