Day One
We arrived to find the sun shining in Irthlingborough after a relatively quick journey from Church Langton. After lunch we went on a tour of the site, discovering the various activities we will be enjoying. Further excitement as we discovered our rooms and started the challenge of having to make our own beds. I would like to report that every child is now an expert (I would like to…) but we then went off for our first set of activities. Group One had a go at Abseiling. It was very cold at the top of the tower and many faced their fears and completed the task. Colin and Steve, the two instructors, were brilliant at encouraging everyone and the view from the top was brilliant. Joel said “the fuzzy helmet felt strange to wear and it was awesome to get to the top of the tower and jump off”.
The other group had a go at Archery. Tim and Laura gave us a great introduction into how to stay safe and hit the target. Danny thought “it was great fun but it was quite hard to aim. I was really pleased when I hit the blue ring”. We played lots of different games and scored lots of points.
After returning to Oak Lodge to finish making the beds we then visited the canteen, where we enjoyed cottage pie followed by sponge pudding. The serving staff are from all over the world so we are learning a bit more about different countries, yesterday it was Brazil, Ecuador and South Korea.
After a playtime on the field we went off to our last activities of the day. Group One were doing fencing, congratulations to Fergus who beat Mrs Sparkes in a duel. They loved putting on all of the kit and Connor said “I liked learning how to lunge and the on guard position, fighting against everyone else was great”.
The other group went on a Night-Line walk, being blindfolded and working in groups to overcome obstacles, including some very boggy grass.
After a chat to share our thoughts on the day, the children went off to bed and were all asleep before we knew it. Another exciting day awaits.