Easter Duke of Edinburgh Expedition

Easter Monday saw 18 Year 11 girls set off on their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Practice Expedition to North Wales.  Spring may have sprung but they endured all four seasons in three days.  Day One was a long slog through the rain through Llandegla Forest, over the Horseshoe Pass and down the valley to Llangollen.  Skies cleared just in time to pitch tents beneath the ruins of Castell Dinas Bran.  Day Two was a scorcher by comparison, rouging many cheeks.  Teams bestrode Thomas Telford’s mighty Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, 120 feet above the River Dee, forging onward by way of Chirk Castle.  Clear skies meant near-zero overnight temperatures, yet battle was cheerfully resumed on Day Three for the final gallop along Offa’s Dyke to Oswestry.  All manner of privations were endured: trench foot, Trangia cooking and even the attentions of an over-familiar ram, yet as always the spirit of BEFL prevailed.  Well done, girls – you were an absolute credit to yourselves.  Bring on the Eden Valley in July!