Busy couple of days at Ardmore

Climbing, orienteering, lobster creeling and more

Tuesday started with the traditional 7am run or swim. Over 20 of the pupils took the bolder option and tore up the calm waters of Loch A Chadh-Fi on the swim, with the rest of the pupils going for a run along the track.

Reds competed against the Blues on the rock climbing and abseiling crag and on ‘search to survive’, a wilderness orienteering course where the pupils operate independently for the first time, without direct oversight of an instructor… a vital first step towards their experience on survival island. Another pretty windy day but apart from one short sharp shower around midday, we escaped much rain and the day was mostly sunny.

Today saw teams out on the loch aboard Argo and Victoria, heading across the loch to Ardmore to see John Ridgway’s 1966 Atlantic rowing boat and Rebecca’s 1991 Cape Horn sea kayak, picking up lobster creels on their way. A real variety of catch; little spider crabs, shore, brown, hermit and velvet swimming crabs, whelks and a young lobster. Teams were also competing in the raft build and race, and learning how to build improvised shelters for their night on the island.

And then…. after survival tea, the teams took to the boats again to head out to survival island. A beautiful sunny and breezy afternoon and evening, near perfect conditions for survival island. It is the time that many of the children look forward to the most, a chance to operate without teachers or instructors, to use the skills that we have taught them here, to create their own experience, sleeping under old yacht sails and small bivvy tarps and cooking on open fires.

We will take them off the island in time for breakfast tomorrow and then to the beach, for a chance to relax before returning home tomorrow.

The pupils are on great form.