Outdoor Activities in Yorkshire. 6th August 2014.

Last Wednesday saw the final piece of work with Village Camps in 2014 when once again we met a group of young children & staff who had an outdoor activity booked as part of their visit to Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The group arrived at Brimham Rocks at around 10am and were split into two smaller groups - one going straight off to enjoy an Introductory Rock Climbing Session as in photo one and the other group scrambling amongst the many rock outcrops that Brimham has to offer.

After two & a half hours of rock climbing and scrambling it was time to pack up and drive the eight or so miles to Howstean Gorge in nearby Nidderdale.

Before the group arrived, we all set up the tents required so that the group would be able to spend the night on the campsite here before their departure the next morning.

Upon the groups arrival, they were all kitted out with wetsuits, cagoules, walking boots, buoyancy aids, helmets & harnesses for the next activity that was part of their Outdoor Activity Day in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

This involved first abseiling off the bridge over Howstean Gorge as seen here in Photo two. The bridge had two purpose built "abseil stations" and members of the group abseil down two at a time - connected to a safety rope of course!

Once the whole group were safely in the bottom of the gorge we could begin our gorge walking session.

So what is Gorge Walking? Well - the same as Ghyll Scrambling! OK - so what is it? Both are names for the same wet activity - wet because basically, you get into a stream or river and walk (or swim!) upstream or sometimes downstream.

Gorge walking (ghyll Scrambling) is a lot of FUN and is a real adeventure as you scramble over boulders, up waterfalls - never knowing quite what is around the next bend (unless you are the leader!)

The gorge at Howstean is set in Limestone and is up to 50 feet deep in places. Limestone is the rock normally associated with caves and caving sessions and as it happens there are two caves both leading into the gorge.

The final photo from this Outdoor Activity Day in the Yorkshire Dales National Park sees Iain's group as we headed back out from the gorge via Tom Taylors Cave.

This is a short 100 metre long cave reached from either the walkway which traverses through the gorge or from the stream bed and it is long enough to give the children a taste of what caving is all about.

On this occasion - as with all the previous reports related to Village Camps, Iain was working here on behalf of another provider but if you are visiting The Lake District with your family and would like to try any of the activities listed in this post then visit our website here as we also provide all of them. Prices start at £45 per person with discounts applied for children.

Half day Caving Session in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Tuesday 5th August 2014

Last Tuesday, Iain ran a half day Caving Session in the Yorkshire Dales for Bob, Jenny & Alex Lee. The family were holidaying in the area and staying in Ingleton and they decided to call in to Inglesport to see if a recommendation for a caving instructor could be found to provide their son, Alex, with his first caving experience.

Inglesport recommended that the family contact us; and as it happened, we had a few spare days this week in which to arrange the caving session for them.

Iain met the family at Inglesport. Initially, it was decied that the venue would be Long Churns, but on arrival at Long Churns Lane Iain observed six minibuses parked meaning that there would be a lot of people underground. He did not think this would be condusive to a great caving experience for the family.

So instead, we went to Browgill Cave across the valley. Photo one sees Bob, Jenny & Alex as we were about to go underground at Browgill Cave.

Browgill Cave starts off as a walk in with the emerging stream to a low crawl before one suddenly finds ones-self in a high rift passage with the ceiling some 10 metres above.

We continued by following this rift which narrows in to the point where you can only progress by moving sideways along it as you head towards the distant rumble of the underground waterfall.

Before you get to the waterfall, there is a climb up left to another crawl which leads back to the stream and on to the infamous squeezes of The Letterbox or The Slot - both of which lead into Hainsworth's Passage in photo two.

Photo three was taken after all three of the family had emerged from Hainsworth's Passage into the larger cave which gradually increases with hieght and leads back to the main streamway again.

Bob and Jenny have been into Browgill before and know many of the cave systems to be found in the Yorkshire Dales. Back in the early 90's they were both part of a university Caving Club and had many adventures underground introducing freshers to the delights of caving. Now living on the south coast of England they are no longer involved with caving - but wanted son Alex to experience some proper caving - and so far, he was thoroughly enjoying himself!

