The City of York!

York historic tower

York. A old historic city with a unique character. This is a perfect place for those who love their history. The building, streets and the famous city wall which date back a long time ago have a story behind them. The cobbled streets and the stone building really gives York the charming character. York is a perfect place to go for a mini city break. Theres so much to do, the time will fly by! My first day in York: The sun was beaming with no cloud in the sky. I was plugged into my Ipod for the drive up to York with summery music playing. It was great. So far so good! I was going up there with my family, bar from two of my sisters who one was on camp for the week and the other had work, so this meant it was my turn to play the "big sister" role. Lucky me. When got there we decided to go into the city of York for the afternoon to have a look around and to see where everything was. We had a open top bus tour of York which went around the city telling us the history of it. I pretended to listen to the guide person but I had no clue what so ever on what he was on about. So I put on my "I'm interested" face and which made me look like I knew alot about history (which I don't) but it seemed to work. Anyway the tour was good, we knew where we were so that was the main thing. The aftrenoon went quick and the night took over the sun and day 1 of our mini city break was done.




Goathland station! Recognise it yet?!

Day 2 of our mini city break was different. The sun was shining and it was hot. We didn't go into York that day because the streets are quite crowded and we would all just get too hot and bothered. So we decided to go on a train ride to a place called Whitby which is a town by the seaside. I loved the train ride because it wasn't a normal modern train, it was a steam train, it was nice to do something different. This day reminded me of my holiday in Scotland 4 years ago, it was the Beijing Olympics and one of our days out was a ride on THE Harry Potter train, which had the carriage where Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson sat for the Harry Potter films. We even went over the viaduct that they did in the fims! What an amazing holiday that was. Anyway looking at the where the train was stopping one stop was called Goathland and speaking of Harry Potter this was THE Hogsmeade station they used in the first film. It also appeared in the television series Heartbeat. So that made my day. We pasted rolling hills, the beautiful countryside and lots of sheep. We made it to Whitby and it was busy. Our first stop was the fish and chip shop. You can't beat fish and chips at a traditional British seaside. The seaside was very British indeed. A pier, little fair ground rides for little children and donkey rides. (The donkeys did not look impressed that day!) It wasn't my cup of tea at all. When someone says beach or seaside, I usually think bright yellow sands, blue clear sea with waves that are worth going in the sea for. However this beach was slightly different. The sand was grey/brown, the sea matched the greyness of the sand and the waves were hardly waves even though the lifeguards were out still. It was a typical British seaside. The donkey rides were by the pier end of the beach with everyone sitting that side of the beach, but for me I wanted to walk all the way down the beach (it was a big long beach) where there were no people at all. We didn't didn't stay on the beach we walked up it then we walked back down. I decided that no where can beat Cornwall if you're talking about beaches! Now theres two sides of Whitby the town side which was made for tourists, with the bucket-and-spade kind of shops and then across a bridge the older town side with cobbled streets with teashops. Teashops meaning cake! Yes cake you can't beat a piece of cake and a cuppa in the afternoon. It was delightful! Apiece of cake was what we needed before the journey back. We got back on the train, we past the rolling hills, the stunning countryside and the sheep again and we were back at the first station we started off at. It was a lovely day, the train ride was by far the best (and the cake) and that was day 2 over.



Goathland Station! The view from the bridge!

The steam train!

















Two days gone and two days left of our mini trip to York. We went into the city of York on the 3rd day. It was cloudy and cooler so it was all good. My dad and younger sister decided to go and look around a viking museum which meant me and mum were left to look around. Me and my mum headed off to look around York by foot. We went to Shambles which is a small pretty street with over hanging buildings, some date back to the 14th century. After that we managed to find another teashop for a cup of tea. We had to resist the cake this time beacuse we were going to try this hog-roast sandwich shop thing. They did pork sandwiches with stuffing and apple saurce and some crackling. It was heaven, we went to a park and had them and they were so good words can't explain how nice they were! We walked all of the city wall to burn of lunch which was good, you could see the city of York in the middle, it was a lovely last day in York. So the last day flew by like the rest of the days and tomorrow we were heading back home. However we had a stop on the way which made everyones holiday, especially my mums!










Shambles!

The famous street, Shamles!






















