This REC L2 outdoor First Aid course by Bryn Walking was for The Outoor Partnership - feedback from their organising officer (Bethan Logan) can be seen at the end of this blog.

The course was delivered by Helen Menhinick (ML) and Alan Ward (IML) and certificated by Rescue Emergency Care (REC), established in 1986 as one of the United Kingdom's original and most specialised Outdoor First Aid providers.

​Congratulations to the 11 participants who completed the course.

Helen and Alan have, between them, delivered over 250 REC First Aid courses, mostly in the UK but as far afield as Nepal, Indonesia and Morocco. Alan holds the British Heart Foundation "Heart Hero" Award for delivering CPR training to Outdoor Education Centres in South Wales.

A two day course (16 hours). The outdoor first aid course is designed to introduce a systematic way of first aid for managing casualties. Topic learning and practicals intermixed with scenarios of real situations. The course includes:

• The fundamental workings of the body, in particular the heart, lungs and airway
• Assessing a casualty
• Introduces a system to cope with all incidents as safely as possible

• Deciding how to deal with an accident or incident

• Awareness of delayed medical help and adverse environmental conditions

First aid training with the REC scheme is easy and fun. The course is progressive by building on each session, introducing new scenarios to test all techniques for:

EMERGENCY: vital signs (and monitoring) • emergency action • airway • unconscious • choking • bleeding • breathing and circulation • CPR • AED (automated external defibrillator) practical training
ENVIRONMENT: heat stress • cold stress • hot injuries • cold injuries
ILLNESS: chest pain • stroke • asthma • epilepsy • diabetes
INJURY: head • spine • chest • abdomen • pelvis • bones • soft tissue • eye • shock • triage
RESCUE: group shelters and blizzard bag products • transportation • communication

To accommodate the RYA syllabus our Outdoor First Aid course will include understanding the differential for drowning, immersion and seasickness.

The Candidates
All candidates entering the REC scheme start with the Outdoor First Aid module
The Qualification
The Outdoor First Aid course is certified for three years and is an entry point for the REC scheme. It is the approved course for RYA, BCU, MLTB.

Bethan Logan of The Outdoor Partnership kindly provided feedback on behalf of the group:
​"It was really good, thank you so much! I really enjoyed it and you had great engagement from everyone, I thought you allowed everyone to input with their expertise which I think is what people want ultimately, but there’s not always room for it is there but somehow you managed to do that but also cover all the content, which is loads. I actually think this was my favourite first aid course I’ve done, and I might be on 5 now!Thanks so much."

- REC L5 Travel & Expedition First Aid: June 26th/27th

- REC L2 Outdoor First Aid: September 3rd/4th 

​- NNAS Tutor Award: August 12th 

Please contact us for further details or to book a place on one of these courses.

A week of walking, adventure and education in Snowdonia, exploring areas of the old slate industry. 
The whole week went extremely well and was very enjoyable for everyone. The weather was in our favour and 5 days lay ahead of some very different walks, but with one common factor - mountains of slate!
Our accommodation was Dol Peris - a self catering guest house, run by Lisa and Phill George, situated in Llanberis. It is ideal and has everything we need - it is very tastefully furnished, comfortable and welcoming.

Monday
​Our rendezvous point was Cwm Idwal Visitors Centre for our lunch, introductions, briefing and a walk around Llyn Idwal. At the southern end of the lake we took the path that takes us up to 500m, near the base of Devil's Kitchen, before descending back down to the lake. It was a lovely introduction for everyone in the group.

Tuesday - Bethesda to Llanberis
​Ready to go at 0900, we all boarded the Bryn Walking minibus and travelled to Bethesda for the start point of the walk. Everyone was very prompt and this is always much appreciated. Tracy met us at Dol Peris to join us for the Tuesday and Wednesday walks.
A very interesting walk with a slight change to the route to avoid some very boggy ground. Richard had been shopping in Joe Browns and we had had 'word' from them via Richard that it was best avoided. I had already had some concerns about this part of the walk because of the recent wet weather, so that confirmed to me that a contingency had to come into play. Alan and I researched and agreed to follow the North Wales Pilgrims Way for part of the route, and we could detour up to a trig point on Moelyci (396m).

