Schoolboy adventures

King Edward's School boys have a busy time growing up. The School runs many great camps, excursions and great adventures to raise the expectations and enjoyment of adolescent boys.


I was fortunate to be invited to one such event in the Yorkshire dales during 'Expeditions Weekend'. While buses took scores of senior boys south to live aboard ship in Portsmouth or another RAF group to Norfolk, we headed north to go underground in Yorkshire's dales.
Walking and caving in limestone country is an adventurous experience. Trapped in the dark for four hours can test one's endurance. We were all given clothing and equipment to prepare for this damp caving experience. To keep us warm, we were dressed in furry body suits in bright colours of red or blue, so that we looked like we had entered an episode of Tellytubbies. Covered with another semi-waterproof bodysuit, capped with a helmet and footed with Wellington boots, we were ready to tackle the wet and cold.
So we thought.

I was glad I was tall when we had to straddle a wide gap with what was, in effect, an underwater river that would reach up to my crotch. Ohh ... I forgot to say ... the outside air temperature was hovering just above zero and puddles were iced over.
Many young boys could not negotiate the width, and dropped into the icy water fed by snow melt. Their wellies instantly filled with the water. But to me there was a big cold shrinking incentive not to fall in.

However, these same boys had the advantage when negotiating the low ceilings, while I struggled on my knees. We slid through tight caverns, stepped over others, and slipped and scraped our way through tight spaces ... and it was such great fun!

After our underground discovery, we were treated to two long walks along valleys carved by long gone glaciers that scoured the landscape and left their rocky remains in big moraine piles. These King Edward experienced leaders gave the boys a wide berth to explore, where they rock scrambled, jumped boulders, climbed ravines, kissed waterfalls, and splashed through streams and enjoyed their time. We covered 15 miles and never heard the moan, 'Are we there yet?', because around every corner was a new adventure ready to be encountered.



This was a perfect adventurous weekend that every young man should have at least once.

King Edward's boys are in very capable hands. (Photos by Chris Boardman)