Day 4: By far the best day. We headed off into the countryside. Yorkshire. We discovered the beauty of Yorkshire when we stayed last time years ago. We all prefered the country to the city. The sun was shining with a cool breeze blowing. We followed a river pretty much until lunch where we found a cafe. So we stopped to have a homemade sandwich with homemade cake too with a hot cup of tea. Yes more tea, we are a tea-loving family. We even brought a cake to have on the way home. We headed back to the car and at the very end we had to walk through a field full of cows, which made me laugh because I could just picture Hannah on DofE running down the field trying to get the cows attention. (I still can't get over that) It was a shame that we didn't have our dog with us, he would of loved it there. Before our journey home we stopped to have another cup of tea, and off we went back home. We said a goodbye to the busy city to York and then we said goodbye to beautiful, quiet countryside that we loved and we were back home again.









The river in open space!

The view of the river, take
 from within the trees!




Bronze DofE: The "real" expedition - The Cotswolds! Day 2...

Day 2 of the expedition and what a beautiful day it was! I woke up at half six and went outside and the sun was just coming over the hills in the distance. It was glorious. I was the only one up from our group so I went for a walk to the toilets and the air was so refreshing. It was a perfect weather day. Sun with some cloud with a slight cool breeze. As time went on more people started to get up. It was half eight and we set off. We all had breakfast and we all re packed our rucksacks to get ready to set off. I thought about the practice expedition when I was putting the tent down and how it was tipping it down with rain and the paths were like mini rivers and people were going home! The atmosphere were strangely different this time round. We were all packed and ready to go, we had a little meeting in the teachers tent to discuss where our check points were going to be and off we went. With a good luck from others and a good luck we returned back, we were off.

Here comes the sun...

We started on the right track but the one thing about the track was that is was muddy, slippery, wet and up hill. So we all power walked up this hill. In front Natalie and Alice's group powering on through the mud. We all got to the top and we carried on with the other group in front of us. Then we got to a gate and guess what was behind the gate? More cows! These cows look friendly enough. We saw a person waving on the other side of the field and we all thought it was the farmer. This person casually walked down the field and before we knew it the cows, again, started to chase the guy down the field. We discovered that it was this boy called Ollie, who managed to jumped over the gate in time before the cows ate him! I have no idea what the cows were doing this weekend but they were definitely not acting like normal cows would! Both groups agreed that we were going to somehow avoid the man eating cows. So we took a right and carried on. We got to a point where everyone was confused about where we were on the map. We said a farewell to Natalie's group because they decided to go a different way to us. Now a good decision maker is what you need for DofE, if no one makes a decision then no one would of gotten anywhere, luckily Lucy decided to go straight on and we did that. A house stood at the end of the track and again me and Lucy went to go and ask for directions. A lovely, old, black labrador greeted us in the garden then this man came out and said we were on the right track, and all we had tot do was carry on to our first check point.

The cows don't look impressed to see us!

We made it to our first check point. Feet in pain from blisters, legs aching from walking up hill. However we were all doing so great. We were making good time, well better than Saturday. We took a slightly shorter route and followed the road a bit. We past some beautiful stone country houses, with roses and flowers that climbed up the wall. It didn't take long before we reached our second check point. But before that we stopped for a rest before heading back up another hill. Amber called me a robot because I just carry on and I can keep on going without resting, she also couldn't understand where I got all my energy from, to be honest neither can I, I'm just used to getting on with things and I'm used to keeping everyone on the go. But that's me for you! Amber decided to have a head start while everyone struggled to get up from the floor. However it wasn't long before we over took her. We made it to our second check point. I was happy that so far we hadn't gone the wrong way and that no one was agruing or stressing about anything, yet! We found the telephone box and decided to have lunch at that point. I wasn't that hungry so I just ate my sandwich and left my snacks for later. Everyone was satisfied with their lunch and they were relieved that we had a good twenty minutes sitting down. For me the more we stopped and the longer we stopped for, the ache in my feet would get worse. And I was right!

Playtime - Hannah and Lucy found a swing and decided
to become 5 again!

Lucy up in front again!