Wednesday - Dinorwig Quarries
​Again, thank you to everyone's prompt arrival at the Bryn Walking minibus ready for the short journey towards Nant Peris to the start point. We gained height quickly following a zig zag track up to Sinc Matilda. Although a scar on the landscape these quarries are magnificent for their enormity and feat of engineering.

A very interesting route with QR codes all the way that were very informative - some I have quoted from historypoints.org, shown in italics.

For our evening entertainment we drove to Betwys y Coed where Alan Ward gave a very interesting talk, after which we visited the Rohan shop.

Thursday - Snowdon (1085m)
​We caught the 0834 S2 bus from opposite Joe Browns in Llanberis up to Pan y Pass at a cost of £3 each. We met Andrea outside Dol Peris who was joining us for the day.
​After I briefed the group we set off up the PYG track. The route is straight forward but never lets you forget that you are climbing a mountain as sometimes the path becomes slabs of bedrock or a jagged bit to negotiate over. The top was in cloud as we approached and the air dropped in temperature, soon flutters of snow were in the air. 

At the top the rocks were covered with icy wind-shaped patterns. There weren't many people about and this made getting to the trig fairly easy with no long waits and getting cold. It wasn't very windy at all so I had no worries about the group being on the trig either. Keeping the group together on leaving the top was imperative in the thick fog as the Llanberis Path can easily be missed if the ground isn't familiar to group members.
Everyone managed the 804m of ascent very well and we were all elated on reaching the top. Well done everyone.
Choosing the Llanberis Path for our return meant we had a whole new vista which I always enjoy.

Well, it has to happen on our events. We can't control the weather and this time it wasn't typical of a BW event (the sun shone!!) but we can control the BBQ, especially with Alan as our BBQ chef.

Friday - The Hidden Lake
​Some of the group had chosen to join me on the optional last walk of the week which was near Blaenau Ffestiniog. Again following the slate theme, I had planned and recced a route as a finale - the weather was on my side and gave us a 360 degree view from the 524m spot height at the top of Moel Dyrnogydd. 

The route took us on an old mining track, typically neatly built up to make it level. There is an air vent for the railway at the end of the track and from there we go up and over to the hidden lake. As it was such brilliant weather and low air pollution, we climbed right up to the spot height for fantastic views.

Thank you to everyone who came; Richard, Eliz, Anabel, Sian and Lou, including the day walkers too, Tracy and Andrea. All very good company, strong and dynamic, and took part in the walks with interest and ease.
Thank you to Alan Ward who is very much part of the planning, recce'ing and management, chief BBQ man and always brings his GSOH. 

This course was attended by 10 participants, all with a strong interest in the outdoors.

The course was delivered by Helen Menhinick (ML) and Alan Ward (IML).
Helen Menhinick is the owner and director of Menhinick Outdoors Limited which trades as Bryn Walking and Bryn Walking for Women. BWFW is a very popular all women group who meet for a monthly walk and some of whom join the annual trek in Morocco.
​
Alan Ward is a Senior Trainer with REC and holder of the BHF "Heart Hero" Award in recognition of his training delivery to Outdoor Education Centres across South Wales. Rescue Emergency Care (REC) was established in 1986 and is one of the longest and most established of organisations delivering specialist Outdoor First Aid.

The REC 16hr Outdoor First Aid course is a mixture of theoretical First Aid skills combined with appropriate outdoor realistic scenarios. Bryn Walking utilises new high quality training equipment on these courses.

We've delivered REC courses in Nepal, Indonesia and Morocco besides the UK - private courses are always available on request.