Beyond Hainsworth's passage, the upper streamway leads on for some 400 metres. Starting as a low crawl that clearly floods when Browgill Beck is in spate, one eventually meets the stream as it sinks into the floor.

Continuing upstream a small rift is passed from which the stream emerges but the way on left leads back to the stream. Eventually daylight; and a waterfall can be seen in the distance. This is the point at which Browgill Beck enters the cave via the 11 metre drop that is Calf Holes - the scene of our Level 2 Caving Trip from last Sunday.

At this point, we turned around and headed back downstream. On arriving at Hainsworth's passage, we crawled back through and emerged at the stream - this time via the alternative route of The Slot.

We descended with the stream which quickly drops into a canyon and then shoots out into space in a large chamber at the end of the lower rift passage. The waterfall is about 8 metres high and cannot be descended so we climbed back upstream, then over and back down into the rift we had followed earlier before heading back out into daylight.

Photo five sees Jenny, Bob & Alex having dealt with the "sting in the tail" - the walk back uphill from the cave mouth to the dirt track that led back to the vehicle. Iain thought this photo worth taking - typical Yorkshire Dales scenery, beautiful, we are sure you'll agree!

Bob, Jenny & Alex's Introductory Caving Session in the Yorkshire Dales National Park cost just £45 per person. The price includes provision of all the equipment you see the family wearing and in this case, a lift from & back to Ingleton.

If you like the sound of a great caving session underground with an experienced and enthusiastic Cave Leader then contact us to book your session here. We look forward to working with you.

Caving Sessions in The Yorkshire Dales National Park. August 3rd 2014.

Yesterday, Iain was out again -this time Caving in the Yorkshire Dales National Park with Sarah Huntley & her husband Richard.

Sarah enjoys the outdoor life - being brought up by parents who love doing stuff in the outdoors and indeed, Sarah's Mum - Doreen, booked her daughter an activity day with us by way of buying one of our Gift Vouchers as a Christmas Present - what a lovely idea!

It took until yesterday for Sarah to redeem her gift voucher due to an unexpected setback some months earlier, but the pair met Iain at Inglesport yesterday morning as the starting point for the day of caving and abseiling that had been previously arranged.

Photo one sees Richard & Sarah as we started our Introductory Caving Session at Long Churns at around 10am.

We did our usual Introductory Caving Session with this pair - starting at Middle Entrance and making our way down into Lower Long Churns to ultimately arrive at the famous (or infamous!) Cheese Press where both successfully squeezed through - easily as it happens! We then made our way to the head of the Dolly Tubs Pitch so that, with lights out, we could see the daylight entering from Alum Pot.

On the way back out, we exited via Diccan Entrance - taking a quick detour to the pitch head of Diccan Pot via the streamway (which is where photo two was taken) before re-appearing in daylight at Diccan Entrance.

As the pair were truly enthusiastic about caving and already pretty wet, we did the upstream crawl from Diccan entrance to Middle Long Churns and then headed into Cross Passage, ultimately emerging in Upper Long Churns - a wide, roomy passageway.

After returning to daylight at Middle Entrance and then climbing the entrance waterfall, we continued along Upper Long Churns, eventually arriving at the large pool of Doctor Bannister's Washbasin.

Here, we climbed the waterfall to emerge into somewhat inclement weather at the upstream entrance into the Long Churns Cave system. The time was about mid-day!

Normally, photo three - taken on the nearby Limestone pavement would also see a view across Ribblesdale to Penyghent - one of the Yorkshire 3 peaks. Today, that view was shrouded in rain.

For the afternoon option, Iain give the pair three choices - either Abseiling in the wet or an Indoor Climbing Session at Inglesport Wall. Or, provided it didn't get too wet; an introduction to Level 2 Caving at Browgill Cave.

He wasn't really that surprised when they chose the Level 2 Caving option - so what is level 2 caving?

Well, all of our Introductory Caving Sessions in The Yorkshire DalesNational Park are Level 1 Sessions - ie they are walk in/walk out caving trips with vertical pitches of no more than 2 metres involved.

A level 2 Caving Trip is an altogether more serious option only open to people who have already attended a level one trip with us and have exhibited confidence at that level. A Level 2 Caving Trip involves descending or climbing pitches of up to 18 metres or 60 feet. The pitch Iain is lowering Sarah down in photo four is no more than 11 metres.