My saying has always been "keep calm and carry on!" especially for DofE this saying is very important. Everyone needs to keep calm so you don't end up stressing someone else in the group and you just have to carry on, even if your in pain or your tired you just have to think about the end feeling. The feeling of relief and success. There's no point in giving up when you're so close to grabbing it. And this is what you've got to remember! We carried on and then we got lost. It wasn't like on the Saturday where we were lost for a long period of time, but for a bit we got lost. We went through the wrong field but again me and Lucy ask this man who told us the way. We found the path again and after a while we were on the side of a field. I looked around at everyone and thought yep, they're ok, they've all got long trousers on. I looked down and I had three quater lengths on, which wasn't the best thing to wear when walking through over grown grass and sharp stinging nettles. Anyway we started to conquer the nettles. It was ok at first, a few moans from the others because they could feel the nettles but I had to hold mine in. At the beginning you could dodge the nettles but half way down it became more nettles than grass and it hurt. A lot! A track went through the field but the path on the map looked like you had to carry on around the edge. So we did. Over grown plants and shap painful stinging nettles surrounded us. At that point the pain was getting ridiculous. I suddenly stopped I said we should go back on the track, my legs were red with pain, I had stings all over them and I had cut my legs too. The others bar from me, Hannah and Lucy walked back up to the track in the middle of the field. Lucy then said I could have her waterproof trousers because she had another pair of long trousers underneather. I told her I was ok but Hannah wouldn't let me go until I had the trousers. Lucy could see I was trying to hold it in and Hannah could definitely see I was in a lot of pain. Now you're probably thinking stinging nettles can't be that bad, but with achey legs and feet, the last thing you want is the little stabs you get from them. Hannah headed back for the others and Lucy took off her top layer of trousers and gave them to me. I was so grateful I had Lucy in my group. I needed someone else to be there for me instead of just me trying to make everyone else happy and to keep them going.

The beautiful Scenery!

My amazing group again!

We were nearly back and I was determined to get back before the mini buses came out to pick us up. Everyone was doing great. And the "robot" had only 20% battery left. During the end of the walk I could feel people were tired and frustrated that it was taking what it seemed like forever. There's a saying: When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hand on. And I was hanging on. It felt like I was hanging on to a thread. My legs killed, my feet ached but I was still postive. I didn't moan, I just got on with it and pushed the others on too. Leading a group is harder than you think, and sometimes you too need someone to tell you that you're doing great and to encourage you to keep you going! Lucy did this, but when we were nearly back the man we saw on the motorbike on Saturday was in his car, he drove past us and told us we were doing great and we were ten minutes away. And that was it, I was off, me and Lucy marched off in front again. The ten minutes seemed like an hour but finally we saw the church! This meant that the car park was opposite and we were back! We were the third group back. I was so proud of my group. Another wave of relief came over me. We had done it. We had conquered DofE! In blood, sweat and tears. We walked up the car park, chucked our rucksacks and ourselves on the floor and relaxed and breathed! The "robot" now has 0% battery left. And I've learnt many things whilst doing DofE. Number one: Don't trust the weather forecast! Number 2: All though you might call me a robot, at some point a robot still needs charging! Number 3: Success is a journey and not a destination, you have to work hard to achieve something and we all certainly did! Number 4: There's always going to be that one person who takes the lead and stays positive, for those who need it to keep them going! DofE has been a great experience. It's been most certainly fun and I'm so proud of my group. But most importantly I have learnt many things from it, that I'll take away and remember and one last thing to say... bring on silver!!!

The robot had finally died!

Bronze DofE: The "real" expedition - The Cotswolds! Day 1...

Here it is. The real DofE expedition! Motivation, determination and encouragement. These words are what you need for DofE, especailly in the real thing. You don't have your supervisor with you on any of the days, so it's up to you to take charge. This weekend was definitely different compared to the practice, from the weather to emotions. However it was so much fun doing it. I've learnt many things over the weekend and one of them was never trust the weather. The forecast for saturday: lightning and rain. Great... Everyone was thinking the same thing, we were all very unlucky about the weather again for our DofE expedition. Everyone was making sure they had their waterproofs out, spare pairs of socks and layers packed. Did we get lightning and rain? No we didn't, saturday was cloudy with a few showers here and there but there was certainly no lightning or heavy rain. We were an hour and a bit on the coach to our starting point. Long Compton. Off we went: me, Lucy, Hannah, Georgia, Frankie, Amber and Emma, our newest member who joined us and took the Moniques place. So we were off, it was half ten and we had been walking for about two minutes before a lady and then a man helped us find the path we needed. I remembered then, in our practice expedition Mr Simmons, our supervisor, said 'You always go the wrong way to start off with!' However we were doing alright, we were just debating on what way to go. So the man and the lady kindly pointed us in the right direction.

