Torrential Tuesday

Wow what another day - wet doesn't describe it but just know that we didn't really notice.  Apologies as we are having technical difficulties and cannot upload any of our great photos to this page but will put some in our folder.  Click on the link to the right on our blog page.  See you tomorrow....

Group 5

Today we met our instructor called Zoe and she told us we would be doing a mountain bike ride, tree climb and kayaking on the Lagganlia pond. Before we started our cycle we had to do a test to show we could stop safely and knew how to use our gears. We set off on a track through the forest. Our instructor told us to look out for Golden Eagles, red squirrels, Ospreys, baby deer and Capercaille. We cycled on undulating track through the Glen Feshie forest. Even though the conditions were hard we managed to keep going, showing determination.  When we stopped for our snack Andrew dropped his apple and Eilidh said that Lauren had a “yummy seat” because she had borrowed Ms Dufort’s gel cushion seat. Eszter was complaining about being wet, cold and muddy and had brought a towel for the bike ride – we decided to call her Princess Eszter!

After lunch at the centre we got kitted out for the tree climb. We had to put on a harness and make sure that the belts were in the closed position to be safe to climb. The aim of the tree climb was to get to the top of a very tall tree and ring the bell. There were hand a foot holds and branches that we used to help us up. The wet weather made the tree very slippy and challenging to climb. When we were climbing one person helped to give advice on the best route to climb and they were called an ‘advisor’. Everybody else had to hold the rope and this was called ‘belaying’. Not everyone made it to the top but everybody was motivated to try and Zoe was very supportive when we tried. We had 5 minutes after the tree climb to get into our wet suits ready to kayak. They were really tight and difficult to get into. We went down the trail to get to the pond and had to test the fit of our kayaks. We launched our kayaks into the pond using teamwork to them safely in. Zoe challenged us to be able to turn our kayak in circles and then let us experiment with how to use our paddles. We played a game of Sharks and Fish where the catcher had to hit the kayak or person in it with a ball. Eilidh capsized and swallowed water. We had a great day again and are excited for what tomorrow and the rest of the week brings!

Eilidh – Yummy seat and proud of myself!

Lauren – Proud that I managed to handle a kayak!

Cadence – Happy I reached the top of the tree and rang the bell!

Jasmin – I am happy that I tried to climb the tree.

Eszter – Everyone calling me Princess Eszter because I had a towel, it was funny!

Andrew – I got to the top of the tree!

Group 6

Day 2 at Lagganlia – activities – kayaking, tree climbing and mountain biking.  Highlights – when Glen fell out of the kayak three times and Jenny went once even before we started.  Drew, Jenny, Brogan and Ade all got to the top of the tree and rang the bell.  Isla, Ellie, Emily, Michael and Glen went as far as they thought but then went a little higher than they anticipated.  Everyone got thoroughly soaked and muddy in the mountain biking along with a sore bottom.  Our instructor is very nice and called Simon.  We hope to play Simon says with him ha, ha!    Our most common word written in our idea/reflection sheet was wet, wet and very wet!  After lunch we had a discussion about skills and how they transfer into everyday life …. Some thoughts from us

Balance/determination – reaching over half way up the tree, can’t do it. Why is it important?  Wouldn’t  get to our personal goal.  Stamina – needed in both climbing and kayaking, having enough strength to keep going.  Taking responsibility for yourself and others – no one tells you what to do.  Keeping everyone safe – using bouncy aids and making sure we were helping each other tighten up.  Listening – we did ok, maybe 6/10.  Staying together and looking out for each other – in biking keeping together as a group and not leaving anyone behind.  Risk assessment - making sure we had good teamwork. Making decisions about what choices to do based on how dangerous = good to do/fun.  We surprised ourselves with what we have achieved and look forward to tomorrow. 

By Ellie, Isla, Brogan, Emily, Jenny, Drew, Michael, Ade and Glen.

Group1 day 2 skiing

We were awakened by our teachers we got ready and went for breakfast, after breakfast we had our rooms inspected by our instructors. We then had to meet up with our own instructors Brig and Gordon they told us we were doing skiing and gorge walking. We then went to the equipment stores to get our equipment for skiing, it took a long time as we had to be measured for our skis. We had to walk to the slope in our big boots it was hard, we found it hard to put on the skis and taken them of again. We were showed how to use our skis properly, we had to do  different things to get our balance and we had a one ski race that the 2’s won. We then got to go up the slope and stared to ski down one at a time, we all fell over quite a lot but with practice we all managed to get down the slope without falling over, and the better we got the higher up the slope we got to go. Michael got up the highest as he was the best at controlling his skies. We worked hard and had lots of fun falling down and getting up that we didn’t notice the rain.

