OSCE mocks in Bournemouth led to desperate measures @AdamEvans: With 3 consecutive days of 'school' and tired of commuting 1h30 before and after each day, I opted for a cheap camp site close to campus. To my surprise, I found a £12pp pn camp site near (ish) pool in Lytchett Minster. On arrival, there was no reception, no staff, and no sign of anyone. Called the landline I found online, and was advised to pitch wherever and the warden would probably come round and see me later on (he did not). I opted for ...

Wet moorland walk after night in the van @AdamEvans: After a blustery, rainy night, the prospect of going out on the moors seemed rather bleak. However, we mustered the bravery to face the weather with the promise of a cafe only 3k down a decent path into Princetown. Just as well as TJ realised his boots had died on a previous trip, only at the time of deployment. After a gentle jaunt along the motorway footpath, escorted by Jimmy the black lab, we arrived in Princetown with birthday pleasantries complet ...

Swildon upper series - individual reflections to follow, photos to start stories

Parked at 'Blaen y Glyn Uchaf' car park. Climbed up the Breacons way to the plateux, across to Fan y Big, back across access land.

Short trip in Sludge Pit @AdamEvans: Due to time restraints for John and worse than normal lack of sleep for Rich, as well as significantly high water tables, we opted for a short, relatively dry trip down sludge put. This was John’s 3rd cave, first time underground for Adam since May’s lockdown busting adventure week, and Rich’s first time underground since 8am this morning so anticipation was high. It proved a great choice of cave from Rich, providing a chilled out reintroduction to the underground wor ...

Making the most of a gap between lectures to get out for fresh air @AdamEvans: Full waterproofs for the first time this winter. Opted for a canal side walk avoiding traffic and reminding myself of the beauty of the levels. Not quite Switzerland though.

Mountains abandoned for a lower level leg stretch @AdamEvans: A visual assessment of cloud base ruled out plan A of a 1209m summit attempt (for the bar situated at the top). Therefore, we settled for a shorter duration low level wander which ended up further than expected. A nice 7.5km wander through farm tracks to get out and about this afternoon.

Cold water swim SWZ @AdamEvans: We were woken early to be in the water by 0815. Air temperature 5*C. Water temperature ~16*C. The initial cold quickly subsided with increased muscle activity. Continuous swimming for just shy of 20minutes. The longest swim I’ve done in a long time! Not a bad backdrop for such a crazy morning activity. Followed by a 5k run. Sounds mad but the most effective way to warm up after lowering the core temperature. Unfortunately garmin didn’t pick up the swim very well, ...

Sunday morning paddle held some surprises… 8km, Av Speed 5.2km/h, paddling duration 1hr45, swims 0. @AdamEvans: RV at ALHQ on Saturday night for planning. After a debate around location, Axemouth was decided due to ‘flat’ sea state, despite 14mph SSW wind forecast. A private showing of the full T2T video added anticipation for the paddle to come. AE was lazy and couldn’t get out of bed despite being provided with tea … after RJM handed over on call, it was all go and prep began to head south in time f ...

A venture to the moors for some fresh air and a leg stretch.