Georgia and Lucy are looking happy!

A short stop before we reached the first check point. Hannah
and Lucy look comfy!

Our groups 'focus' was gates. (Thanks Hannah for that creative idea) so at nearly every gate it was photo time. So during this weekend we had everyone posing by the gate to show that we actually had walked through it. Everyone was so far happy. After the first snap shot we had to walk up a hill and that was a sign that it was going to be tough, I knew from the beginning it was going to be a steep climb... Literally, physically and mentally! Just because there's a obstacle in your way, giving up isn't the way to go about it. Obstacles don't have to stop you, if you run into a wall (which would be pretty hilarious if you didn't realise there was a brick wall infront of you) don't turn around and give up, figure out how to climb it, go through it or walk around it. And none of us gave up, which was good because we had a lot more to conquer, not just hills but emotions and the pain from our boots and rucksacks! We somehow we ended up on a muddy, wet and very slippery track, which was shaded by trees which created a tunnel. We slid down the track, filling the silent woods with laughter and the occassional scream from Georgia. No one had fallen over, yet. The only thing that had happened was that I slipped and my foot got suck in a puddle which was pulling me down but then Frankie came and helped me out. Time passed and we had reached our first check point and it was good timing because it was lunch time. (Always the best part) Hannah found a new friend on the way too. It must of been forty five minutes or more before we found the right path, I still don't even know if that was the right way but hey ho we risked it for a biscuit. (There was no biscuit involved, that was slightly disappointing.)

Come on Amber, there's no time to rest and waste!

Hannah's new best friend! A cat!

The pea field which we managed to walk through was rather eventful. Again we filled the silence of the countryside with laughter, well I did. With Lucy and Amber in front and the rest behind, all you could hear was a continuous sentence being repeated. Frankie would say 'tractor track' or 'muddy bit' then Hannah would repeat, then Georgia would repeat. That would carry on all the way down the field, which seemed like forever before we got the end. That was it, after the pea field we were lost, we didn't know what way to go or where we were on the map. We walked trough fields, around fields, we had to turn back on ourselves. It was like we were going in circles, it felt like we weren't getting anywhere and everywhere looked the same! I could feel a slight sense of panic and frustration amongst everyone, however we all had to keep calm and carry on! We would eventually get back on track.

The beautiful Cotswolds!

We ended up in this house back garden! Not bad being lost here!

We walked further on, through more fields and there was a gate with some 'friendly' looking cows in. This moment of DofE will always stay with me. It was a highlight of the weekend! You're probably thinking why on earth would a field full of cows make my weekend?! Well I've never seen anyone run down a field so fast before. So there I was I said I would walk up the field to see if there was a gate and Hannah followed me up so she could called the others if there was a gate. I marched up to the top of the field, the cows still grazing lazily, and there was a gate. I turned around to call to Hannah and the cows were running towards the others as they were all trying to get back through the gate to safety! Then before I knew it Hannah had dumped her rucksack on the floor and sprinted back down the field, waving her arm like some mad thing, she definitely was one then. I was thinking what the hell was she doing? Suddenly this one cow started to run towards Hannah and that was it, I thought the cow was going to eat her and everyone else and I was going to be left by myself with Hannah's flourescent orange rucksack with the man eating cows! I have to admit Hannah running down that hill was pretty hilarious. Well it is now but it wasn't then. After that eventful situatuion with the cows we ended up in someones back garden/field. Then the words came out, the words that I didn't want to particularly hear "We need to phoned Sir. Call schoool" There was no way I was going to call school to say we were lost. Yes were lost, we were lost for ages however there was no need to panic. There was a house which had a drive so there for there must be a road cross to get to the house in the first place. So taking the lead I said we weren't going to call Sir, they can't do anything and the whole point of DofE is to learn to cope with getting lost and to try to find your way back and most importantly NOT to give up, that's not the answer to situations like this.

Luckily this cow was not a man eating one!

We walked down the long drive and me and Lucy went to knock on this houses door. This lady opened the door and the first thing she said was "You're lost aren't you?" So she obviously knew we were doing some kind of expedition. (I think our rucksacks gave it away.) She called her husband down to help give directions and he was telling about his day playing tennis. He finally gave us directions to our second checkpoint and we were back on track. I was trying to make sure everyone was ok and happy. We finally got to the check point and a man in a bright yellow jacket on a white motorbike came up to us. I suddenly thought it was the police so I was trying to think of what we had done wrong! As I was running through the day in my head, thinking we had done something wrong, I realised he had the same map as us and that he was a teacher.Thank goodness for that! He said we were not far from the campsite. So we trudged on, willing to get back before the rain came and finally we made it back.