Other courses offered by Bryn Walking include:

• National Navigation Award Scheme (NNAS): Bronze, Silver & Gold Navigator Awards and the Tutor Award
• Mountain Training: Hill Skills & Mountain Skills
• Royal Geographical Society (RGS): Off Site Safety Management

Two of the UK's most acclaimed international expedition leaders attended this course and this is what they said:

Jo Bradshaw - Skill fade is real, especially if you are fortunate not to need certain skills because clients stay well and expeditions are incident free. Knowing I have the right skills when things go array really matters not just for me, for my clients too.

Renewing my first aid quals every 3 years isn’t a tick in the box but an opportunity to upskill, remember what I already know and keep up to date with things that change.

Thanks to good friend and fellow expedition leader Ade Summers for being my first aid co-pilot and to Bryn Walking and Alan Ward for your excellent tutorage and many interesting anecdotes!

Ade Summers - Thanks Helen (Bryn Walking) and Alan for an excellent Outdoor First Aid course. I learned lots of new skills and refreshed old skills to now feel more confident in leading trekkers in the wilds of the Himalayas, Karakorum and Pamir Mountains.

The training was pitched at the correct level with a good mix of theory and practical exercises, mixed in with actual anecdotal training based on real experiences.

Hopefully I won't use the skills learnt but am confident that I have them should a need arise.

I'll be back in 3 years to renew my qualification again!

The next REC 16hr Outdoor First Aid course
3rd and 4th September 2024
​Brecon Beacons Visitors Centre
BOOK NOW

This NNAS course took part in the Brecon Beacons National Park. Both candidates enjoyed learning new skills, being inspired  and feeling very much more confident about literally taking the map into their own hands.

Day 1
Meeting at the Brecon Beacons National Park Visitors Centre, we had a coffee to start and informal introductions. The syllabus was looked at as a whole and their prior experience discussed. We talked about parts of the syllabus in more detail, for example planning, resources and weather.

From the NNAS website:
'The Bronze National Navigation Award is a practical hands-on award. It is aimed at people with no navigation experience whether you are new to the outdoors or have been relying on others, guidebooks or easy well-defined routes.'

It was sunny but with a chilling wind which meant we had to have plenty of layers. Both candidates took in so much information and worked together to work our way round the common, dynamically learning different aspects of interpreting the map and some simple compass skills.

Day 2
Day 2 gives the candidates the opportunity to put into practice everything that they have learnt on day 1. The route is chosen as one which would be typical of an achievable walk for a Bronze Award holder. In a relaxed setting each candidate could demonstrate how to plan and how to reach an objective. Discussion was encouraged and enjoyed throughout the day regarding many subjects relating to the outdoors.

Congratulations to both candidates who will now venture out to practise their new skills and a new sense of freedom.
A very enjoyable two days - thank you both!

Day 1

We met in the Brecon Beacons Visitors Centre tea rooms for informal introductions and an overview of the Mountain Training Hill Skills syllabus. Planning, weather, equipment and health & nutrition, we covered in more depth.
This course does not include assessment and is an introduction for the candidates of walking in the hills.

From Mountain Training website:
'A Hill Skills course is your key to getting started in countryside and moorland walking. No previous hill walking experience is required because the content of the course is aimed at beginners.
If you do have some experience of hill walking but aren’t confident about planning walks, navigating and understanding the equipment required, then a Hill Skills course is an ideal way to learn.'

​Bryn Walking provided transport to the start point. The area offers so much to see, discuss and learn and how to interpret the map; contour and crag features, a trig point, limestone plateaus and sink holes, old industry and Bronze Age occupation.
The varying and limited visibility gave opportunity for demonstrating how useful and important map and compass skills are.

Day 2

​We headed straight on to the hill on an interesting route up Fan Fawr (734m). This area offers so much for discussion regarding tourism, erosion, land ownership and management, geology, topography and it contrasts very well with day 1.

The candidates showed resilience in the weather conditions that weren't ideal and were conscientious, receptive and very good company through the course. Well done!

The venue for this course was the Jubilee Hall Scout Hut in Newtown and Helen and I were there to set up well before the scheduled start time of 0930. The Scout Hut was particuarly spacious but somewhat difficult to keep warm throughout the course.

