Getting up early whilst on holiday did not seem like a good idea to me but some of our group had the idea to enjoy a days Gorge walking whilst camping in Wales.
We arrived at the activity centre at 9:00 and were welcomed with a smile and cup of tea as the machine was out of order. Our instructor Haydon sorted out our kit and we headed off in the minibus to the activity location.
We walked a short distance to the river from the minibus and were presented with the first river. Haydon explained the procedure of jumping into the river and swimming across to the other side if we found the river a little cold. I recalled being invited to walk along a Gorge! This was turning out to be more of an adventure than I bargained for.
Once in it wasn’t so bad and after a short swim we were out of the deep stuff and began to start walking up the scenic Gorge. It felt quite tricky at first walking along a river bed, but we soon got our confidence.
Haydon then presented us with our first cave to explore. I sat this one out and let the more adventurous in the group have a go (I hate small spaces). We progressed up the gorge through a series of deeper pools towards the waterfall in the distance. We came to a cave which Haydon promised I could stand in so I gave it a go. We huddled together in pitch darkness following Haydon’s instruction to follow the cave around to the right to get through the hills to the next river. When exiting the cave we found ourselves at the entrance again and realised it was a round cave and we had been tricked. A few laughs later and some banter directed at Haydon we continued on our journey.
Whilst climbing up the waterfall we were given the opportunity to have a power shower. One by one we stood in the full force of the water for as long as we could stand, it was quite exhilarating. We arrived at our first jump opportunity: a six foot or a twelve foot. Hesitation set in but after a nervous minute I jumped hit the water with a splash and really enjoyed the thrill. I was quite happy with the six foot jump but others in the group were looking forward to the 18 footer!
A few more caves, more beautiful scenery and a couple of fun waterslides later we had reached the end of our adventure. We had all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to returning next year. Haydon was a great instructor and made the day very fun.
For information on Gorge walking and other fun activities visit the Black Mountain site on the link below:
Black Mountain Activities Written by Glenn Adama