Hannah and Lucy doing the plank after we saw the teacher on his motorbike!

Relief washed over me and I was proud that we got back and that we had completed the first day. Mr Simmons gave us all high fives and at that moment I thought how on earth did you manage to keep everyone going on the practice expediction, it was hard today, I felt like I was doing his job. I didn't mind though, someone has to keep everyone going and to lead them even if it was the wrong direction. Sir helped us put our tent up because it had started to rain. And that was that. The rain had stopped and we all had hot food and cake because it was Lucy's birthday and it was a good way to end the day.Time, I thought, had gone slow that evening. I gave the best hugs to Natalie and Alice for doing well that day because I wasn't in there group. It was getting on for half ten and we all went into our tents. I got in my tent and a hand randomly appeared through the door of our tent which scared the life out of me but it was only Simmons doing the tent up for me. We were all laughing at Hannah until a stern, serious voice that belonged to Simmons called us out of our tent. That also scared the life out of me because again I was thinking what have we done now. We all scrambled out of our warm sleeping bags into the cold and all the girls had to meet by the toilets because they were a mess and we had to tidy them up. Natalie and some of the others weren't impressed that the teachers had woken them up but it only took ten minutes and then we all dragged ourselves back to bed. And off to sleep everyone went, worn out and happy that we had successfully completed our first day of walikng. We had now only one more day to conquer...

My amazing group!!!

Life's a beach!

You can't get much more bluer than this!

Yes I know another blog about Cornwall, but why not? Cornwall is always full of surprises: from food (The famous Rick Steins fish and chips) to coastal walks to long sandy beaches. Cornwall has it all. Sun, sea and sand! This is about the beautiful Cornish beaches that come in different shapes and sizes! You can discover them by just walking along the cliffs, every corner you turn awaits another cove or bay! All of them are stunning in there own special way! Yellow soft sands and crystal turquoise shallows that fade into the deep inky depths of the sea, that stretch out into the horizon! The salty sea breeze is beautiful and refreshing. The colours vary from the rich greens of the cliff tops to the sun kissed yellow sands; from the bright coloured flowers that sway in the breeze to the shades of blue that create a captivating postcard picture of the sea! Why fly away to a sunny place when you get the same here? The coast of Cornwall, the brilliant beaches and the spectacular sea's...

                                    

The life boat station at Mother Ivey's Bay!

Mother Ivey's Bay is one of my favourite beaches, it's just a small walk around the corner from Harlyn Bay. It's not a big beach, it's a small and mostly quite bay that looks out to the life boat station. The sand is unspoilt by litter and other types of rubbish and only a few people stop on that beach meanwhile the rest just walk on, round to the next. The sea is calm and the waves are small which is ideal for swimmers but not for boarders, plus  there's no life guards patrolling the bay. Over all this cute little cove is near the top of my list of beaches that I love in Cornwall!

As you walk from Mother Ivey's Bay
to Constantine Bay, this is the view! 

This is the rocks on one side of

Constantine Bay!

Walking through the over grown grass of the cliffs, that shape the beaches of Cornwall, the next beach is Constantine Bay. It's link to a small beach called Booby's Bay. Yes it's a funny name I laughed the first time I heard it too! However dividing the two beaches is rocks that create rock pools that look like mini lagoons when the sun is shining. Constantine Bay is a long beach and either side there's rocks that shield the bay. One thing about Constantine Bay is that even when it's sunny and there's no wind, the waves are massive and they come from different directions and if you're boarding you don't know whether to take the wave, go over it or go under it. Either way you have to quickly decide about what you're going to do or the wave will take you under i self and pull you back with it! It's quite scary when a wave is suddenly standing over you. A wave of panic seems to wash over you at that slight second, even though it seems like ages before the wave breaks! It certainly not a good idea for swimmers to go out or the current would just drag you out! The life guides definitely keep an eye out for you here. If you're a tad out of the flags you'll know about it! The sand dunes shelters you from the wind and makes a boundary between you and the golf course that is behind you. You then walk around the next cliff bend and another surprise awaits...

Constantine Bay!