The weather hadn't gotten any wetter after lunch, so Iain took the pair across valley to do the Calf Holes/Browgill Cave Trip.

This involves an 11 metre lower in to the cave from the surface next to a waterfall and then what is otherwise a Level 1 journey downstream and a tight squeeze through Hainsworth's Passage & The Slot to rejoin the stream and eventually emerge at daylight at Browgill Cave Entrance.

We could have called it a day there, but there was still plenty of time, so we turned around and made our way back to the Calf Holes pitch foot via a slightly different squeeze - The Letterbox (photo five) and then finally, Iain laddered the pair back up the Calf Holes pitch.

This was a truly adventurous day for Sarah & Richard as well as being challenging & strenuous. Our caving sessions are not all like that - we tailor them to your requirements and it was clear that this pair were up to a bit more of a challenge. They had a great day and Iain enjoyed providing it for them.

Sarah & Richard's Caving Day in the Yorkshire Dales National Park cost them £150 or £75 each and all of the equipment you see the pair wearing was included in the price. Our half day Introductory Caving Sessions in the Yorkshire Dales National Park start at just £45 per person with all technical equipment provided and our next blog post will be about just such a session we are running tomorrow.

Caving is fun and everyone should try it at least once! Contact us here to book your session here.

Kayak River Journeys in The Lake District. Saturday August 2nd 2014.

Last weekend, Iain enjoyed a rather wet adventure with Bob & Paul Bettinson from Essex who, whilst visiting Pauls brother in Lancaster, booked a day of Kayaking in The Lake District with us.

This is the third time that Bob & Paul have joined Iain for an adventurous activity session in The Lake District. The first time was an all day Esk Gorge Trip in 2012 and then last year, we spent a day on Derwent Water and the Middle Derwent during an Open Canoe Skills Training Session and a River Journey.

This time, the pair wanted to try Kayaking which is something largely done on moving water. Kayaks were invented by Eskimos for travelling on water. The difference between a Kayak & an Open Canoe is that these are 1 person craft and by use of a spraydeck have closed cockpits (ie the place where a person sits) whereas in an Open Canoe - the cockpit is completely open and those craft are often paddled together by two persons.

Most modern Kayaks are designed for river running as can be seen in photos one & two and are designed to be extremely manoeuvrable - very handy when negotiating a rapid!

Today was a steep learning curve for Bob who does extremely well for a 67 year old! He is travelling down river first in both photos two & three and struggled to get his kayak to go in a straight line throughout the day - this is a common problem for a novice.

However, with Iain's tuition and guiding, the pair mananaged to negotiate a section of the River Lune which, on the stretch that we did, is no more than Grade 2 in difficulty although it looks really impressive in the photos - we are sure you'll agree!

The final photo is taken at the getout. We had started kayaking at 10am and had spent the first hour & a half revisiting moving water skills such as ferry gliding & reverse paddling as well as manoeuvring into & out of eddies (areas of calm water between rapids)

During this 10km river trip both Bob & Paul paddled well with only one swim (well - if you could call it a swim!) taking place when Bob failed to make an eddy and then grabbed a tree - a move which he knows never to make again!

The weather was due to be wet and it duly was - with the worst shower coinciding with Bob's dunking. During the day we received a number of showers but then as the afternoon wore on the weather brightened up as we approached the getout (photo four) finally arriving at 4pm.

Bob & Paul enjoyed yet another day of Adventurous Activities with Iain and are talking about returning next year to finish the upper section of the Esk Gorge which we didn't quite manage two years ago.

Kendal Mountaineering Services run Introductory Kayaking Sessions on most of The Lake Districts Lakes and River Journeys in the area where access permits. Half day sessions start at £45 per person, full day guided River trips start at £80 each. Contact us here to book your Kayaking adventure.

Ghyll Scrambling in The Lake District, Church Beck, Coniston. July 30th 2014.

Last Wednesday, Iain was once again working for The Scouts providing another great Outdoor Activity Session - this time Ghyll Scrambling in The Lake District at Church Beck, Coniston.

