Thirty young people from Pembrokeshire have trekked right across Wales, in preparation for their Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award.
The pupils from Ysgol y Preseli, Ysgol Dewi Sant, Ysgol Bro Gwaun, Greenhill School, and Tasker Milward School completed their four-day expedition on Sunday.
The 50-mile westward hike to Borth, near Aberystwyth, started at the Powys/Shropshire border at Felindre, on the River Teme.
The route, which took them 2,500 foot above sea level, covered the Dethenydd Hills on their first day, Hafren Forest on the second, and Plynlimon, the highest point of the Cambrian Mountains, on the third.
The group, who were mostly lower sixth-formers aged 16 or 17, had to carry everything they needed for four days, set up camp, cook, map-read and administer first aid themselves,
Qualified leaders checked on them once or twice a day and gave them advice and support if needed.
The trek provided the pupils with training and practice for their qualifying Gold Award expeditions to the Isle of Harris in Scotland and Co. Wicklow in Ireland in July.
Dave Sommerville, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Co-ordinator, said the expedition helped the young people to develop skills and confidence.
“Although it was a practice, it was a pretty major achievement in its own right,” he said. “After all, not many people can say they walked across an entire country!
“Their gold award expedition is one of the best things they will ever do, and they want to go out there and enjoy it, not be a bag of nerves.
“They know after doing this that there is nothing to worry about. If they’ve done it once, they can do it again.”
