W Company

A few photos of the cadets on their journey to Warcop.

Half the Company were training on the outdoor ranges and half in camp doing weapon handling and using the DCCT range.

Blessed with another beautiful day the cadets are heading off to the ranges again, with some also taking part in obstacle course training.

Another glorious day today. Half the Company are on water activities and the other half are on climbing and mountain biking.

The cadets are enjoying their second day of Adventurous Training today, with everyone that didn't go yesterday taking part in water activities. Those involved with water activities yesterday took part in mountain biking and abseiling today. Three new Sergeant Instructors (SIs) passed out of their Initial Training Course, which confirmed their status as fully trained instructors within Northumbria ACF. The climbing tower images were taken with a mobile phone, hence the lower quality.

For the next two days the junior cadets (1- and 2 Platoons) will be working in camp, carrying out APC Syllabus training. They are carrying out map reading, drill and first aid.

The two junior groups, 1- and 2 Platoons, stopped in camp again today as we mopped up outstanding map and compass, first aid, drill and military knowledge assessments. The senior group, 3 Platoon, were again out on the hills practising their navigation skills.

This morning the cadets of W Company moved onto the training area for the first of three days fieldcraft. Today's training has focused on fieldcraft, which the cadets will be tested on tomorrow evening and Monday morning. The junior cadets of 1- and 2 Platoons have been working on cam & concealment, field cooking and setting up bashas. The more senior cadets of 3 Platoon have been practising patrols, harbour drills and will move on to fire and movement.

As we're in the field uploading photos is tricky, but we'll try to keep providing regular updates as best we can.

The cadets have spent today finishing off their preparatory fieldcraft training before moving on to the assessment phase this evening. The Padre, Major Stephen Caddy, visited early this morning. Colonel Jeremy Hughes, Deputy Commander (North) of 15 (NE) Brigade, visited just before lunchtime and watched the cadets  practice obstacle crossing.

Apologies we're a day late with posting these. This was the final day of our three days in the field. The cadets of 3 Platoon, led by Lt Keith Marchant, carried out a dawn attack on the OBUA house, which was occupied by the OC, 2IC and CSM acting as enemy. The cadets of 1- and 2 Platoons ran through a patrol lane, practising their fire and movement against enemy targets along the route. Just after noon we returned to camp and spent the afternoon cleaning weapons and dekitting the cadets. The cadets were given some downtime in the evening to recharge their batteries, have a good scrub and relax with friends.

Having returned from the field yesterday we had the whole day in camp today. The Royal Signals Display Team took all the 1- and 2 Platoon junior cadets through a radio familiarisation exercise. The more senior cadets of 3 Platoon spent the morning completing their APC 2 Star first aid assessments. In the afternoon the drill team practiced their routine for tomorrow night's competition. In the evening the CEO, Major Boris Spence, gave the Company a talk about orienteering ahead of tomorrow's competition on the Brackenber dry training area.

Today the cadets took the 45 minute journey to Whinlatter Forest Park in the heart of the Lake District, overlooking Bassenthwaite Lake with its famous ospreys. The forest has several orienteering and cycle paths, which gave the cadets the ideal opportunity to practice their navigation skills prior to tomorrow's inter-Company orienteering competition. It was also the ideal opportunity for me (2IC) to catch up on paperwork, so I'm waiting for photos from another member of the team. Hopefully they'll appear here soon.

Having worked up a sweat running the overgrown tracks of Whinlatter yesterday the Company was in need of some serious R&R today. The two hour coach journey to Flamingo Land was also an ideal opportunity for tired cadets to catch up on some much needed sleep. At the park the cadets were given free reign to explore the rides and zoo.

Most headed straight for Cliff Hanger, where brave riders shoot almost 200 feet into the air before plunging back to Earth in freefall. Extreme rollercoaster fans headed to Kumali, which sees riders roll feet above the park's lakes experiencing forces up to 4 g. A few simply enjoyed the summer sun by strolling around the zoo. We were very fortunate to have blue skies all day for the first time since arriving at camp.

As the cadets were delayed on their return to camp last night there was a lot of tidying up to do this morning. Accommodation blocks needed to be thoroughly cleaned before they were handed back to the Warcop camp staff. With floors mopped, bins emptied and bedding returned there was time for some Company presentations. See our blog article for more details.

The County Cadet Commandant, Colonel David Smith, makes presentations on final parade. W Company are crowned Champion Company... unfortunately just after my camera battery died. You couldn't make it up!