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Conservation Weekend
Conservation Weekend on Exmoor 12th – 13th March 2011
by Gavin on 15-Mar-11 23:21
Twenty Do Battle With The Elements
The Black Mountains, 14th - 16th January 2011 (new members weekend)
by Gavin on 27-Jan-11 13:08
Home » News » Forest of Dean weekend
By Kate O’Reilly
We all need a bit of TLC every now and then. Elin’s fabulous foray into the Forest on the weekend of 9 December provided TLC, pampering and luxury in bucket-loads. The National Trust log cabins are set in the heart of the Forest and a mere 50 minutes or so from Bristol (depending on your sat nav/personal nav capabilities).
Friday night’s welcome consisted of mulled wine and mince pies to fortify everyone for the weekend’s activities. The log cabins were truly luxurious –under-floor heating throughout, tastefully decorated, flat screen TV and above all hot tubs in almost all the cabins. I experienced an extreme case of house-envy!
The weather on Saturday did not disappoint. The activities for Saturday were walking and mountain biking with the majority going for the latter. This area of the F.o.D is set up really well for mountain biking and has blue runs and red runs much like with skiing. We were joined by a gang of AOACers out for the day. I was quite worried about the mountain biking as I’ve never tried it but Paul and Duncan very ably led the way. They gave tips (keep your legs moving!), mended our bikes and searched for lost sheep. By the end of the day I was loving every minute. We headed back to our cabin and the hot tub to some bucks fizz kindly donated by Gavin and Carrie. The evening was spent with pizza/wine at Elin’s. Perfect!
The next morning was Phil’s 10-12 miles or so walk along the River Wye. We had placed bets on the amount of faffing there would be to get started. E.T.D. was 10 am and Phil did a sterling job in getting us going only ten minutes or so after. The weather forecast was pretty bad but we stopped off at the Courtfield Arms (visited by us on the River Wye trip in the summer) and a very welcome fire. The scenery was beautiful, and it wasn’t really until the last hour or so the rain came lashing down. Back at the cabins there were more games of how many can we fit in the hot tub and who can stay in the longest – Gavin at 3 hours 10 minutes perhaps? After that most went to Elin’s for more entertainment.
I arrived back in Bristol so relaxed, rested and ready for Christmas. Thanks to Elin and everyone for making it so enjoyable!
We all need a bit of TLC every now and then. Elin’s fabulous foray into the Forest on the weekend of 9 December provided TLC, pampering and luxury in bucket-loads. The National Trust log cabins are set in the heart of the Forest and a mere 50 minutes or so from Bristol (depending on your sat nav/personal nav capabilities).
Friday night’s welcome consisted of mulled wine and mince pies to fortify everyone for the weekend’s activities. The log cabins were truly luxurious –under-floor heating throughout, tastefully decorated, flat screen TV and above all hot tubs in almost all the cabins. I experienced an extreme case of house-envy!
The weather on Saturday did not disappoint. The activities for Saturday were walking and mountain biking with the majority going for the latter. This area of the F.o.D is set up really well for mountain biking and has blue runs and red runs much like with skiing. We were joined by a gang of AOACers out for the day. I was quite worried about the mountain biking as I’ve never tried it but Paul and Duncan very ably led the way. They gave tips (keep your legs moving!), mended our bikes and searched for lost sheep. By the end of the day I was loving every minute. We headed back to our cabin and the hot tub to some bucks fizz kindly donated by Gavin and Carrie. The evening was spent with pizza/wine at Elin’s. Perfect!
The next morning was Phil’s 10-12 miles or so walk along the River Wye. We had placed bets on the amount of faffing there would be to get started. E.T.D. was 10 am and Phil did a sterling job in getting us going only ten minutes or so after. The weather forecast was pretty bad but we stopped off at the Courtfield Arms (visited by us on the River Wye trip in the summer) and a very welcome fire. The scenery was beautiful, and it wasn’t really until the last hour or so the rain came lashing down. Back at the cabins there were more games of how many can we fit in the hot tub and who can stay in the longest – Gavin at 3 hours 10 minutes perhaps? After that most went to Elin’s for more entertainment.
I arrived back in Bristol so relaxed, rested and ready for Christmas. Thanks to Elin and everyone for making it so enjoyable!