Year 8 trip to the Lake District

After completing their Common Entrance exams the children in Year 8 enjoyed a week in the Lake District, at the YMCA National Centre.  This is an annual trip that the School runs.  The children and staff took part in a range of activities.  Everyone had a great time and completed activities that were physically and mentally challenging.  This is what the children thought about various aspects of the trip:

The Fell Walk
The Fell Walk was a brilliant beginning to the Lake District trip, it gave you a first class insight into the Lake District’s outstanding natural beauty and a small taste for the main ten kilometre walk up the mountains in the Patterdales.

The walk was an excellent way to get used to the group and working as a team for the later activities where we all had to contribute and listen. The walk was about two kilometers long, the weather was a little bit wet and there were small inclines up and down the hill.  The peak was the reward, there were views for miles of Lake Windermere and the other hills surrounding it.

Apart from my left boot getting filled with bog water it was a pleasant to get away from the long journey in the mini buses, it was quite challenging because I felt quite tired after the journey but I still enjoyed it.  Max

The Mountain Day
The Mountain Day was very challenging and everyone’s skill and strengths were tested when we were walking up some of the mountains in the Patterdales. We were all given great big rucksacks with all the equipment we would need to climb the huge mountains and camp on one of them. The rucksacks were extremely heavy and didn’t make the walk any easier at all. The instructors helped us a lot during all of the rocky and overall hard pieces of the mountains; many of us would not have been able to do some of the tracks without the support and help from our instructors.

We managed to get through the steepest part of the mountain and kept on going, we stopped quite frequently so we could wait for some of the people who found the mountain climbing more challenging. Once we got to the flat bits and the more downhill parts of the mountain everyone was relived as it had been a very long day. Everyone became more relaxed and happy once we started walking on flat land.
The most challenging part of the whole experience was the first part of our walk as no one was expecting how hard it was going to be. Not only was it the steepest part of the whole mountain walk but no one was expecting how heavy the rucksacks were going to be on our backs. In our rucksacks we had our sleeping bags, tents and cooking equipment. When we arrived at the camp site we set up our tents, had a meal and went to bed. Even though we were sleeping on the floor everyone seemed to go to sleep quickly as we all had a very tiring day.

On the way down from the mountain the next day we saw where we had walked the day before. Although it was a very hard and tiring day, looking back at what we had achieved we all thought it was worth doing. We were all very proud of what we had achieved and what we had done. Overall it was a great experience and I’m sure I would love to do it again someday.  Rosa

The overnight camp
One of my favourite memories from the Lake District was the overnight camp. We stayed at the High Water Tarn. The reason I think that this was amazingly good fun is because we had to cook our own food and sleep in tents. This was a very good way to end the mind boggling day. The reason it had been such are remarkable day is because we had just been doing a very long hike that had taken us most of that day. The weather for the camping was good as it had rained recently so the ground was wet but it was warm so that we could stay outside. Our packs were very heavy because of all the equipment we had to carry. Between the two or three of us we had to carry our food, trangia, tent, tent pegs, tent poles, snacks for the journey, sleeping bags, roll mats and also a change of clothes
After we had put up our tents we took out our trangias and cooked the food that we had been given at the beginning of the day. For some people this was hard as they had not used them before but I found it easy as I had used them before at school. After this we were given some free time to do what we wanted. Most of use just talked and played ‘grab a granny’. After this we were told to go into our tents, get into our sleeping bags and get some sleep for the next highly active incredible day.  Henry

The overnight camp was really good fun. We camped at a tarn and it was really nice and in a beautiful spot. The walk was really tiring and it was good to have a rest at the end. We put up our tents next to the tarn and then we unpacked our bags. We boiled water from the tarn to cook our pasta on our trangias. Cooking our own food was a great experience, it was worth the wait and tasted so good. It was really beautiful sitting by the lake eating our pasta watching the setting sun. Some people then had hot chocolate. When it started to get dark we were sent to our tents and we settled down for some sleep.
The night was cold for most people but my tent was warm but it was really uncomfortable. When we woke up it was cold so we got up quickly to get our trangias on to boil water to make tea and mix up some milk for cereal. After eating our cereal we packed up quickly for the walk back. It was sunny and warmed up after a while. After the all the rubbish was picked up we put our back packs on and started the walk back to the minibuses.

