Today we went to a beach with a new instructor called Jez. We travelled 45 minutes by mini-bus. We drove through the village which has the longest name in Europe and has 58 letters. It is called… llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
The beach we went to was called Cable Bay. This was because it was the first transatlantic communication cable from Britain to America. This meant that one transatlantic country could tele-communicate with another for the first time. Another fact that Jez informed us about, was that we were the closest you can get to the Gulf Stream from North Wales. This means that leatherback turtles travel from America to north Wales to eat and hunt jellyfish. They then return back to America to breed. The largest turtle (3 metres 9 feet) recorded, was found in September 1988, 4 miles from where we were traversing. It was found dead because the jellyfish were confused for plastic bags which ended up lining the turtle’s stomach. This meant that Wales was the first country to introduce payment of plastic bags and encouragement for recyclable materials to be used.
It’s safe to say that Jez is a knowledgeable instructor!
To make sure we were nice and warm but still able to move freely, we had to wear leggings or tracksuit bottoms, two tops, a fleece, a waterproof coat and trainers that we didn’t mind getting wet. Also, just in case we did get wet, we had to pack an extra set of clothes. When we arrived, we had to make sure we were safe; we had to wear buoyance-aids and helmets (also known as safety caps!)
We started off the traversing day by climbing up a small but rocky wall which then led up to a cliff edge. We then took turns to scramble down a narrow and rocky crevasse. This led to the main stretch of rocks that we clambered and jumped over crashing waves. After this we had lunch in the minibus.
After lunch we went along the cliff to a more harsh and windy area. This is where we had to put our harnesses on and attach our carabina clips. This is where Amelia and Holly decided to run down the hill attached to each other’s harnesses which sent Amelia tumbling! While we waited for Jez to set up our course, we all huddled together on the grass to keep out of the wind. We then made our way down and along the cliff face in threes, attached to a rope.
The final thing we did was the Tyrolean traverse. This is where we hung upside down on a rope and pulled ourselves along. If we wanted to we could do a flip in the middle of the two ends.
It was a refreshing day away from walking up the mountains and we are looking forward to the activities coming up.
By: Abbie Debling and Evie Anderson