There were 8 participants for the 6hr course and they were all Walk Leaders for Aberystwyth Ramblers. This course would be the first to utilise some of the new training equipment recently purchased by Helen for Menhinick Outdoors Limited.

Course content:

• The fundamental workings of the body, in particular the heart, lungs and airway

• Recognising the difference between the healthy, ill or injured

• Ability to record the baseline measurements of the vital body functions

• Introduces a system to cope with all incidents as safely as possible

• Deciding how to deal with an accident or incident
• Includes Automated External Defibrillator (AED)

The course ran smoothly throughout the day and ended with real life practical scenarios in the grounds of the Scout Hut - congratulations to the 8 participants who worked hard throughout the course and passed.

1. Helen and Alan were excellent instructors, pitched at the correct level.

2. This was First Aid Course which covered a wide range of issues in depth and detail, The introduction and presentation with Visual Aids was very informative, and the practical hands-on experience with various pieces of equipment and aids which followed resulted in a well balanced informative course.

3. The course was helpful in that it was an excellent refresher as I have not been to a first aid course since before the covid pandemic. I particularly found the section on abdominal thrusts helpful with good aids. I did find the session rather long - seven hours in all as we arrived at 9.30 and did not leave until just after 4.30, I must admit my concentration and interest was starting to flag by then and as we also had to travel it was a long day.

4. Very enjoyable course which taught myself a lot on First Aid. The only problem was the venue being very cold.

​5. The hall we used was not terribly well heated. If we had just been told to wear warm clothes for the day it would have been more comfortable.

Day 1 - The Silver National Navigation Award develops the navigation skills acquired at the Bronze level. It adds skills required to navigate to features and places some distance from paths and tracks. It teaches accurate compass work and will also teach how to select suitable navigational techniques to cross open country.

The course started with a 2hr theory based session, at Bryn Heulog, to introduce the 4 participants to the content of the course and the timetable to be followed during the course. Helen used a PowerPoint presentation which was very effective and combined this with practical tuition of topics such as grid references, map scales and symbols and basic use of compasses.

​We left Bryn Heulog before midday for the twenty minute drive up to Llyn Mawr parking area near the bungalow at the 404m spot height. Once we were all ready we used the road section to go over pacing on the way to where the bridleway left the road opposite some barns. Following the bridleway, the concept of timing was introduced and the participants were then asked to work as a team to locate the intersection of a bridleway (not visible on the ground) with a field boundary at Craig y Llyn-mawr. Two were successful in this challenge but Helen called the other two back and discussed navigational processes.

Continuing upwards to the stile, Helen introduced compass bearings which resulted us finding the Craig y Llyn-mawr trig point (485m) where the geology was quite interesting. Soon after we paused for lunch on the leeward side of Craig y Llyn-mawr where good all round views were enjoyed including of Cader Idris to the north west.

Day 2 - This started with a 1.5hr review session in the Bryn Heulog Conference Room and covering more theory on the syllabus. 

We left Bryn Heulog before midday in the VW Transporter for the twenty minute drive up to the Cider House Car Park (441m) near the Kerry Ridgeway. After disembarking Helen asked me to demonstrate the correct procedure to use a  Group Shelter.

This trip proved two important things:
1. When people work together and support each other everything goes in the same direction, the right direction.
2. Such is the nature of trekking in the mountains, it isn't always plain sailing -  We have to be prepared for this.
 
This trip went ahead because Janet Greenslade (HML) 'stepped up and stepped in' as Group Manager. Helen Menhinick was unable to take the group at the last minute due to illness. The cooperation and understanding of all the clients, Discover Ltd, the staff at The Kasbah du Toubkal and our guide Latifa was very much appreciated at this time of crisis. Thank you!

​Our trip started with 8 of us - Sian, Lyn, Wendy, Lisa G, Lisa H, Sarah, Elle and I enjoying a night in Marrakesh, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the Medina - Place Jemaa-el-Fna and then dinner at Zeitoun where last year we had enjoyed a wonderful meal. Sarah had already caused chaos at the Red Hotel walking around in her swimsuit and towels trying to find our room as she had been very keen to get into the hotel pool prior to going out for dinner and couldn’t remember our room number.

