CORSICA GR20 TRAIL Verulam School Expedition: July 2015 Link Teacher: Mr Ross Morgan 18 days 2450 If you like warm sunshine, clear turquoise seas, soft sandy beaches, rocky coves, medieval castles, colourful fishing towns and sleepy mountain villages, then you ll enjoy your days off after conquering the mountains of Corsica! The GR20 cuts across and over the Mediterranean island s interior; at times rugged, forested, mysterious and exposed, the route is one of Europe s truly great treks and a spectacular location to complete your Gold DofE Expedition! Expedition Brief
WELCOME The purpose of this brief is to introduce your expedition opportunity. It will give you a feel for the destination and the type of activities that you will be involved in. We ve even thrown in a few interesting facts! The brief also includes information on how to apply and pay as well as the expedition price and everything that is and is not included. We hope this brief snapshot will leave you feeling inspired and wanting more! HIGHLIGHTS Completing your Gold DofE Expedition Trek on the GR20 trail The unique culture and identity of Corsica Spectacular mountain and ocean views
Corsica GR20 Trail Verulam School Expedition July 2015, 18 days, 2450 You could be here AT A GLANCE Physical Rating Culture Shock Altitude Visa Very demanding expedition Similar to what you are used to The expedition will not exceed 3500m Not required for British nationals
FACTS AND FIGURES RELIGION/S Christianity CULTURAL OR HISTORICAL INTEREST Over 65% of the island s population speak Corsican, which is actually closer to Italian that it is to French. LANGUAGES French, Corsican GEOGRAPHY Mountainous with 20 summits over 2000m. 20% forest cover. Rugged coastline dotted with sandy beaches CLIMATE Mediterranean; cool breezes on the coasts and at higher altitudes with low rainfall in the summer, higher in the winter
YOUR EXPEDITION OBJECTIVES This page details the objectives of your expedition; these are the areas around which your expedition will focus such as adventurous activities, projects and destination highlights. Adventure Traverse the GR20 in Corsica, one of Europe s greatest long distance trails. The trail offers a great variation of terrain, from sheltered woodland to rugged ridges. Not only will you be enjoying the GR20, you will also have the opportunity to undertake your Duke of Edinburgh Gold Assessment. Over 4 days you will self-sufficiently travel across a section of GR20 whilst being remotely supervised by your Expedition Leader. Our itinerary has been carefully chosen to enable you to meet all the 20 conditions set by the DofE, and all to the backdrop some of Europe s finest scenery! Spend the remaining time as a team with your Expedition Leader who will take the team on some of the more technically challenging sections. You may experience the exciting Cirque de la Solitude which requires a scramble down rock and scree with the help of fixed ladders and chains a definite challenge with a great sense of achievement at the end of it! For an additional challenge, you may have the option to attempt some of the surrounding peaks. Spend your nights camping or staying in the alpine huts whilst sampling the Corsican cuisine! After exploring the sights of Corte, catch a train back across the mountains to the capital, Calvi. Take a day here to relax by the beach and explore its winding cobbled streets.