I thought the overnight camp was really good and it gave us an insight of how to survive in the wild and how to look after ourselves.  Sam

Caving
My favourite activity in the Lake District was caving. At first I didn’t think that it would be too good, but in the end it turned out to be really fun and exhilarating. The Cheese Press, as it is called, is not actually that bad. We had to wear these funny fleecy dungarees underneath our waterproofs.
Our instructor, Dan, was great. At the Cheese Press, he didn’t tell us it was the Cheese Press, and that it was still to come. Due to this everyone went through the Cheese Press (not knowing what it was at the time). This really showed us that it is just a psychological thing that the Cheese Press is so bad, when actually it is not.

The caves gave us a first class feel of what it is actually like underneath the ground. On top of the caves (on the land) it really doesn’t look like that there would be astonishing caves under our feet. All the way through the caves there was a river, in which we had to face waterfalls and pools as deep as our shoulders!

Near the end of the fantastic caving experience we had to climb up a great waterfall. To do this we had to be attached to a rope, and had to climb up it. It was a really outstanding experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

After the caves we went to a small town called Ingleton to go to a café to buy a hot drink. I think that every one really enjoyed the experience.  There was only one bad thing about the caves. This was the weather on the day; it was very wet, windy and rainy. But apart from that it was great.  Overall I think that the caves were the best activity.  Eddy

The Caving was good fun. We were there with Mr Coulthart, Lois and Dan.  At the beginning we had to put all the kit on, we had a head torch, a helmet and waterproofs. We went in through a river, which Dan, the instructor, called the gnarly way.  We had to crouch down to get through the gap.

The Cheese press, which was a 22cm high gap, was part of the cave which was even smaller than the first place time where we had to wriggle on our tummy, I got stuck, because I went over the lump in the Cheese Press so I had to wriggle backwards.  I managed to get over it, at the time I did not realise that I was actually in the Cheese Press I was told when I got out.

We also did many other things whilst we were in the caves like climbing up bits of the cave and climbing up a waterfall with ropes.  George

When we got to the car park we were all met by Dan who had all the kit with him.  We had to wear a head torch, belts to clip the battery packs onto and helmets. After ten minutes walking we got to the cave entrance; I was surprised when we could stand up in the first part of the cave.  Then we had to go through a pool of water which was waist deep.  It was not easy to go round the edge of the pool. There was another one but you had to slide down a piece of rock to get there.

The most challenging part of caving was the Cheese Press which is a gap in the rock about 22cm high, it was easy once you were there but the thought of doing it was worrying for some people.
After the thrill of the cave we got into warm dry clothes and went to a coffee shop in Ingleton.  Alex

The Challenge Course
For the Lake District trip I was in Group 2 and my leaders were Lois and John. When my group got back from the mountain and camping expedition we did the obstacle and challenge course.

The challenge course was all about working as a team and helping each other. The aim was to get across different wires and ropes without anyone falling off, without a doubt we had to work together to get all the group members across the challenging parts of the course.

On most of the stages we had to first figure out a plan before starting because otherwise it would not work and nobody would get across. I found that the challenge course was very useful because we found we all had to listen to each other’s ideas and we could not just do the course without making a plan and the whole team had to be within agreement. Lois suggested that we all get in a circle and create a team leader and to decide on some rules which would help us and or what we would benefit from during the activity.

The weather on Tuesday was the best of the week. It was very sunny and warm. This made the challenge course even more enjoyable.

In my opinion I did not enjoy the part of the activity when we had to go along a wire with nothing to help us but our balance. The wire was quite ‘wobbly’ and I found it hard at some points to get my balance right.

At the end of the challenge course was a very long bit of wire and at the end of this was the finish. Thank fully we had a long rope we could hold on to help us get across!

Over all I found the challenge course surprisingly very challenging! It definitely helped us improve our team work and listen to each other’s opinions. It was fun and very enjoyable.  Jess

The Obstacle Course
The Obstacle Course was really fun and muddy. The course was made by the army. It was just next to South Camp where some of us were staying. Whilst we were doing the course we had to have coloured balls which allowed us to do something. There was a green ball which allowed you to move around and there was a blue ball which allowed you to talk. If you didn’t have either ball you had to just stand still. When we did the Obstacle Course it was really wet.

First you had to walk up a slippery slope. After that we had to go along a bridge which was about ten metres long. After that there was a swing which had to be moved by ropes, which everyone else controlled. You had to trust the people in your group. Then you had to climb over a one metre wall, which people struggled on. After that there was a swamp which we had to walk along planks to get around it. There were challenges to do whilst we were going over the swamp such as hoping on the 3cm wide planks and spinning on them.

The best part of the course was watching people fall into the wet, muddy swamp and getting muddy.  Martin

Crate stacking
After lunch it was really nice weather and it was time for time for create stacking.  We went down to get some equipment from a shed, this consisted of a harness and helmets. Then we went to the area where you did crate stacking. I was in a group with Rosa and Alex. We where belaying, which is when you keep the line that keeps people safe tight, so if the fall off the crates they don’t fall down onto the ground.

