On the 21st of June, the Summer Solstice, six young people accompanied by three members of staff from our Wings School Cumbria set out to climb the highest mountain in England and Wales - Snowdon or Yr Wyddfa in Welsh.
Leaving Wings Cumbria at 5am they drove to Pen-Y-Pass at the foot of Snowdon and began their epic trek a little after 9am. The route took them up the mountain via the Pyg Track which winds its way up to Snowdon beneath the knife-edge ridge of Crib Goch. Despite one heavy rain shower, the young people from Wings Cumbria forged on with their enthusiasm undimmed! After the last arduous climb up to the summit they celebrated with a summit photo and then began the long walk down via the Miner’s Track. After 15km and 7 hours of walking they made it back to the minibus. After a quick stop in Llanberis to refuel with a chippy tea, they drove back to Wings Cumbria to see the sunset!
This walk was the culmination of around 2 months of training which had involved climbing Whernside, Ingleborough and other hills in the Lake District. The six young people involved should all be immensely proud of themselves. During the challenging walk they all showed determination, perseverance and resilience. Several times the young people had to dig deep to find that extra energy to keep going!
One student said, “Snowdon was amazing! I'm really proud of myself and it's shown that if you put your mind to something, you can achieve it!” Another student said, "It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and although it was hard, I don't regret doing it."
Mr Stanlake, the trip organiser and Outdoor Learning Instructor at Wings Cumbria, said “ It was a real challenge for our young people, and they should feel really proud of their achievement. It's really important to give our young people these opportunities as they can use the skills and qualities, they have demonstrated on this trip in their day to day lives. I want to congratulate our young people and thank Mr Willis and Mrs Holmes for all their help."
Well done to the entire group on their fantastic achievement and who knows, maybe Ben Nevis next!
You can read more from Wings Cumbria here.