Today's group were the 1st Holborn Scout Group from King's Cross in London. The group were enjoying a weeks camping and outdoor activities in The Lake District and were staying at Great Tower Scout Camp near Windermere.

Photo one shows the group getting stuck in as we set off up the lower part of Church Beck - wading through the first really deep pool we come across on this Ghyll Scrambling Ascent.

It is clear that the group were enjoying themselves immensely already!

In photo two, the group take a wet pose for this photograph, at this point we had travelled some 300metres on this Ghyll Scrambling ascent and there were another 500metres to go.

A little further on there is a deep pool with a waterfall and there are several places from which to jump in from the rocky sides. You'll will be fine jumping as long as you bring your feet up to prevent striking the bottom - even though the pool is deep enough to swim in.

Above that one eventually comes to the tree in photo three.

Photo three sees one of the group enjoying a wet challenge. The tree lies across the bed of the ghyll and has a gap underneath it into which most of the water flows - unless there is a lot of water in which case it will be flowing over the top and it would not be possible to do what we see group members doing here!

The idea is to lie on your back and stick your head & shoulders through first - into the falling water! However, if you keep your nose up against the tree you can avoid getting a faceful!

It was quite a tight squeeze for the young chap in this photo - you can see by the water that he all but blocked the hole! Just like everyone else, he thoroughly enjoyed the experience though!

The final photo from this Ghyll Scrambling Session in The Lake District sees the group at the big pool just before the area known as the "top jumps".

The top jumps can be read about in this post and we do them as part of our Canyoning Descents of Church Beck which we consider to be even more fun than Ghyll Scrambling here.

Just above the waterfall in this photo, we exited Church Beck with this group and then Iain demonstrated the high jump of the left hand bank and the slide down the chockstone pitch back into the pool where the group were waiting. After that we all got out and went for coffee & cake in Ambleside.

Our Ghyll Scrambling and Canyoning Sessions in The Lake District cost £45 per person for a four hour session and this includes the provision of wetsuit, walking boots, cagoule, buoyancy aid, helmet & harness each. For the ultimate ghyll scrambling experience in the Lake District you should also consider our all day Esk Gorge Trips. Contact us here to make your booking.

Rock Climbing, Gorge Walking & Abseiling in The Yorkshire Dales. Wednesday & Thursday 23rd & 24th July 2014.

We were back in Yorshire again on July 23rd & 24th in what has been one of the hottest weeks of 2014. As far as Summers go then 2014 has to have been one of the best in recent years - if anything, it was a little too hot this week!

And it has been great weather for doing anything outdoors - it is quite surprising that we haven't been booked solid with Ghyll Scrambling & Canyoning Sessions in The Lake District. It has also been extremely good weather for rock climbing as it was here when another group of international students from Village Camps joined us at Brimham Rocks for an Introductory Rock Climbing Session.

As usual, the morning session Rock Climbing at Brimham was followed with our relocating to Howstean Gorge in Nidderdale for the afternoon session. This consists of Abseiling from the bridge over the gorge into the bed and then then Gorge Scrambling.

The Abseil is arranged in such a way that two persons can descend at the same time as seen here in photo two. Setting off from the bridge is a real challenge as it really is a case of leaning backwards into thin air and the bed of the gorge seems a long way below. The very start of any Abseil is the most challenging part but once the people Abseiling realise they are in control then they are usually ok - in fact most people go on to really enjoy it. It is a great challenge for the adrenalin junkie and very popular with Stag Groups.

At all times during any Abseiling Session you are attached to a safety backup rope which is paid out by the instructor at the top - this is to ensure that if you let go of the abseil rope you don't plummet to the floor!

For those young people lucky enough to have abseiled in to the gorge first then it was straight on upstream. Gorge Scrambling & Ghyll Scrambling are terms for the same activity - get kitted up in a wetsuit, a cagoule, buoyancy aid and a pair of wellingtons, get in the stream and go!

Ghyll Scrambling or Gorge Walking usually refers to walking up stream - climbing up small waterfalls, swimming through pools, it is an ideal activity for those hot Summer days when you want to cool off. With the wetsuit and everything else provided you won't get too cool though and the buoyancy aid will keep you afloat when you get out of your depth as some of the children did here in photo three.