​The return to our hotel that night was also memorable as after Sarah, Elle and I had said goodnight to the others and were returning to our own hotel, both Sarah and Elle had their bags tucked under their jackets.  We were preparing to cross a busy road when a local man rushed into the middle of the road stopping all the traffic, shouting at the motorists that there were pregnant women trying to cross and the traffic must stop to allow them to cross to the other side.  An extremely funny start to the holiday.

DAY 1
Staff from the Kasbah were on hand to whisk us away to Imlil the following morning with a visit to a Women’s co-operative making Argan Oil products en route.  Lunch on the terrace at the Kasbah was followed by an introductory briefing for everyone to meet Latifa our local guide for the trip and then a walk around part of the valley, returning to meet up with Helen our last group member at the Kasbah office.  Some of us enjoying Msemmem (pancakes) and mint tea in the village while we waited.  Our group was now complete.  Evening yoga took place in the conference room, a real treat to have under floor heating.

DAY 2
The first full day took us further around the Imlil valley walking up through forestry of pine and juniper trees for a picnic lunch prepared by our wonderful cook Mohammed and then visiting the village of Arhrene where once again we were invited to take mint tea with the owner of a traditional old Berber house.  It was a real treat to meet her again and chat about her life and traditions the Berbers have.   She explained how the earthquake had affected the local villages, it was extremely poignant seeing the damaged buildings and tents dotted throughout the villages.  Latifa introduced us to the women of the villages explaining how they live.  We met 3 small boys on our way back to the Kasbah who Latifa took under her wing. The smallest boy a very determined young man who wouldn’t have help from anyone pushing his bike all the way home whilst his 2 cousins tried to assist. 

DAY 3
Trek over the Tizi M’zik (2469m) to the Lodge in the Azzaden Valley.
Good weather, sunshine and a lot of PMA – Positive Mental Attitude - got us to the highest point of our trip where once again Mohammed weaved his magic with another wonderful picnic lunch at the top 2469m.  Everyone was in good spirits despite the long trek up along mule tracks and zigzags, our reward being the stunning views of our route up from the Kasbah and Imlil village.  Another couple of hours down the paths through Juniper trees with some relieved faces when informed that we would be taking a taxi after reaching Tizi Oussem village for the 3 km route to the village of Id Aissa and the trekking Lodge where our next 2 nights were.  Mohammed was at the lodge to greet us and show us to our rooms.
Evening yoga was held on the balcony before the temperature dropped and we all came indoors to enjoy our evening meal.

DAY 4
Azzenden Valley.
A really different experience from the same trip last year.  Due to the damage caused by the earthquake which seemed to have caused more distruction in the Azzenden Valley the walk through the villages here was sometimes picking our way through loose scree and rocks, so upsetting to see the devastation caused to houses and the effect on the local Berber people.  
Our visit to one of the local schools was fabulous with the children so excited to receive our gifts of pens, pencils, books and crayons.  We were treated to a rendition of the Moroccan national anthem before walking on down the valley to our lunch stop.  Fatima who some of us had met last year was at our lunch stop by the river waiting to treat us to her homemade bread, walnuts and popcorn to accompany our lunch.  She was delighted with gifts Helen had sent over for her.
The news that there were ladies giving pens out by this time had travelled throughout the valley and every where we went children were popping up and running after us to have pens and sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” as directed by Sarah, who now may be the cause of the children not knowing their noses from their mouths!! A slight slip up as the song went on.  We also called in to see the ladies making rugs who we had met last year.

DAY 5
Return to Kasbah
In the night very strong winds came up through the valley and snow and rain began to fall so we didn’t trek back over to the Kasbah, returning instead by taxis.  Disappointing but the right decision the visibility was very poor with rain and snow falling covering the route.  A leisurely lunch was enjoyed at the Kasbah before the mandatory retail therapy visiting the local shops in Imlil.  On our return to the Kasbah a visit to the Hamman for some and then dinner to prepare for our journey back to the airport the following day.  Little did we know what was in store for us when we woke up.

