They did it!! Our intrepid group of students successfully completed their practice expedition last week in preparation for the qualifying expedition they will be undertaking this summer as the final part of their Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

They split into 2 groups and went their separate ways on the first day before meeting up at the campsite. 4 canoeists travelled from Marple to Poynton along the Macclesfield Canal..

5 hikers carrying full packs trekked from Poynton to Marple, travelling through Lyme Park and joining elements of the Gritstone Trail in the Peak District..

The weather was changeable with both groups getting a good soaking early on but thankfully it then improved through the day. Leah took this soaking a step further by sampling the canal water directly, although fortunately a kind landlady let us use the facilities to dry her off and change into some warmer, dryer clothes before continuing..

Apparently the walkers did not have it easy either, with a few taking a tumble on some very muddy slippery slopes..

Fortunately it was dry when both groups arrived at Elm Beds campsite and put up our new 3 man tents..

Lots of pasta and rice was cooked and consumed to recharge the energy levels before a somewhat cool night’s camping..

They awoke to a warm, sunny day ready for a simple journey to finish at Bollington before getting back on the bus for a well-earned rest. Here are all the pictures from their adventure:

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”57″ gal_title=”Silver D of E practice April 16″]

You can read what our head boy thought of his experience here.

We think it was a reasonably challenging 2 days to prepare our students for the 3 day challenge ahead – hopefully the weather will be a bit warmer in a few months!