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<b>adventure holidays, activity holidays, trekking the inca trail, whale watching,
climbing in spain, dog sledding, holidays in finland, walking in ireland, climbing
on dartmoor, holidays in peru, trekking in the picos de europa, kayaking courses,
holidays in spain, snowmobiling in finland, multi activity holidays, trekking
in romania</b>
</h1>
<h2>Activity and Adventure Holidays in Dartmoor, Spain, Finland, Peru, Romania
and Yukon. Whale watching in the Azores, trekking, climbing, abseiling, canoeing,
kayaking, walking, walking in Ireland. Multi - activity holidays.</h2>
<h3>
<a href="index.htm">adventure holidays</a>, <a href="index.php"> activity
holidays</a>, <a href="activity.html"> trekking the inca trail</a>, <a href="Adventure.html"> whale
watching</a>, <a href="blank.htm">
climbing in spain</a>, <a href="climbing.htm"> dog sledding</a>, <a href="climbinguk.htm"> holidays in
finland</a>, <a href="finland.htm"> walking in ireland</a>, <a href="finland.html"> climbing
on dartmoor</a>, <a href="whale.html"> holidays in peru</a>, <a href="uk.htm">trekking in the
picos de europa</a>, <a href="trekking.html"> kayaking courses</a>, <a href="spain.html">
holidays in spain</a>, <a href="spain.htm"> snowmobiling in finland</a>, <a href="peru.htm"> multi activity
holidays</a>, <a href="pages.php"> trekking
in romania</a>
</h3>
<p> The mission was simple, <b>adventure holidays</b> climb the famed rock stack
known as the Old Man Of Stoer. Our team had been hand-picked for our climbing
skills, <b>multi activity holidays</b> our fitness and <b>adventure holidays</b>
endurance, and our wiliness to fork our considerable sums of money for a flight
to Inverness, <b>activity holidays</b> car hire and other expenses over a bank
holiday weekend. Led by Spirit of Adventure co-founder <b>kayaking courses</b>
John Diplock, <b>activity holidays</b> four of us drove the eighty or so miles
<b>adventure holidays</b> north to Stoer in Scotland's remote and beautiful
Sutherland. Busy main roads from Inverness to the bustling port of Ullapool
gave way to quiet <b>whale watching</b> roads north of Ullapool, and then to
deserted <b>adventure holidays</b> single tracks along the Sutherland coast.
Our destination for the night was a wild campsite on the cliff-tops looking
out over the Minch and the Western Isles. Arriving <b>dog sledding</b> on the
kind of warm, clear <b>activity holidays</b> night rarely encountered in the
<b>activity holidays</b> Scottish Highlands, we decided to bivvy out. Sleeping
on thick heather under a canopy of stars, the only sounds <b>multi activity
holidays</b> the lapping of the sea <b>kayaking courses</b> below us and the
gentle rhythm of <b>activity holidays</b> John's snoring beside us, made for
a magical introduction to this little-visited wilderness in Scotland's remote
north-west.We didn't catch our first glimpse of the <b>kayaking courses</b>
Old Man until next morning. As we lugged our gear <b>whale watching</b> down
to the edge of the cliffs, the unmistakable out line of the rock <b>activity
holidays</b> pinnacle suddenly came to view. Two hundred and <b>multi activity
holidays</b> forty feet tall, at first glance it looks like a <b>kayaking courses</b>
sheer, smooth needle rising vertically <b>multi activity holidays</b> out of
the water. As you approach, the various cracks, lumps and seams covering the
face <b>activity holidays</b> of the stack become visible, making the prospect
of climbing it seem more realistic. But even at close quarters it remains a
formidable sight, standing on its own offshore from the coastline. We scrambled
down to the bottom of the cliffs with some trepidation. For a trio of novice
climbers, the knowledge that Stoer was not scaled until the 1960's <b>adventure
holidays</b> adds to the intimidating presence of the stack. Ullapool GP Tom
Patey, a celebrated sea-cliff climber known to his contemporaries as "Dr Stack",
made the first ascent after using a ladder to cross the stretch of water from
the coast to the base of the stack. As purists, our group naturally shunned
such use of artificial aids. </p>
<p> Instead we sent John to swim across with a rope,
then made our way over <b>activity holidays</b> in relative comfort. It was
at this point our instructor revealed a hitherto unsuspected character flaw.