Day 6
​Homeward bound
Everyone was up and ready on time for the trip back to the airport.  We were informed when we arrived at the Kasbah office that the road was closed due to the heavy rainfall, but arrangements had been made to get vehicles to the other side of the road closure.  Staff from the Kasbah and local men were absolutely amazing in getting us through the mud, rocks and general debris that had fallen onto the road, physically moving rocks out of the way of our vehicles.  Then after a scramble over the rockfall which had blocked the road, and a change of vehicles all expertly managed by Kasbah staff, we were on our way again to Marrakesh arriving in perfect time for our flight home.  It could only happen on a Bryn Walking event!!

Highlights as noted by members of the group
The warmth, kindness and knowledge of Latifa our guide
How on most days we were accompanied by local men or women chatting with Latifa and showing us safe routes through the villages to avoid damaged buildings.
The sense of security and safety felt when walking around the villages.
The amazing lunches provided by Mohammed in the middle of nowhere.
The taxi to the lodge.
The warmth and friendliness of everyone we met.
Dressing up in djellabas as the Traitors, and the buffs.

The week of walking in the Elan Valley was organised, planned and directed by Helen Menhinick and Alan Ward. This  account is by Helen with comments from Wendy Cottis, a participant, and Alan Ward who both kindly contributed. I would welcome and encourage more comments on this blog from participants and other readers. 

​Monday
​Once all briefed and suited and booted we set off from the Elan Valley Visitor Centre for the Nant y Gro walk. The winds were forecast gusting at nearly 40mph so Alan and Helen had reviewed the route for direction, protection and risks. A great introduction and icebreaker for all the participants, some of whom had not met before. We had great views and a taster of what the Elan Valley landscape was going to offer.

Wendy - 'Being in the Alpine landscape of the  Elan Valley was really something special to behold. Our first walk on the Monday afternoon started off on a great walk up Nant y Gro for a couple of hours to introduce us to the contrasts this week's walking would offer - lakes, forests and wilderness.'
​
The traditional Bryn Walking Steak BBQ with wine took place that evening, with Alan Ward as the reliable master chef! A very enjoyable evening with lots of laughter and chatter. Ruth Rees, a member of Bryn Walking for Women, joined us from a neighbouring farm and invited us over for the following evening to see her garden that was created by Charlie Dimmock. Ruth brought with her a fabulous homemade fresh berry pavlova - delicious! 

 Tuesday
This walk is what Alan and Helen think is the best part of The Monks Trod, starting in remote and rugged terrain, the path crosses a stream where there is evidence of an ancient clapper bridge and further on remains of an old farmstead enclosure. After crossing the Wye we pass through Glifach Nature Reserve in the glorious Marteg valley – so much to see and take in, it has to be done slowly. Then gaining height again, with fantastic views of our progress, we enter into more civilised territory, stopping at Cal’s cake and egg shed for purchases and sheltering from a localised down-pour. This was a linear walk that brought us back to Beili Neaudd accommodation.

Wendy - 'Tuesday  took in aspects of the Monks Trod and Gilfach Nature Reserve up to the long house which is always a great visit. The nature reserve is a special place full of rare birds whose numbers are now increasing , hundreds of species of lichen as well as funghi. It is an important place for Wales’ wildlife.
​As Charlie Dimmock had redesigned Ruth’s garden in 2019 we accepted an invite to go and view her garden - what a special visit. It was so lovely and very inspiring. Garden envy was experienced.'

After our dinner we all set off in the minibus to visit Ruth and were blown away by her cottage style garden. Absolutely beautiful, so full of character and a huge variety of flowers  and fruits that all complimented each other.
​https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000mvdf

Wendy - 'Wednesday took in views of Penygarreg Reservoir up to Crugyn Ci. A great walk again across remote terrain offering views of everything the Elan Valley has to offer.