                                    

Treyarnon! This was a funny looking beach, it wasn't long as a normal beach which stretches out for miles, but it was long as in more vertical, so you had a lot of beach to walk down before you got to the sea, maybe it was because the tide was out! Who knows? It was a quirky beach anyway. It was sheltered by cliffs and rocks, one rock pool was big enough and deep enough (well for a child anyway) to swim in. This rock pool too look like a mini lagoon. The water was a lovely greeny blue colour when the sun was out. The sun made everything brighter especially the sea! All these beaches are special however my favourite beach, and it will always be my favourite, is Harlyn Bay!



Treyarnon Beach!



Treyarnon beach with the rock pool in view!



Harlyn Bay! It's a bit cloudy!

Harlyn Bay! The one place that is special and perfect to me. I don't need to travel far to get blue sea's and yellow sands, I don't need to go to exotic places to make me feel like I've been on holiday to a special place! Harlyn Bay is my special place, rain or shine it's still a favourite of mine! It can be a place to relax or escape to or a place of discovery or even a place where you can release all of your energy. With a long stretch of beach that is golden from the sea that suddenly turns into a white soft blanket between your toes and the sea which creates perfect waves for surfers and swimmers; that shimmers in the sunlight! The sea transforms with the weather, if it's sunny and hot the sea will be a brilliant bright blue and calm, however when the weather comes in from the horizon and its heavy rain and wind, the sea will suddenly turn rough and the waves would fiercely crash into the cliffs! Hot or cold; sunny or wet either way Harlyn Bay is number one! It's a special place and it always will be...

Harlyn Bay from a different angle! It's sunny!

DofE Bronze (really wet & cold) practice expedition: Day 2

I didn't really sleep that much on the saturday night. It was raining all through the night. Well it rained all day too! I wore a vest, my thermal long sleeve top, my jumper and my hat, also my head was, face down, in the hood of my sleeping bag! So I was warm enough. Now I don't normally get a wake up call and if I do it's a soft "time to get up Jo." However on Sunday morning it was quite different! I was already awake and before I knew it Hannah ran into the tent and shouted "Jo! Wake the f*** up!" Good morning to you too Hannah. I was there thinking it's only 6:00 and Hannah was there thinking "oh my god it's 8:00 we've only got an hour to pack our stuff!" By the time I told her it was 6:00 everyone was up.

Guess who? Yes it's Lucy in her funky hat! I've got to say Hannah had a pretty funky hat too!

Everyone was up, dressed and cold, so Hannah put some hot water on and we had hot porridge for breakfast which was much nicer than the tea we had! It was hot and creamy, a good way to start the wet windy day. As people started to get up, people wanted to go home and in the end some people did! Our group went down to 5 from 7. Amber and Frankie dropped out however they did amazingly on the saturday. I was proud of them both.

Me and my group said goodbye to Frankie and Amber! 2 down and 5 more standing!

We started packing our rucksacks, ready to conquer the rain. Hannah and Georgia's tent had collapsed due to the heavy rain and strong winds. No wonder Hannah ran into my tent so early in the morning. Georgia was getting a bit upset because she didn't know whether to go home or not, Monique was upset and she didn't like it at all but she carry on. Lucy and Hannah was happy to carry on too and there was me happy as larry, hugging everyone who was upset. Some people thought I was a bit crazy that I wanted to carry on, I didn't really mind the rain or the cold wind, I just wanted to be proud of something I did and I really enjoyed it! We all manage to get our tent down in the rain and everyone was soaked. We all gathered in the teachers tent, whilst Mr Withey and some of the other teachers decided to change our route and make it shorter. Off we went through the rain and mud, with our hoods up, our coat zipped up to the top, our waterproof trousers wet already and our walking boats which nearly felt like we were walking bare foot in puddles. Before we left we went to the toilet to put our gloves under the hand dryer because they were soak through too, and that was just by putting the tent down.

Our Sunday route was the blue route which was made shorter due to the rain!