Howstean Gorge is a deep narrow canyon set in Limestone and is flanked on either side by woodland which means that it can appear quite dark when one is in it and of course there are two caves which can be visited as part of the session - make sure you have a few headtorches amongst your party!

Unusually for these Village Camps sessions, we had two days back to back. The first day consisted of Introductory Rock Climbing at Brimham followed by Abseiling & Gorge Walking at Howstean.

Following that, the first days group were joined for a barbeque & overnight camp at Howstean by another group with whom we worked the following morning - but in reverse.

So on day two we Abseiled and Gorge Scrambled first before heading back to Brimham for an afternoon of Introductory Rock Climbing and some Scrambling.

The final photo of the day sees Iain's group during the latter part of the afternoon whilst we were scrambling at Brimham Rocks. At Brimham, there are a great many outcrops of Gritstone creating rock tors which can be climbed upon and we had a great deal of fun climbing up, through and across these linking one rock outcrop with the next - the children loved it!

All of the activities listed here are also run by Kendal Mountaineering Services in The Lake District, so if you are coming to the area with your family  and fancy trying out some these great activities - then give us a call to arrange your outdoor activity session. We look forward to working with you.

Caving Sessions in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Monday 21st July 2014.

On Monday, Iain was once again working on a freelance basis for Great Tower Scout Camp providing yet another Introductory Caving Session in The Yorkshire Dales - this time for the 2nd Balsall Common Scout Group who were visiting The Lake District from Warwickshire.

Iain took the group to Long Churns in The Yorkshire Dales National Park - one of our favourite Introductory Caving Venues.

As can be seen in photo one, we had a beautiful day for going underground and as in the previous week, water levels were very low.

We entered Long Churns via Middle Entrance - one of the main ways into the cave system and Iain allowed the group to "self explore" the Upper Long Churns passageway as far as Doctor Bannister's Washbasin.

Doctor Bannister's Washbasin is a large underground pool of water some 10 metres across and at the back of it, Alum Pot Beck enters down a 3 metre waterslide.

In wet conditions, one has to be careful here as although the waterslide is not steep it has been worn smooth by 15'000 years of water flowing down it; although the rock is surprising grippy for all that. The problem comes from the jet of water flowing down the fall - if it is more than a few inches deep, then it is powerful and can easily sweep an inexperienced person off their feet. On this particular Introductory Caving Session The Yorkshire Dales, the water level here was low and the children could climb the fall easily - as in photo two.

Above Doctor Bannisters Washbasin one exits out to daylight at the upstream entrance to the Long Churns Cave System - very close to the Limestone Pavement where photo one was taken.

Above here, Alum Pot issues from the very low wet, downstream exit that is part of the Borrin's Moor Cave System - but there are several other entrances & exits to this smaller, interesting cave system and in photo three, the children on this session can be seen entering by the largest & driest of those entrances.

We had a foray downstream in this cave to where it gets very low and wet - ultimately leading to the downstream exit already mentioned. However, whilst some of these children were keen to experience a low wet crawl, the majority were not, so we returned upstream for a distance before branching off up a side passage where Iain asked the children to look out for another side passage  where daylight could be observed - another exit. This is not easy to find, but find it they did; and along with Iain, quite a few of them enjoyed the relatively short but tight corkscrew passage back to the surface - a fine little caving challenge!

We still had a bit of time left for some more caving so, Iain took the group back to Diccan Entrance in Long Churns and we got back underground via the wet upstream crawl into this system and then headed down Lower Long Churns past the challenges of Double Shuffle Pool and Plank Pool before returning to daylight via the downstream entrance to Diccan Pot.

Part of this involves another crawl and here, one of our most enthusiastic cavers on this day - Amy, emerges into the streamway.

All of the children loved their Introductory Caving Session in The Yorkshire Dales with us, They also enjoyed a brew and a bit of fab cake in Inglesport when we stopped off there on our way home (as we always do!) to drop off the hired caving helmets.

Another fab day underground with us! If you fancy trying caving then contact us here. Prices start at £45 per person for a half day (four hour) session with all technical equipment and guiding included as part of the fee. We look forward to working with you.