​Thursday
Two walks were on offer -  Abbey Cwm Hir or Drygarn Fawr. Alan took two of our participants to Abbey Cwm Hir and then to the Visitors Centre and Helen took the remaining crowd on a very straightforward route to the top of Drygarn Fawr (645m). We were so happy on reaching the top, and elated with the achievement. We were amazed by the far reaching views and being somewhere so wild and remote. Going the same way back down was the best option, avoiding any ankle breaking territory so that the special moment wasn’t spoilt on the last leg of the week.
​
A meal out at The Triangle in Rhayader finished the week off nicely and we all enjoyed our meals.

Wendy - 'Thursday was the highlight with a brilliant and straightforward walk up Drygarn Fawr to see two Bronze Age burial chambers with Victorian cairns erected on the summit. The trig point being totally eclipsed by these. My response to the views is that they are totally magnificent with nothing but wilderness to see. We could see the whole of the Brecon Beacons from Hay Bluff and Pen Y Fan over to the Carmarthen Fans. The opposite view presented the Pumlumon Massif range as well as the faint outline of the Arrans. The walk back offered a spectacular show from the sunlight and clouds which constantly changed the shades of green across the moorland and surrounding mountains. The walk was a typical Bryn Walking day but one of the best!
We then spent a lovely late afternoon in the bunkhouse garden chatting over tea and cake about our walks. A meal in the Triangle pub in Rhayader rounded off a great week walking.' ​

9 Comments
WENDY COTTIS ( [email protected] )
9/7/2023 12:47:22
Love the mirror pictures when we were in the garden. A truly great trip. 

HELEN ( NO EMAIL )
9/7/2023 14:06:57
Yes aren’t they great. Alan has the credit for those beautiful photos and others on the blog. 

BETHAN ( NO EMAIL )
11/7/2023 20:17:16
I’ve really enjoyed reading the blog & seeing the lovely pictures of what looks like a fabulous week of walking you all had!
One day, ( when I retire) I’ll have more time to join in these residential weeks…or otherwise wait for one that includes a weekend?!

RUTH REES ( [email protected] )
9/7/2023 15:58:41
Such wonderful photos everyone, you obviously had an amazing week, so lovely to catch up with you all and thank you for popping over to see the garden :-) I'll be walking with you all very soon!

HELEN ( NO EMAIL )
9/7/2023 16:13:34
It was a gem in our week and an unexpected activity - those are the best. A beautiful garden and the environment too, being on your farm with the chickens, dogs and your son working hard with the sheep. Thank you. See you soon. 

ALAN WARDLINK( [email protected] )
9/7/2023 21:01:57
An enjoyable event for me, working with Helen and a group of six participants who were a pleasure to be with.

HELEN ( NO EMAIL )
10/7/2023 07:00:01
Roll on the next!

LOUISE EYNON ( [email protected] )
10/7/2023 21:23:02
Looks like you all had a great week! Fab photos and extra treats visiting Ruth in her garden. Lovely 😋 🌼 

HELEN ( NO EMAIL )
3/8/2023 10:02:45
It was brill. You'd have liked the Drygarn Fawr walk for sure so I'm glad you have signed up for this in October.
 

A memorable trek in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas. We flew to Kathmandu via Doha and stayed at the Ambassador Hotel in Kathmandu. Tulsi Gyawali of Nepal Sanctuary Treks had put the itinerary together with Alan Ward. We started with a city tour of Kathmandu.
On Day 6 of the trek we reached the Annapurna Base Camp (4130m) of Annapurna South (7219 m). The sacred mountain Machhapuchchhre (6997m) remained in our view for most of the trek, looking over us. Our main Guide Tensing was very experienced, caring and kind. He did his utmost to make our trek enjoyable and to suit our needs. Tulsi the trek provider made sure our whole trip was memorable and provided luxury accommodation in Kathmandu and Pokhara, he also treated us all to a Nepalese dinner on the last night - something I had never experienced before and will always remember - it was a high quality night both in terms of food and entertainment, very unusual indeed. Thank you Tulsi for this superb trip of a life time and to Alan Ward who made it happen. Alan is always thinking ahead and made several changes throughout the trip to better our experience - he hatches a plan and carries it through, we relied on him!

