Spotlight on our Summer 2014 Non-Residential

Well, what another cracking week we had!

Last week was yet again another superb week of adventure. Having such an amazing group of children throughout the week made it truly special and a pleasure to be a part of. Coaches Mark, Luke, Adam and myself were overwhelmed with how well everyone did and how much each individual contributed to the whole experience.

It all started on Monday with some ice breaker games before heading out into the woodland for some bushcraft and survival activities. Following this we had a few team games, whilst continually developing our leadership, teamwork and communication skills.

The following day we were in Castleton for our walking adventure. The group managed to successfully navigate from Castleton to Edale and back again via an alternative route, summiting Mam Tor along the way. A great effort from everyone and a team effort to achieve our goal.

Wednesday was spent stream and gorge walking and again it was another cracker! This time we were up in the Goyt Valley and enjoying the almost untouched landscape. Many of the children tried to stay dry, but after a little encouragement (towards the end), all ended up pretty much drenched. A great feeling and such an adrenalin rush! To rewards everyone’s efforts, we kindly treated everyone to an ice cream… not like we weren’t cold enough.

Our penultimate day was mainly spent on our bottoms… mountain biking of course! After the morning learning and brushing up on some basics, we later split into two groups and planned routes appropriately. Both groups did fantastically well and certainly racked up the miles throughout the afternoon. The older group also touch on some Bikeability, and successfully completed some potentially complicated road manoeuvres… so overall a great job by everyone!

Friday, and our final day, was spent scrambling and rock climbing up on Windgather Rocks, again in the Goyt Valley area. Another beautiful day and a great way to finish, as our teamwork was on show to the maximum! After a short space of time, every child had developed their climbing and belaying skills. Once again a stunning day, both from a scenic point of view and also from the group.

All in all, its was an amazing week, shared by the children and the coaches.

We have added some pictures of each activity as the week passed, and these can be seen via our Facebook page – click here to view these.

Finally, pictured below is a group shot of our campers on top of Mam Tor –