SNAPSHOTS Corsica
YOUR ITINERARY Your expedition has been carefully handcrafted by destination experts at Outlook to ensure you get the maximum out of your expedition and the destination you are travelling to. You will find out all the detail about the different aspects of your itinerary at the Itinerary Development Day. Day 1-2 Day 3 Day 4-6 Day 7 Day 8-13 Day 14 Day 15-17 Day 18 Fly from the UK to Corsica. Spend the evening and the next day settling into the new environment and stocking up on supplies for the expedition. Travel up to the Calenzana mountain refuge in preparation for your cross-island trek. Begin the famous GR20 Trail. You will be crossing rugged mountain terrain dotted with pretty villages. On the ridges you will be treated to vast panoramas of the Mediterranean surrounding the mountainous island. Take a day off the trail to tackle one of the huge peaks that surround you and bag yourself a summit! In the evening put your feet up and enjoy a hearty meal before thinking about continuing the trail in the morning. Follow the trail for the next 6 days, completing your Gold Duke of Edinburgh assessment in the process. Head down towards the coast and follow the river up Tavignano Gorge to the town of Corte. Enjoy a day to explore historic Corte - you ll deserve a large ice cream! Catch the train back to Calvi. Spend two days unwinding, sightseeing and looking for souvenirs before preparing for departure. Depart Corsica and fly back to the UK for your homecoming. Due to the changing nature of the world over the build up period, Outlook may be required to change aspects of, or the order of the itinerary. Outlook will consult with the Link Teacher/Group Leader and all participants if this is the case. This itinerary has been provisionally approved by the Duke of Edinburgh Award as being appropriate for the gold assessment however this cannot be confirmed until the details of the route and accommodation have been discussed further with Verulam School. Outlook will endeavour to ensure that the trek qualifies for the award but cannot guarantee it at this stage
UK Build Up (Please see brochure for more info) Training Link Teacher Training (Please see brochure for more info) Leader Team Composition Flights Insurance (Please see brochure for more info) Transport In destination (Please see brochure for more info) Duke of Edinburgh Trek ASDAN Specific Equipment Requirements Notes Expedition Development Day Final Preparation Day - School Expedition Training weekend in Snowdonia, North Wales First Aid training Leader Team Training event Each team will be accompanied by 1 Link Teacher from Verulam School along with 1 DofE Leader and 1 Assistant Leader from Outlook Expeditions International flights from London Comprehensive medical insurance All overseas transport All food and accommodation All group activities including any entrance fees All R&R activity Yes N/A A complete and detailed kit list will be provided as part of the build up This itinerary has been provisionally approved by the Duke of Edinburgh Award as being appropriate for the gold assessment however this cannot be confirmed until the details of the route and accommodation have been discussed further with the school. Outlook will endeavour to ensure that the trek qualifies for the award but cannot guarantee it at this stage Spending money for gifts / souvenirs whilst on expedition Inoculations, prophylaxis and personal medicine. (All participants based in England and Wales receive 10% discount at Nomad Travel) Visas and passports - please see your Expedition Brief to see which visas are required Personal belongings insurance (this may be covered by your household / contents insurance) Any additional insurance premiums required as a result of pre-existing medical conditions Personal equipment (e.g. rucksack, sleeping bag, waterproof clothing); all participants receive 20% discount at Cotswold Outdoor on their first purchase and a further 15% on subsequent purchases. Transport to and from UK-based training courses, to the Final Preparation Day venue and from the airport Food and accommodation in the UK, unless specified
ABOUT OUTLOOK Since 2001, Outlook Expeditions has sent thousands of young people around the globe on overseas expeditions. Outlook s aim is to provide quality expeditions that not only offer a once in a lifetime chance to explore new places, but also opportunities to develop key skills such as leadership, communication and teamwork. Developing these skills offers participants a head start in becoming mature, confident and capable adults and concrete evidence of skills to support university or job applications. Based in Snowdonia, North Wales, we have a staff team of 55; a diverse bunch with a common passion a love of the outdoors and a pride in the expeditions that Outlook deliver! These guys and girls have seen it all and are always pleased to help, encourage and answer your questions. Our uncompromising safety and support system and network of industry partners and professional bodies make us the most trusted youth expedition provider in the UK.