For a more detailed account of our time in Kathmandu, please read Alan Ward's interesting blog with lots of fabulous photographs. Link to Alan's blog - annapurna base camp

Pre Trek 
​A selection of photographs from our Kathmandu city tour and journey to Pokhara.

Please note that sometimes my tracker didn't collect data accurately as is often the case in mountainous terrain.

Day 1 November 9th
Dampus to Pothana
Distance: 3.37km
Total ascent: 299m
Total descent: 32.5m
Max altitude: 2002m
Walking time: 1.25 hr ​

Day 2 November 10th
Pothana to Jhinu
Distance: 20.48km
Total ascent: 1248m
Total descent: 1519m
Max altitude: 2018m
Walking time:  8hr ​40mins

Day 3 November 11th
Jhinu to Bamboo
Distance: 14.3km
Total ascent: 1514m
Total descent: 928m
Max altitude: 2488m
Walking time:  9hr ​

Day 4 November 12th
Bamboo to Deurali
Distance: 13km
Total ascent: 1629m
Total descent: 691m
Max altitude: 3253m
Walking time:  7hr ​

Day 5 November 13th
Deurali to MBC (Machhapuchchhre Base Camp)
Distance: 6.5km
Total ascent: 1811m
Total descent: 1340m
Max altitude: 3742m
Walking time:  3hr ​20min

Objective achieved
​We reached Machhapuchchhre Base Camp (3700m) in the afternoon of the 13th November, with beautiful winter sunshine. We were warm on the terrace while eating our lunch which was lovely fresh food, as always. Machhapuchchhre was looking over us again, this time at close range – we really felt at its foothills. We all decided to do a bit a washing as it was so sunny but in hindsight this was silly because the winter sun was soon gone and in the morning our items were hanging on the line frozen.

After lunch Tensing suggested that we walked halfway up to ABC to acclimatise. This we did. The sun had not only gone but thick afternoon mist had descended into the valley. We walked to 3900m and then returned to MBC. Thankfully it lifted before it got dark and we were able to go and have a look at the glacial valley at the foot of Machhapuchchhre. It was amazing. The common room was very cold as temperatures had dropped to sub-zero, so we were early to bed and were to expect bed tea at 0530 ready for a 0630 start. We were very lucky with the weather and could see all the mountain tops except for Annapurna I (the highest in the horseshoe). It’s an easy gradual ascent and nobody struggled with the altitude, but we didn’t outstay our welcome at the Base Camp, as affects soon might set in. We were elated on reaching the Annapurna Base Camp (4130m) and took many photos. We did take the opportunity to have a quick cup of tea while there – well, why not have the highest cup of tea on the trek!

Thank you!
I would like to thank firstly our porters who work so hard and reliably get to the lodges before us and have our bags waiting for us to arrive, the guides Tensing, Nurbu and Domar for their experience and care for us throughout the trek, Tulsi for putting together a superb trek itinerary with a pre and post trek program and included our very special visit to Dhampus, and lastly Alan Ward who we relied on for logistics, contingencies and humour. I sincerely hope it won't be your last visit to the Himalayas Alan.

A beautiful drawing in the cafe at Birethanti where we presented the tips and thank you gifts. The drawing has everything to remind me of the beautiful Annapurna region - the lodges, suspension bridges, eagles, rice fields, jungles and more. I hope that the artist won't mind me sharing it on here.

Closing thoughts 
After this trek I questioned why it is that I enjoy trekking so much and why I enjoy being at high altitude.
I feel so privileged to have the experience for 2 reasons:
1. To be able to afford and logistically get there easily.
2. That the locals welcome us into their way of life and give us standards and comforts, that might be lower than what we are used to, but probably far higher than their own.

I also like to welcome and enjoy the challenges so that those challenges don't become hardships, and I like to embrace, respect and enjoy the differences in culture so that those differences don't become difficulties or misunderstandings.