John may seem like the rugged <b>trekking in the picos de europa</b> outdoor
type, but he certainly proved reluctant to get into that water, even on a bright
sunny <b>adventure holidays</b> morning.This was organised by Spirit of Adventure
as an extended Bank Holiday weekend canoeing trip for novices/improvers. <b>trekking
in the picos de europa</b> The team were John Diplock and Sandy Simpson from
Spirit of Adventure and an extra campsite support member, Jamie. The complete
<b>dog sledding</b> professionalism and enthusiasm of Spirit of Adventure really
is <b>holidays in peru</b> outstanding and must be, to a large degree, why people
keep <b>walking in ireland</b> coming back to the company for their adventure
holidays, skills courses <b>holidays in peru</b> and corporate programmes. To
be invited along as a member of the instructor / campsite team that was to lead
the weekend was truly a privilege. Friday 23rd saw the four of us winding around
Sainsburys in <b>trekking in the picos de europa</b> Exeter collecting up the
necessary food supplies for the campsite meals. A <b>activity holidays</b> breakfast
of cereal and full fry-up, followed by a "here’s the bits, <b>adventure holidays</b>
make your own lunch pack" was to be the start of each of the three days so plenty
of provisions were called for. I think Jamie and I got carried away with the
bread <b>climbing in spain</b> order as we still had <b>holidays in peru</b>
enough left over at the end of the weekend to <b>walking in ireland</b> open
up our own bakery. There was also some talk from those on the weekend about
the size of the cucumbers we bought but it’s best not to get into detail over
that. After clearing out Sainsburys it was <b>holidays in peru</b> time to head
up to Ross-on-Wye and prepare <b>walking in ireland</b> the camp. Everyone coming
on the weekend was sent a <b>holidays in peru</b> detailed letter explaining
that we would meet up in the evening, not at the ‘not-so-easy-to-find’ <b>whale
watching</b> campsite, but a local pub called the ‘Hereford Arms’. It’s a pity
really its name was changed to ‘The White Lion’ three weeks earlier! Still,
tenacity came to the fore and the entire group enjoyed a hearty evening meal
before settling down in their luxurious <b>whale watching</b> and well-prepared
tents. Day 1 <b>dog sledding</b> (Saturday) was designed to <b>whale watching</b>
be shorter than the following two and consisted of 13 miles paddling between
Whitney-on- Wye, where one of the few remaining private toll bridges exists,
and Preston-on-Wye. The campsite for the night was the edge of a field alongside
the river. The egress is straight up the steep bank. Mind you, most egresses
along the Wye are up a steep <b>dog sledding</b> bank so who’s counting! Unlike
the luxury of a permanent Portaloo (with a hot water tap!) at our previous campsite
this field was it, so a truly portable loo was placed amongst the trees with
a beautiful view of the river. <b>adventure holidays</b> Much was going to be
made of ‘washroom’ facilities at the local pub only to find that (at least in
the mens) it was being built/refurbished and there was <b>climbing in spain</b>
no door. We might just as well have enjoyed the view of the river really. John
and Sandy were bivouacing again that night but John was having second thoughts
when a car entered the field and started driving straight towards him! Luckily
he stopped but imagine the poor <b>climbing in spain</b> guys fright if all
of a sudden a green lumpy thing had sprung up in front of him from nowhere!
Come morning we were getting organised for the day when a shout went up that
someone <b>adventure holidays</b> was in the river. After the initial heart-attack
it turned out to be <b>holidays in finland</b> some hardy soul from another
group in the field going for his morning swim. I was relieved really as it meant
a) we didn’t have to go and fish them out and b) we didn’t have to certify anyone
in our group. Day 2 (Sunday) was a longer 19m paddle down to Holme Lacy Bridge.
The journey took us through Hereford where we stopped for lunch. John and I
were at the front of the group and passing under the <b>climbing in spain</b>
first bridge just after the rowing club there was a ‘plop’ in the water beside
us. Fish? We thought. ‘Plop’, ‘plop’, another ‘plop’. Fish my <b>holidays in
spain</b> Aunt Nellie, this was two youths up on the bridge playing let’s concuss
a paddler for fun! Ignoring them as best we could it was a few swift strokes
to get out of range and a much more pleasant lunch stop. <b>holidays in finland</b>
Although we couldn’t stay at the campsite by the river, on <b>climbing in spain</b>
arriving at our day’s destination, we did move on down to a similar site not
far away. This was complete luxury as it had showers and baths and both were
free. Our <b>holidays in finland</b> skin wondered what had hit it but you got
the feeling the rest of the campers appreciated our efforts. It was back to
‘The Green Man’ pub near Holme Lacy for supper where many a happy (?) hour was
spent playing such games as <b>trekking in the picos de europa</b> ‘A face,
two eyes, etc.’ and ‘My rabbit likes porridge, but.. etc.’ <b>trekking in the
picos de europa</b> Of course it was only funny if you got the idea. If you
didn’t it was funny for <b>climbing on dartmoor</b> everyone else as they persisted
relentlessly in showing you up <b>holidays in spain</b> for the dumbo you are!
Back to the campsite and John really ought to realise that bivouacing is dangerous
as a group member tramps all over him trying to get to her tent in the dark.
Of course a bright colour for the bivvy bag might help instead of camouflage
green! Day 3 <b>climbing in spain</b> (Monday) was the final 20 mile paddle
down to Ross-on-Wye <b>whale watching</b> and the long trek back to Devon. Each
day was warmer than the previous <b>holidays in spain</b> one and my eyes were
beginning to suffer. Next time it’s a pair of <b>trekking in the picos de europa</b>
those flashy specs of Sandy’s for me that wrap around the eyes with go <b>climbing
on dartmoor</b> faster side mouldings and a tint that looked like someone had
taken a blow-torch to a sheet of metal. We had in fact spent the weekend with
about 250 <b>trekking in the picos de europa</b> other paddlers involved in
some kind of organised marathon run. During the three <b>snowmobiling in finland</b>
days we spent many a moment trying to tell officials on the banks that we were
not part of any of the other groups and no they should <b>whale watching</b>
not count us. <b>holidays in spain</b> Arriving at Ross-on-Wye we were welcomed
with rapturous applause as the first ones in past the post. There were thoughts
of finding out what the prize was before telling them the same sad story but
once <b>holidays in spain</b> again we owned up early and they had to go on
waiting. Not for long though. A few <b>snowmobiling in finland</b> minutes after
we got in the river was awash with every colour imaginable as group after group
arrived. After loading up, going back to our original campsite to change and
collect <b>climbing on dartmoor</b> cars, the usual fond farewells were struck.
All in all the group enjoyed the weekend’s experiences and learnt a few extra
things in the process. <b>snowmobiling in finland</b> I measure success in smiles
and whispers of carrying on in the sport and/or returning to us (read Spirit
of Adventure in this case) <b>whale watching</b> for other things. </p>
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