Travel Life
slowly form connections and friendships with people outside of your group. Our days were spent with our group and
included sailing, climbing, teas games on the beach, pottery, boogie boarding, crazy golf, jelly fights, cooking, bike rides and a talent show. Then after a full day of fun all the groups got together and had dinner. This was the time when everyone would share stories, shower and change. Then it was a short walk down to the beach where we sang and had barbequed bananas and chocolate or marshmallows as
Top Tips if you are Going to a Camp by Ella Greaves
1 Get ready to meet people different from your friends at home 2 Try new things 3 Take a good joke along 4 After the trip keep in contact with people
the sun was setting and the tide going out: it was magical. At night, we slept in tents of 4, 5 or 6 people, and ate our meals in tepees. I have made friends that I still stay in touch with; including three brothers from Geneva and a boy from Dubai. That was one of the best things, being able to meet people from different countries and just be thrown into a situation. So I can guarantee that the people I met will be dear to me for years and years! I would never change anything about it. I loved every moment!
With waterproofs at the ready, William Loran and his daughter, Leila, 11, tried out pony trekking
I
f your daughter has been bitten by the horse bug, you can either give support, and endless waiting hours at a stable yard, or you can be more pro-active, and get involved yourself.
Our 11-year-old daughter Leila has been bit-
ten by the bug for a good two ponies and six years now, and a couple of years go, me and my wife Rehana drifted into taking lessons at the same time as Leila. At Easter, we packed our bags for the Radnor Hills in the Welsh Marches near Hay-on-Wye for a unique riding holiday. Most of these seem to be variations of pony trekking, but our trip organised through FreeRein, was going to be different: what they do is give you the horses, a map, the destination of a rural pub or rustic B&B, instructions to get there – and then you are on your own. Freedom! Leila was excited about the prospect of
doing everything for ourselves; Rehana was more anxious about everything – grooming, feeding, checking girths, and all the palaver that comes with looking after horses. We arrived at the Coach House of Clyro
Court, the ancestral home of the Baskervilles, left our bags that would be forwarded to our night’s destination and were introduced to our horses, Shadow, Sprite and Toffee. Then we got down to some serious bonding, in the form of strong-arm grooming, with the horses that would be our friends over the next 3 days. With waterproofs at the ready, in case the dreadful weather forecast became a reality, we
walked up the narrow lanes to the start of the Begwyn Hills, a wide expanse of open common. We stopped for a lunch from the sad- dlebags and took in the views of the Black Mountains, still dotted with spots of snow. Leila noticed that the sound of traffic had been replaced by a chorus of skylarks. FreeRein offers a variety of routes from 2-7
days for unguided horse rides. We had opted for the Old Drovers which gave us three days and two nights to discover the delights of the Radnor Hills. Staying one night at a delightful B&B, and
the next in a friendly country pub, we spent our time feeling on top of the world. The riding was good, with willing horses canter- ing along the wide grassy tracks of the open uplands, or we’d just enjoy the view as we plotted our route on the map at a gentle walk. As we came off the hills, there were lambs in the fields, and picturesque farms dotting the panorama, while in the skies buzzards kept us company. And whether it was a packed lunch or a stop at a country pub, we were in control of our day and free to investigate the stone circles and other rich historical veins that litter the countryside. Even if you are gambling with the weather
in April, seeing fields full of new-born lambs is a golden reward. Add to that the views of the Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons, Carmarth- en Fans, Malvern and Shropshire Hills, and skies where red kites soar with the thermals and you have an unforgettable experience.
Summer 2012 FirstEleven 63
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