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Over the half term break, four TWGGS CCF cadets took part in a joint expedition with Malvern College to the Cairngorms. Activities during the time away included ice awareness, climbing, igloo construction, avalance survival skills, and mountain trekking with overnight shelter in a mountain bothy. Here, the four cadets share their experiences with us:

"We began our week away from home with the journey up to Malvern College to meet the rest of the cadets. We took several trains but finally after an evening's travel made it to Malvern with an amazing greeting from the school and lots of snacks! The following day all of us made our way up the Cairngorms, with over ten hours in a coach. 

The next week was spent with all day treks up and around the various mountains and peaks. With the weather on our side, the snow was still plentiful which meant lots of ice axe-ing and crampons. Coakley especially didn't love this part. I think it was fair to say that Nicholson’s love for sliding down steep snow never went unnoticed and we even managed to convince our guide for an extra couple! We took various different routes, some more uphill and more difficult than others, but with lots of laughing and photo taking, the days definitely flew by. On the last couple we stayed overnight in a bothy in literally the middle of nowhere, sung songs around a fire and ate the traditional scottish dish of haggis. The group of twelve cadets were so fun to be around and chat with especially with everyone coming from all over the country. 

The days always ended with Zoe, the fantastic cook, making us cookies or brownies and these sweet treats were certainly an amazing way to end the very physical days. Dinner every night was so tasty, but I think we all agreed that the washing up and cleaning after wasn't so amazing! 

Our dorm had lots of room with a bunk bed each and the living area had the best, most comfortable sofas to rest our legs. We spent most days laughing through the pain and overall we are all in agreement that the Cairngorms trip of 2023 was the highlight of our CCF so far! "

Cpl Coakley, SSgt Croker, Sgt Newberry and Cpl Nicholson