Clifton College WebsiteWhat the pupils think of the Ten Tors tripsAs I started to become aware of other people yawning, I peered out of one eye to see canvas, which looked as if it had been blown around in the night! As I sat up, I could see the other 14 faces doing exactly the same as I had just done a few moments ago. I began to rummage through my ration pack which we had been given to see what I could have for breakfast (and not looking for the curry that a past team had eaten when they didn’t organise their meal plan properly)! The kit talk had taken place last night in the school’s house, close to where we were camping. As we were listening attentively to Mr Scaife’s safety talk, Mr Kendry and Mr Tait had been tucking into their juicy pizza in the background (with huge grins on their faces!). We tried not to think about that, as some of the things we had found in the ration packs included corned beef hash and baked beans! As I ducked to climb out of the tent, I was immediately amazed by the view, as when we arrived, we could only see the silhouette of one side of the valley in the shadows, which did look rather intimidating at the time. I walked down to the van, where the cookers were to start to get the breakfast going. I must admit, this was a lot more fun than cooking breakfast at home as I was cooking pasta and meatballs! The teachers had recommended that once we had put the breakfast on, we should pack up the rest of the kit to save time – after all, we had to be ready at 9:00am. After we had packed the cookers away and tidied up and we soon realised that the common phrase “it’s not mine” didn’t work here! We all picked up the rubbish and this was the first part of teamwork that we did together. Once done, we had a 100% kit check. Any kit that we were borrowing from the school was also issued and then we were given team maps, binoculars and compasses. Given the map coordinates, we were off! The first thing that we were aware of was the new friend on our back, our rucksack (also known as a house!) but after a while that was the least of out worries! We had been split into three groups and we swapped around enabling each group to experience leading the way and us to test our navigation skills. We started down a road following the map, alongside a river, looking out for buildings and phone boxes. Once we came to the first check point, we waited for another group and then it was our turn from being the 2nd team to take the lead. As we started off, Will started the stopwatch. We had to know roughly before we set out how long it would take us to get to the next checkpoint, including all of the contour lines (allowing one minute for each one). We were all rather nervous; after all, we didn’t want to go in the wrong direction! As the sun shone on us, the river fell away and we climbed higher. The view was spectacular as there was still snow on top some of the mountains from earlier in the week. We stopped again for a moment or two and then followed the next group. Here we began to climb a rather big hill, so as a team, we all aimed for the top of this peak. The problem was, as we all soon found out, that the higher we went, the further away the peak seemed to be! Again, we aimed for the tuft of grass at the top of the peak. The gradient now seemed to become steeper and steeper!  Again, we plodded on together, encouraging each other. This was really where we worked the best as a team. A few hillocks later, we had all reached the top! The ascent was definitely the hardest part of the weekend, but no pain no gain! We had a quick stop to get our breath back and to eat some lunch and then back down the hill! We did see some snow towards the top of the mountain, some of it rather thick! Seb, who was in my group managed to go thigh deep in some of it! We trekked back, through a small stream and when we arrived, we set to dismantling the tent, ready for the return journey. Once back at school, we each had an interview with Mr Scaife about how we had done. I truly enjoyed all of the activities that I took part in over the weekend and definitely learnt a lot! Roll on our next training weekend! Elizabeth Down
West Town This week-end was the first two day expedition and the group set off at 08:00 on the Saturday. We drove to Dartmoor (for the first time) and on arrival immediately began the long walk ahead of us. The army base used for the actual event was where we started and we saw the buildings where we would have our kit scrutinised and plan our route on the actual expedition. For once the skies over Dartmoor were a clear blue and it was safe to strip down to t-shirts. The going was a lot happier and therefore easier because of the good weather and we gradually made our way over a series of rather steep tors. There were sheep everywhere and even the odd pony. About half-way through the first day, we encountered a minor, but rather funny, problem. We were walking along a perfectly innocent stretch of moor when Alex Woodward suddenly disappeared up to his waist in a bog! A couple of us then followed with legs stuck in patches of mud, but we all made it out thanks to some helpful team mates. At 18:00 we managed to finally pitch camp and start cooking our food. This proved something of a nightmare as hundreds of storm matches were fruitlessly used after the failure of our 'all-weather' storm lighters. A few small blazes and a lot of burnt grass later and we had our dinner. Our sleeping bags in the tents (which we had to carry) were a welcome rest, but there was little sleep after a couple of ponies were attracted by the smell of food to my tent. The next few hours were spent listening to them nibbling/licking water off the tent, right next to Webby. Sunday meant an early rise and we were on the 'road' by 06:30. The walk was not life-ending, but the terrain presented us with our first injury of the programme. Henri twisted/sprained her ankle whilst walking down a steep hill covered in deceiving grassy tussocks which hid holes in the ground. It was quickly bound up and we were soon on the move again. We made it back to the mini-buses on time and gratefully returned to Clifton. All this time we were accompanied by Dave. He is now a valuable member of the team, even if he is simply a dead rams skull! The interviews were nerve-racking, and for some unsuccessful, but everyone has made a fantastic effort over the past few months which in itself is a great achievement. Tom Greenslade
East Town 28th February-1st March 2009This amazing trip started in a car park, were everyone was meant to meet at 6pm, but there were a few complications. The hockey bus from Wellington and the football bus from Malvern were due back at 6:30/6:45. Luckily enough both buses were back early, so we managed to get away at about 6:20. It was a silent journey as everyone was shattered from their matches. The teachers that came with us were Mr Huntingdon and Mr Whitten along with two lower sixth Caspian James and Simon Reynolds and of course Mr and Mrs Scaife. When we got to the lodge in Dyffryn we put our tents up and had our surprisingly good food from our ration packs, it was delicious. We had a quick briefing about the next day and went through a few vital pieces of equipment. We went to bed at about 11pm. The next morning, after a great nights sleep, we started to stir at about 5:30am, by 6:15am we had our food cooking, and we were packing up our kit. Mr Scaife gave out equipment which included a sheet of paper with all the gird references that we were going to. We left camp at 8:30 and we started what was going to be a long, long day. The first check point was up a steep hill and team one lead the way. Our morale was up as we had just eaten. At the top of the steep hill we were shown our route for the day. Although it was a magnificent sight it was also quite astonishing the length we had to walk. Team two took the lead to the second check point, this was a long walk along a flat path and many of us took lots of layers off as the sun was out and it was very warm. After forty five minutes of hard walking we got to the check point. With a mountain in front of us we set off up the steep mountain side, team one took the lead, and after fifteen minutes we reached the top. The view was incredible! After a quick rest we set off again, team two in the lead. A few of our team members stayed to the left as they were scared of heights as there was a fifty meter drop to our right. We reached our next check point which was a waterfall were we could fill up our water supplies. The next check point was at a Second World War memorial place, were the metal from the crashed plane still laid there. Team two led the way to the next check point which was a five minute walk on top of this mountain. When we got to it we had to get down the mountain and one of the ways to do that is to slide. Both teams, eleven kids were sliding down this mountain avoiding rocks. When we got to the bottom there was another beautiful waterfall, the heat from the sun made it tempting to dive under the waterfall. The next check point was about thirty five minutes away down a long road, this was tiring, but our morale was still up as the sun was out and it was blue skies. When we got to the river we were told how to cross it, which was vital as they can be very dangerous. After that, we began our long walk up the hill. When we eventually made it to the top, we knew the way back as we had came up the same way in the morning. Down we went and as the lodge became bigger and bigger we all began to feel a sense of relief. As we walked in through the gate we felt triumphant, then we collapsed on the floor. On the way back in the mini buses it was again silent as most of us were asleep. Jack Keen
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