Getting in Gear the Wild Way

WILD set off to cycle the Taff Trail on Wednesday in the glorious sunshine. The trail was lots of fun and full of interesting points along the way.

Read the full write up here on the WILD website.

Photograph Day

Today marked issue two feedback and...photograph day.

It was like being back at school, except we were older and inifinitely uglier.

But we all gathered under the sun's winter glare, a stern wind buffeting our brows, as the photographer told us to be WILD.

Several members dissapeared into the undergrowth.

"No," said the photographer, exasperated and already sounding motherly. Back they crawled.

First attempt was making the word WILD out of our bodies. Unfortunately, we were about as flexible as reinforced concrete, so we ended up looking like a rabble of arthritic pensioners rolled out for the day.

Abandoning that, we attempting a rush to the middle and a jump. Girls lined up one side and boys the other (never let it be said that WILD does not embrace equality).

1...2...3... we all rushed in and jumped. It didn't go to plan. First aiders were called and treatment dispensed.

"Shall we just get together in front of the trees?" offered dep.ed Dan WILD, struggling to hide his dissapointment that the rush and jump had failed. Jess WILD agreed and assembled the ponderous crew into place better than a sheep dog on countryfile.

So we lined up, and made WILD signs with our fingers. It was beautiful. Will WILD shed a tear.
Stay tuned, stay aware, and stay away from combatative photographic scenarios. Jade WILD is still nursing the bruises.

Wild Issue Two

WILD issue two has recently been completed and you can see plenty of the features on the website. It also features plenty of reviews and gear reviews. The site is still a work in progress so please ignore any small glitches. The news section will be updated daily so keep checking back for all the WILD happenings

In other news Harry, our Online Editor, has been busy filming some of our wild activities. From Sea Kayaking, Mountain Boarding and Camping in the Gower, Harry filmed it all...enjoy

Mountain Boarding

Yesterday morning three WILD members followed a bright yellow bus to a secret location north of Cardiff. We were going mountain boarding for Issue 2, and didn't really know what to expect.

On arrival we got padded up and had a quick chat about the board and what we would be doing. It's basically a small snowboard on wheels. There were 5 pros with us, all from the BUCrew. They were welcoming, full of advice and a really good laugh.

To find out what happened next keep an eye on WILD magazine and WILD online.

Wildlife Walk

Our trip was originally postponed due to the snow, but this week WILD finally made it up into the Brecon Beacons to do the national park’s Wildlife Walks.

We met up with the park’s biodiversity project officer Gareth Ellis, whose job is to coordinate an action plan for conserving the park’s rarest wildlife. Gareth took us on a tour of the woods around the small town of Talgarth, which feature in two of the 12 Wildlife Walks detailed in a booklet published by the park. He advised us on the plants and animals to look out for along the way – find out what Gareth had to say in the March issue of WILD, out soon.

WILD returned home along the winding country roads, covered in pink sandstone mud, invigorated by the breezy fresh air and buzzing with enthusiasm for the spectacular scenery and thriving wildlife of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Green Gym

Last week, one member of the WILD team spent the day with Cardiff's Green Gym, helping to turn a tract of wasteland into a lovely flower meadow.

Green Gyms are run by the BTCV and aim to get people active through outdoor work. Check out this month's edition of WILD for the full article...

This WILD member can now confirm that digging holes in stony ground is every bit as gruelling as a session with the weights. And as the site was on a particularly steep hill, extra calories were burnt by repeatedly traipsing up and down.

But working out in the fresh air and sunshine was heartening for both body and soul, and infinitely preferrably to gasping away on the treadmill while a real keeno whizzes along next to you...

A Wild Week

It’s been a busy time gearing up for the first issue of WILD, with the inside of Welsh trains becoming all too familiar.

Luckily, the outside of Wales is worth the effort. Last Monday WILD went foraging with bush-craft expert Andrew Price in the Gower.

Did you know that you can not only cook the new shoots of a cat tail rush in the same way as asparagus, but that you can dig up the roots to make crisps and if you beat the heads you get a high-energy snack? Thought not.

WILD also went sit-on-top kayaking in Porthcawl on Wednesday the same week. We had great fun, with loads of laughs, a few man-overboard crises and playing on the sand. Lucky it wasn’t a day later though- even we draw the line at kayaking in the snow!

Wild's first expedition...

Early yesterday morning (well, early-ish) three WILD team members set-out to Gigrin Farm in Rhayadar to witness the spectatcle that is the Red Kite.

The journey took us on the winding roads of the valleys, snaking through sliding peaks and brooding rivers. Climbing up from the Cardiff suburbs into the wilderness and beauty of the valleys was exhillerating - for those of us not car sick.

The Kites were, predictably, spectacular and we even had time to do a bit of bushcraft by the river on the outskirts of Brecon on the way home.

You will be able to read the full story about our exploits in the first edition of Wild Magazine - coming soon...

It's a Wild world out there

Wild is starting to come together. It's only early days but stories are already being researched, information collected, and pages designed.

We should have our website running by a week today and have already secured the address www.wildmagazine.co.uk - which currently forwards you to our myspace page - where the ethereal tones of Sigur Ros will greet you.

Watch this space for more consistent updates and plenty of Wild information...