Group 1 day 2 Gorge walking

We had lunch we then met back up with the instructors and got our equipment for the Gorge walk we had to wear warm suits, called teddy suits, waterproofs, and big rubber boots. We then went in a mini bus for a short trip that took us to a path, where we had a long walk through puddles to the Gorge, on the way Lewis found a frog we called it Fredrick the newish member of group 1.when we reached the Gorge the water was going really fast and loud because off all the heavy rain. We had to get into the water and start walking up the Gorge it was fun but hard going it was cold and very wet. At one point we had to lie down in a waterfall where Alfie let out a big scream we all laughed so did Alfie. When we eventually got to the top we all felt we achieved a great feat. When we left the Gorge, we all shouted goodbye gorgeous Gorge.

Group 1 Lewis, Andrew, Raegan, Michael, Eve, Ella, Zara Alfie and not forgetting Fredrick the frog.


Group 4

Our adventures  today were all about facing our fears. This morning we went mountain biking in the lovely rain! It was slippy and puddly (new word from group 4) and FUN. We all had different skill levels in cycling, roots of trees caused problems. Hills were another problem, some of us had to walk up them. We were not very good at spacing out, there were some collisions – BUT we are all okay!

In the afternoon we were climbing THEN abseiling. Although some found it easier than others everyone managed to climb up. The person in our group who surprised us most today was Dillon. He thought he wouldn’t manage but he did. Despite the rain, we still enjoyed our day.

Everyone has had a great day, lots of wet clothes but a lot of smiling faces too.

Dillon, Alannah, Malachi, Isla B, Kyle, Freya, Serena, Callum, Sam

Group 2: Day 2 – Archery & Gorge Walk

Today we did archery and the gorge walk at Lagganlia. We thought the archery was boring compared to the gorge walk.  Jenna said she finally managed to get the bullseye but unfortunately their “game” had finished so her points weren’t counted!

Once we’d finished the archery and had our lunch we then got our kit ready for the gorge walk.  We had to wear our swimming costumes/trunks, t-shirt, wetsuits, waterproofs and boots!  We walked for a while before we got to the gorge, but we could hear the water from far away.  We were excited when we saw the gorge! Some of us felt scared, but our team used words of encouragement and helped each other by taking turns. Everyone worked together as a team and listened carefully to instructions so we were all kept safe.  Matthew slide tackled Harvey, and Eleanor fell 53 times! At one point we all had to sit down in a deep part of the water, under a waterfall so it was like having a shower!! Once we’d finished the gorge walk, we carried on to the flat path back to the bus.  Rafa, one of our Instructors, then took us up a mini gorge that no group has done before! We were excited to be the first ones to do it.  We had to commando crawl up and water kept hitting us in the face.  Once we got back to the centre we had to tidy away our wet clothes and finally got to shower! The wetsuits felt like we were vacuum packed ham! Alex said the whole day was an exhilarating adventure

Aimee – The gorge was really cold, but the wetsuit’s kept us warm.

Eleanor – I thought my toe fell off during the gorge walk.

Harvey – It was an adventure because we didn’t know what was going to happen, and we didn’t know what Matthew was going to do next.

Erlend – It was a real adventure doing the gorge walk.

Alex – It was an exhilarating adventure.

Jenna – When I first saw the gorge I was a bit scared, but I got used to it as I went on.

Hannah – The gorge was very wet but still a good experience.

Tallis – The gorge walk wasn’t cold and I wasn’t scared at all.

Matthew – Harvey fell in a hole, so I helped him back out again.

 

 Group 3 – Mr Peace

Today was Mason’s 12^th Birthday (Woo!) and what a day it was! We did bouldering and abseiling this morning with our instructor Stuart. It was slippery walking along the rocks. As we were abseiling down the big cliff, we had to watch out for the tree that we nicknamed “Spiky McTree Face”. We were determined to abseil and have a go. Some of us were scared but we all tried our best!

After lunch we got ready for the Gorge Walk. The Gorge today was cold, challenging, mesmerising, wet, slippy and fun.

“We sang Ocean Man as we climbed the Gorge.” – Charley

“It was wet, cold, slippy and we made a dam using ourselves. I can’t feel my feet.” – Rhys

“I fell over constantly! Four times walking there and an uncountable amount on the Gorge.” – Murray

“My toe nails got drowned and we made up a song called “I Can’t Feel My Feet when I’m with Stu” on the way back on the bus to Lagganlia. – Conal

“I was amazed by the waterfall because it was a VERY strong current and my boots were full of water.” – Mason

“It was mesmerising how high the water level was, we had to go a different way! Halfway up there we made a human dam and I got swept away by the running water! Thank goodness for Grace saving me!” – Leah

“I was wet and cold until we got to the woods. When I saw the waterfall I was determined to go in. When it was my turn to do a push up in the water I couldn’t do it because I was getting pulled back. On the way back I fell in a hole!” - Katy

“HOLD ON LEAH! Leah got swept away. When we were building a dam and I held on to Leah. I’m glad that I did the activities.” – Grace