Good evening,
Last night we visited the castle before competing in a quiz. Teams of 4 thought of a team name and completed five rounds – ironically the team who won were named ‘We dont know’! It was a fairly quiet night overall and this morning a few children needing waking for breakfast.
Due to the large amount of rain that fell overnight and the rise in water levels the day was changed slightly giving the two groups off site a slightly different experience.
Group 1 began by driving 20 minutes to the Iron works and went down an old horse cart path which used to carry iron to the railway as well as seeing the ruins of the old iron factory. They then hiked the route that they would have taken to find limestone at the aqueducts, saw a limestone forge and then walked through an abandoned railway single file in the dark holding onto a stick on the left and the person in front of them. Sunshine came out for lunch and then swapping key equipment with the Group 2 they attached crab clips to their waistbelts and bevvied down the side of the valley, came to the entrance of the cave and climbed in! Once in, they had a variety of challenges to complete with water up to their hips. On exiting they had a competition to see who had the most water in their wellies!
Group 2 went to the cave first in Clogwin walked down a gorge before entering by being lifted into it close by to a waterfall, crawling and ducking through the cave they manoeuvred through tight spaces and turned their lights off to see what it would be like in pitch black. They also saw some fossils and a bat. The group were really supportive towards each other in these new circumstances and challenges. They ate lunch and entered the welly competition of who had the most water and then had a walk through the disused rail tunnel. A rainbow was seen (see photo below) which was magnificent to see at the eye level they were at.
Group 3 started with paddle boarding which everyone get involved in. A variety of skills were learnt and games enjoyed including treasure hunt, swapping over boards and seeing how many we get on one board – 8 achieved centre record. They also completed a few races. Then children could get wet and relished in soaking Mr Nixon! Following this we had a lovely warm shower and some lunch before putting on harness and helmets where we walked back down to the bottom field where everyone dd the zip wire followed by everyone attempting the leap of faith. Lastly we I completed the skywalk which is a high ropes course. Again everyone attempted this and many successfully completed this with stealth and speed. A greatly supportive session today to each other.
We have just enjoyed a hearty meal and are now trying to don a bit of packing before the campfire tonight.
There are a lot of wet and muddy clothes coming home so no doubt your washing machines will be busy! We are aiming to leave at 12.30pm – you will receive an email to say we have left and an ETA. If this changes dramatically as we journey home, we will be in contact.
Kind regards
Mrs Smith