We managed to get thirteen crates on our first go. Then Mrs Lewis Williams and Miss Carter had a go, they managed to stack eight crates. Will

Raft building
Our team leader for raft building was Alan. We all found raft building amusing as we all witnessed Alan and Lois’ competitive side. The instructors were not meant to tie certain knots for us, just show us how to do them and get us started yet Alan tied practically all the knots for us!

To kick off our raft building we had to do a few team building activities to help us get certain things such as our raft M. O. T.; meaning that before we launched our raft we could have it checked by Alan.

Another of these activities was a seesaw and we had to balance the weight of the team and keep the edges of the ground for ten consecutive seconds.  After about ten minutes we finally managed to achieve this.

To start off we all had to collect four large barrels, six large poles and four small poles. There was a plastic bin full of rope for us to use for the knots. Our design was to prove very stable and even Lakeside’s Boat Co-ordinator complimented our design.

Our race course was out to a small buoy, round it and back to shore. My team won, we decided to run back into the water and attack the other boat. We got extremely wet and many of us were freezing cold, but it was definitely one of the best activities.

The weather had been raining in the morning and we all had our fingers crossed the weather would clear up. Luckily it did and we had bright sunshine for our raft building time.

Before the raft building some of us went down to the YMCA shop and brought some three pound t-shirts for the activity. The best part of the activity was definitely getting out on the water and paddling furiously to beat the other team. Emma

Swimming, free time and the food at Lakeside
YMCA Lakeside was a great place to stay. The site is big with lots of space for fun activities. We spent very little time inside so the outdoors is a strong feature of the trip. There are two camps that we stayed in. I stayed in North Camp, where everyone ate and congregated before the activities. The others stayed in two lodges at South Camp which is a 5 minute walk through the beautiful woods beside Lake Windermere.

The food at Lakeside was excellent. There was a big breakfast on offer – cereals, parts of a full English breakfast and a range of hot drinks. I am sure everyone was well filled up for a fun days worth of activities. For lunch there were sandwiches on offer, as well as a delicious hot meal, jacket potatoes and soup. This gave us lots of freedom of what to eat and the food was always great quality. For supper soup, a hot meal and a sweet pudding was always offered and there were no restrictions on how much you could eat. The centre catered for all dietary requirements – gluten, wheat and vegetarian.

One of the great things about the trip was the amount of free time we had. After supper the teachers let us have free time until hot chocolate later on in the evening. As Year 8s this was lovely for all of us as we needed lots of time to relax after our big exams! The free time included swimming in cold Lake Windermere or purely chatting in dorms or down near the lake. 

I am confident to say that this really is the trip the rest of the school should look forward to, especially after Common Entrance!  Esther

Travelling
Travelling to and from the Lake District was very relaxed and easy going. We met at school at 7:30 in the morning to start the trip to the Lake District. As we set off we all began to get out our iPods and began to use them. At about 9:00 am we stopped for fuel but we were not allowed to get off the minibuses. So we went straight off again and carried on with the journey. Then we stopped at about 10:30 am at this road side café to get some food and drink. I got a sausage bap. Then we carried on to the Lake District. The next time we stopped was in the middle of Harrogate where we all sat on a lawn to eat our packed lunch. This was the last stop until we go to the Lake District. But as we began to head towards the Lake District there was a road which was shut so we had to take a huge diversion and eventually we arrived at Lakeside. This took us about a total of 8 hours to the Lake District.  James

On the way back it was much the same as on the way there. We left at about half past eight and after a couple of hours the glass out of one of the wing mirrors fell out and had to be taped back on. We had been to Tesco’s the night before. We had all bought some sweets for the journey. At about 11:30 we stopped at Harrogate again. We were given some money so we could buy our lunch from Sainsbury’s. We were all keen to get back and so we only stopped once more at kings Lynn for a quick break. We arrived back at school at three thirty and were given our Common Entrance results by Mr. Lowe.  Toby

The Yr 8 Lake District trip truly is the best school trip at Town Close.  The children have many opportunities to experience a range of activities which help build their confidence and skills and all in the beauty of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales.  Thanks must go to the members of staff who accompany the children and willingly find themselves wriggling through the cave system, walking in the mountains, dangling from a rope or wearing the ubiquitous safety helmet: Miss Carter, Mrs Lewis Williams, Mrs Malone, Mr. Parker and Mr. Read.

Mr. S. B. Coulthart