Me, Lucy, Hannah, Georgia and Monique were trudging through the park in the wet, again we took the wrong turn and we ended up on a round-about for some bizarre reason but we managed to get back on track. When we finally made it back on to the track, we saw 2 Arthur Terry vans drive past, I knew now more people would drop out whilst walking because the rain was now really heavy and the cold was pretty much unbearable. We walked past a random military training ground, then through a field! Yes another field! Its funny that we were in the middle of the countryside and there were fields! However this field went up hill and the eroded path that was going straight through the field looked like a stream. We headed up this muddy and slippery field/hill, my walking boots were definitely not dry any more and I'm sure everyone elses boots weren't dry either. The water came up to our ankles and you could hear the squelching of the water! You could also hear the wind, it was was like someone was literally trying to push us over. It was mad! We were making good progress and everyone was at the top of the field/hill, with the wind howling in our ears and it was getting colder. In the distance I heard some shout to tell me that Monique couldn't breath properly so the rest of the group decided that I should call Mr Withey, so on the top of the field/hill was where I had a nice little chat with Mr Withey. So Sir told us to walk to the next check point which was only down the road from the farm at the top of the hill/field. But we missed the check point (I would say that was my fault because I was reading the map.) So we got to this other farm and it was time for phone call 2. By the time the mini bus found us our group had extended and about 3 other groups had joined us. Luckily the bus did find us because Monique looked like she was going to collapse!

On the right is Monique! Oh and look its Lucy and her funky hat again!

3 down and 4 more standing! Lucy gloves turned into taps. When she squeezed the water out I could of had a decent glass of water. Her hands were blue and I offered her my gloves but she didn't take them. I felt so bad. I could see and almost feel the pain in her hands, but she held it in and Hannah gave her a towel to wrap her hands in. As we were doing that a lady pulled up in her car and offered us a hot drink. Everyone was thinking the same thing at that point. We all wanted a hot drink but we knew that we weren't allowed so we said no and carried on walking. We didn't really say much after that until we got to a small field with 2 furry friends looking unimpressed to see us. 2 toffee cows were casually standing in the field, and we walked around them debating if they were bulls or cows. They were cows...with horns! We walked very swiftly through that field and on to a country lane where these beautiful bluebells grew on the side on the road. They made the day a bit brighter whilst walking that little bit of the route. We were nearly there, I must of said this a thousand times whilst walking that day but it was only to encourage everyone to carry on. But we were actaully nearly there, we had to cross 2 more fields, go over a bridge and there was the finish. The pub. Everyone was exhausted and I was proud of myself and my whole group. We did it. We got back to Kingsbury waterpark and the look on Mr Simmons face was "You actually did it!" and yep we certainly did. We had blood, sweat, laughter and tears. Well we didn't have any blood which was good. We had some hilarious times like when Georgia some how couldn't get over this fence because her feet were in the wrong position and she was just stuck there. We had annoying moments like when a teacher teases you because he has a throw-in-the-air pop up tent. But the best moment was getting home and having a hot bath and at that moment in time it hits you that you've actually completed the expedition, whatever the weather was, and you just feel so proud of what you achieved! I certainly did! Just fingers crossed for good weather for the real thing!

The view of the countryside!

DofE Bronze (wet & cold) practice expedition: Day 1 Kingsbury Water Park

3 words to describe this expedition: wet, cold and windy! However it was certainly fun. Now you might be thinking why on earth is walking in the rain fun but afterwards you feel proud of completing the expedition. On the Saturday it was dry and it was a bit windy and me and my group were setting off at 10:30. Off we went and one of the things our teacher said (Mr Simmons) was most groups go the wrong way the first time you set off. And he was right. We took a left but actually we were meant to turn right and we started walking sundays route. We turned around and me and Georgia decided it was time for a sing song so we started singing "you can't stop the beat" from the musical hairspray.

This was the map of our routes. On the saturday it was the red route and on the sunday it was the blue route. Expected for the saturday we started walking the blue route!

Time went by and we weren't really getting anywhere, we saw another group they were nearly back at the camp site however they left at 7:30 that morning. So after a chat with that group we found some where to have lunch. The day went quick apart from one little bit of the walk, somehow we ended up on a busy and noisy main road. We had to walk on the grass on the side of the road and the further we went the further the group was separated. Lucky Frankie knew a stable nearby where she keeps some of her horses so she saved the day by getting us back on track.

On the left Frankie who got us back on track. On the right Amber who was great map reader at the beginning of the walk.

The day went on and finally we made it back to the camp site around 4:30-5:00 ish and everyone was happy to be back. Now putting up the tents was pretty hard because the wind would just take the tent across the field. And when me and Lucy looked over to the teachers tent, there was Mr Simmons with his throw-in-the-air pop up tent. That was slightly unfair! The tents were up and we were now cooking our food. It was getting a bit nippy so I decided to give Hannah a piggy back and she felt like she was lighter than my bag.

