LAST YEAR I attended the amazing Surrey and Sussex Police well-being Weekend in Hay-on-Wye. This year I was determined to go again, although it got off to a difficult start with the dates falling on working days and no chance of leave, when suddenly the dates changed with a perfect rest day fit.
Hay has a unique position on the border of England and Wales, it is ideal for visitors to enjoy and explore the border country. Hay is known for it's books and bookshops and is the first book town in the world, with a yearly festival attended by thousands of people. This year promised to be bigger than last year with more people attending, resulting in Karl booking the local activity center in Cussop for accommodation. Giving us the perfect base to rest and relax before heading out for the planned events. Last year was the first time that I had been on an activity weekend, which I booked as I was going through a very hard time. The weekend really helped and I would recommend it to anybody.
I
decided to relocate to Wales on the Thursday staying at the bungalow in
Hirwaun, it helped me miss the Friday traffic on the M23, M25 and M4
and put me within a one hour striking distance of Hay.
Day 1
Arriving in the town of Hay I met up with Karl and Forest for coffee and waiting for the Surrey contingent to arrive. We met in the town of Hay and went for coffee, catching up with friends from last year and meeting new people at the Castle Cafe. There were the inevitable delays on the motorway and the chance of wild swimming on day one was lost, but there was plenty planned for the rest of the week to make up for it.
We settled into the Activity Center in Cussop sorting out the sharing and dividing up the rooms. It was great to have a large open community area and kitchen. Karl had sourced the food and the weekend started with a BBQ. Following this was an evening around a camp fire with guitarist/singer Stephen Russell, who did an amazing set with his guitar and looping system. Highlight for me was an amazing rendition of U2's "With or Without You".
Things took a different turn when Aggi turned up with two bottles of vodka (apple and grass). With the sun going down we sat around the campfire drinking vodka and talking about the weekend to come. Aggie didn't make it last year, so this was the first time I had met her and hope she will make future events.
Day 2
This was the big planned actives day. Heading out to Glasbury we met up with The Ultimate Activity Company for a canoe exploration of the River Wye. We were set up with canoes of two or three people and headed downstream canoeing from Glasbury to the Boat Inn between Rhydspence and Willersley.
We picked up a passenger whose party had left their "best man" behind during their stag weekend. Luckily, by the time we got to the Boat Inn he was seeing the funny side of things!
It wasn't long after the safety briefing that we got the canoes into the water, started to pair off and sailing down stream. It all got off to a great start and were doing well, navigating the stream, riding weirs. Things were about to change when Forest became Captain Jack Sparrow and launched himself over the gap between two boats in an effort to "parley", but capsized the boat putting everybody in the water. Swim Forest Swim!
It was a great journey on the river, working in teams to get the boats down stream and across the weirs to arrive on the lawns of the Inn for beer before we were picked up and taken back to Glasbury.
Then came a lesson in archery being taught how it should be done. At Karl's suggestion we were split into two teams of male and female in a shoot off, where the men clearly demonstrated how not to do it and were taken back to school by the ladies! Turned out Janice was pretty good with a bow and it was a well deserved win, next time we will have to even up the talent a little!
This was followed, rather neatly, by a lesson in axe throwing. Again once being taught how to throw an axe there was a play off. My inner Saxon came out and I found I wasn't bad with an axe! Karl threw a great session and it ended with a head to head between Forest and I.
The day ended with a trip to The Globe to see the Classic Blues Band, playing covers of blues songs that Britain exported back to the states at the end of the 1960's and early 1970's with bands like Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds, Fleetwood Mac and Eric Clapton who embraced the music and tried to recreate the sounds. In those days there was no internet and it relied on vinyl imports from the states and hours of listening to the music to try and transcribe and learn it.
The Classic Blues Band recreated the music brilliantly and we really ended the day. The combination of guitar and vocals were amazing, but the work of the saxophonist and trumpet really created a great sound that made an amazing evening.After an evening of music and beer we regrouped and headed back to Cussop for our last sleep at the activity cent, pretty knackered from the days events having created a lot of memories.
Day 3
It was a sad moment to get to the end of the week, but there was one more event planned before we packed up the activity center and headed back home.
We had an 11km hike from Cussop to Hays Bluff. A really nice trails hike across the country with some very difficult hills; the aim to get a lot of altitude to see the whole of the surrounding country side.
The pinnacle of the hike was to get to the top of Hay's Bluff which forms a part of the "Dragons Back", running from North to South Wales. This was a climb and a half to get to the top, but well worth the effort. As we hit the top we sat back with a packed lunch and enjoyed the surrounding countryside. The top of the Bluff was a good few degrees colder and I am pleased Karl questioned why I was just wearing a running vest! Good call!
I am definitely looking forward to next year.