A select group from all 4 companies journey down to the south of France for adventurous training in the Pyrennes. With high morale and copious amounts of 84 cents champagne from Calais the two day trip to get down there flew by.

I think I can safely say that the ‘exceptional sense of humour required’ in the administration instructions was fulfilled. On the first night in France we stayed in a camp site near Lezay which was just over our half way point. That night was thankfully the only night of camping we were put through.

The 5 days that followed, despite the constant rain fall, fog and mist were still full of high spirits (be it alcoholic or non alcoholic). It would seem though that the weather was not completely against us. On the fourth day we did a 25 km walk and the sun decided to shine brightly for us and seeing as we reached our highest peak the views were fantastic, stretching for miles. It did not seem to matter that when strolling down the mountain side the clouds crept in behind us.

All in all the trip was a fantastic success with high morale throughout. This could be due to the fact that the gite’s we stayed in were practically luxury, averaging 10-12 people a room. It was definitely cosy!! Although there were some rather odd rules we did come across, one being a ‘charming’ French man only allowing us weary soldiers 5 minutes in the shower, and that there was to be absolutely no music playing or mobile phones used, and DEFINITELY no showers in the morning. However it was interesting games as scrabble that got us through and some charming singing from Sgt Major Williams at the dinner table.

Overall the trip was just a massive success due to the hard work and organisational skills of the members of staff. The trip was topped off by a night out in the wild city of Pau, which consisted of a ridiculous amount of food and alcohol, and then an interesting walk through the streets to find the extremely well air conditioned club (only a few remained standing at this point!). So a big thank you to everyone involved, and roll on the next trip!!