This is Hannah on my back whilst controlling what way I went with my head!

This is Lucy out side our tent after watching Mr Simmons throw his throw-in-the-air pop up tent!

The food was cooked and on the menu there was cold pasta with cold tomato source served with a sprinkle of cheese on top! It wasn't a la carte but it had to do. And for desert was a slice Madeira cake, which some how survived in my purple rucksack, which also included: 3 packs of pitta bread (that we didn't eat); a whole bag of pasta; sachets of tomato source; sachets of soup; sachets of hot chocolate; my sleeping bag; my roll mat; the first aid kit; my dry clothes; my lunch... Etc etc. and it was certainly what everyone needed! Who wouldn't resist a slice of cake? It was a great first day, we all conquered the first day but we still had to conquer the next ...

My packed rucksack all ready for the expedition!

Georgia, Hannah and Amber in a tent whilst waiting for the food. Happy times!

I don't just surf the Internet...

Surfs up... Cornwall! I know it's nothing like the Caribbean but to me you can still have awesome time! Cornwall is down south and it's known for many things like an area of outstanding beauty, pies and pasties and surfing. Newquay is the surf capital of the UK. And it is. Sometimes there's traffic all the way out of Newquay and it's mainly camper-vans going for the surfing competitions. The weather and the waves are perfect for surfing. Now surfing is on my list of things-to-do, however if hitting the waves hard isn't your cup of tea, then I would take a step down and try body boarding. Body boarding, I would say, is safer than surfing, it's easier and it's so much fun when you get started. I'm normally in the sea for around 6 hours a day! That's how much fun it is. Cornwall has many stunning places to go too, if you don't like the waves, and most of them are the beaches. One little cove has the lifeboat station, which is hidden away from the path which goes around it. Some boats go out from this station but if none do its still a lovely snap shot. Full of character that gives Cornwall a certain charm.

If you take the cliff path from Harlyn Bay you'll discover this little lifeboat cove.

Newquay may be the surfing capital but there's many more beaches you can try. Harlyn Bay is a beautiful bay with a long stretch of sand and with dark blue waves that hit the shore with perfection. The waves aren't too strong or weak, the cliffs shape the beautiful bay and the paths off the cliffs are stunning. Harlyn bay is a very special place to me. It stands out and it never faults me! I call it my second home!

This is one side of Harlyn Bay, taken from the cliff path which curves around the Bay.

I've been going to Cornwall since I was little and it's grown on me. Every time I go home I never want to leave the sea, the sand and the weather behind. Whitsun week is the best week to go, you have a equal balance of everything: sun and wind. You may get the occasion heavy rain, which if you enjoy the odd high and rough tides like me it's a great time to go. If you don't fancy surfing the waves, there's loads more of things to get up too. Like walking! The cliffs of Cornwall are outstanding, the best way to see the beaches and scenery. The paths will take you in and out, and through little villages. Everywhere you look the fresh, salty Cornish wind will blown into your face and you'll see beautiful snap shots of the coastline of Cornwall!

Harlyn Bay

Padstow! The village of many reasons why it's such a lovely place to go too. It's on the north coast of Cornwall. With sea front houses that look over the port with cafés, shops and restaurants especially a famous chiefs restaurant. Rick steins seafood restaurant. With very high standards and top notch fish and chips! You can't beat it! Padstow is place where you can keep on going to it, year after year, and you'll never find it the same as the last time you were there. You can enter Padstow on the Camel trail which is along side of the river Camel. Or you can take the more scenic route into the charming little village. The Trevone trail which is a cliff walk. You past beautiful beaches, scenery and wildlife, with some extraordinary views!

This snap shot is on the path leading into the village of padstow.

You'll always get a perfect picture of Cornwall. These pictures were taken by my younger sister who's only 11 and they are still as perfect as the pictures my older sister took of Antigua and Barbados. It just goes to show anyone can make this place special. Cornwall is definitely a place I'll always look back too and remember the fun times and special memories I had with my family. From scenery to boarding to just standing on the cliff watching the world go by. It's one holiday I'll never get bored off even if I go year after year. It will always be a beautiful special place to me. Especially Harlyn Bay. A place I can always call my second home!

The other side of Harlyn Bay which looks over the beach. A perfect place to watch the sunset.