Today, Wales Outdoors' Andrew Lamb, Is Thirty Years A Mountain Leader
Wales Outdoors is 30 years old this year, but, today, we are celebrating another anniversary. Andrew Lamb, the guide who heads up most of our countryside and mountain hikes, has been a qualified Mountain Leader for thirty years… Oh, how time flies!
Andy began hiking in school, under the tutelage of his geography teacher, Christopher Scrivener. Without Christopher’s input into Andy’s life, it is very unlikely that Andy would be leading groups in the hills. Hailing from South East London, why would he? But those school years gave Andy the ‘hiking bug’ and when he moved to Wales, he began working out how he could leave the life of administration and instead spend his days out and about in the sun, or, more often than not, the rain.
Voluntary redundancy at his employment with Welsh Water became available and so Andy applied. Andy was the wrong demographic but persistence, which has never been a shortfall of Andy’s, paid off, and in 1995 Andy was free to pursue a self employed career as an outdoor education specialist. The first qualification that Andy achieved, having begun the process prior to leaving his employment, was Mountain Leader.
Since then, Andy has led very many groups and individuals on days out and on residentials across the UK, but with a focus on Wales, and also on overseas hiking expeditions.
Today, Andy approaches each day out with as much enthusiasm as he did when first qualified and he is happy to be the conduit through which people gain enjoyment of the Welsh countryside and outdoor skills that often enable them to head out alone.
Andy says, ‘I feel blessed that I am able to encourage all that join my hikes to get the most from their day, leaving with fine memories and often with a new friend or two in their contact list. My work has seen others go on to lead themselves, seen individuals become couples, and my provision always encourages smiles alongside a healthy tired feeling at the end of the day’
Here are a few photos drawn from thirty years a Mountain Leader…
Our next social group hike is 'Hidden Cilfynydd' on the 2nd August - to register visit https://www.facebook.com/events/599261969672236 or https://chat.whatsapp.com/BQzqRMhzjDOBUatO7ZMmiq - all are welcome (£5 to register) Walks can be as cheap as £2.91 - Subscribe to our blog to receive our once every three or four days posts, delivered to your inbox, and then you can attend as many hikes within a year as you choose. There are other benefits too :)
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