OUR NETWORK Outlook holds the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge for expeditions. The badge is awarded to those providers who have been independently assessed against strict criteria that require the delivery of high quality expeditions with effective risk management procedures and commitment to engage in an ongoing process of delivering quality learning outside of the classroom. Outlook Expeditions is fully compliant to the British Standards Institution (BSI) BS 8848: A specification for adventurous activities, expeditions, visits and fieldwork outside the UK. This stipulates that one person or organisation is identified as the expedition organiser and takes responsibility for all aspects of the trip including safety. Outlook s compliance to BS 8848 is your guarantee that when we use outside suppliers for any aspect of our expeditions - such as transport, accommodation or a specific activity - that they also follow the strict requirements of the standard. The Young Explorers Trust have produced a parents guide to BS8848 which can be read at www.theyet.org ATOL financially protects all flights and air packages sold by UK tour operators, covering over 29 million travellers each year. ATOL is managed by the Civil Aviation Authority which is government backed and has been providing financial protection to air travellers for nearly 30 years. Outlook Expeditions holds an ATOL licence and our registration number is 6697. ABTOT provides protection for your land only booking as set out in section 14 of our booking terms and conditions. Our partnership with Remote Medical Support provides our teams with remote medical advice from a doctor in the UK 24/7. The Expedition Providers Association (EPA) www.epa. uk.net was established in 2003 by companies within the youth expedition industry to share good practice. As one of the founding members of EPA, Outlook has helped to set the standards for youth expeditions. Outlook is licenced by the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority to provide outdoor adventure activities to young people under the age of 18 years. Our licence number is L5077/R1173. Outlook is an Approved Activity provider for the Duke of Edinburgh s Award. We have a wealth of experience in delivering DofE activities. Outlook s training courses are delivered by our partners at Plas y Brenin The National Mountain Centre, Plas y Brenin is world renowned for the highest standards of outdoor training opportunities. We monitor the advice from the Foreign Commonwealth Office on all our destinations before and during expeditions. Outlook is working in partnership with the University of Wales, Bangor to investigate the impact that Outlook s expeditions have on the participants who take part and examine the role that leadership plays. The first year of research undertaken in 2011 shows that all of the participants identified learning outcomes (e.g. self-esteem, leadership) had increased by the end of the expedition, and most were statistically significant. In England and Wales Nomad provide our expedition groups with free destination specific vaccination and health advice. Link Teachers can even arrange for a Nomad vaccination clinic to visit their school to inoculate their entire expedition group with the vaccinations required at a 10% discounted price. We are a registered ASDAN centre and are able to offer our participants the opportunity to complete the ASDAN Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) Level 3 which enables them to earn 70 UCAS points. We also offer the ASDAN Universities Award. All of our Link Teachers receive 20% discount on purchases made at Cotswold Outdoor and our participants receive 20% discount on their first purchase. Outlook is proud to be accredited with the Investors in People Award which recognises our complete commitment to the personal development of our staff. We have held this award for eight years. Outlook has offset 133.33 tonnes of carbon dioxide through Climate Care greenhouse gas reduction projects in order to reduce the rate of global climate change.
HOW TO LAUNCH YOUR EXPEDITION We hope you have decided that this is the expedition for your school or group. To launch all you need to do is follow these steps: Contact your Expedition Consultant Discuss convenient dates for us to come and run an Assembly and Information Evening. Once these dates have been agreed you will be assigned an Expedition Programme Co-ordinator. They will become your point of contact at Outlook from now until after your return from expedition. Presentations at your school We will run an Assembly Presentation for your students and an Information Evening for students and parents at your school or venue. Apply online Students will apply online to join the expedition and pay a deposit. A WEB OF INFORMATION Visit our website, www.outlookexpeditions.com for detailed information about all aspects of our expedition programmes. Read our Blog at www.outlookexpeditions.com/blog Visit our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/outlookexpeditions which includes film clips from our expeditions and interviews with our customers. Like our Facebook page and talk to 2,500 members of the extended Outlook family! Go to www.facebook.com and search for Outlook Expeditions. Join our professional network on Linkedin and exchange information, ideas and opportunities with us.
phone 0845 900 2989 email info@outlookexpeditions.com mail Outlook Expeditions 8-9 Chestnut Court Ffordd y Parc, Parc Menai Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 4FH online www.outlookexpeditions.com