The Easter holidays of 1959 saw the school trip to the Brecon Beacons under the stewardship of
John Attree, Geography master. My recollections of the trip, such as they are, are entirely
favourable. The coach took us via the industrial valleys of South Wales where river, railway and
road shared a narrow valley with shoppers emerging from Woolworth’s for ever in danger of losing
their toes beneath the wheel flanges of passing trains.
We travelled via the Forest of Dean and Symonds Yat and cheered when the coach got stuck on a hill.
However the driver produced a fifth gear and eventually we reached Tregoyd.
Clive Strutt has
kindly supplied his diary of the trip which includes rather more detail.
The journey by coach was long with stops at the Forest of Dean and Symonds Yat. I believe the coach was supplied by Farnham Coaches which by then may have become a subsidiary of The Aldershot & District Traction Co. Ltd which ran the school bus service.
The major event was a walk through the Brecons in weather that would now be considered far too variable for ill -prepared schoolboys. We walked 16 miles that day.
One of the fun days out was to the the Wirral with a stop at a near derelict village curiously named ‘The Bog’. A source of much amusement obviously.
Hereford was the venue for another official day out and of an unofficial bus ride to the shops where supplies for an illicit mid-night feast were purchased. I confess to being the instigator of this along with Geoff Cook.
Hay-on-Wye was within walking distance.
The guest house is where we did our eating, playing and sleeping. Sandwiches were provided for mid-day snacks.