PGL 2015
Monday
We're here! We had a very easy journey, jumped off the coach and went straight into lunch. It's pizza day so this made us even happier! The afternoon was spent having a look around the site and playing football and other games. At around 2pm it started to snow. Obviously this was exciting but we were quite relieved when it stopped and the sun came out again (look for the rainbow in two of the pictures).
After this, we went to our rooms and settled in. It was fun to have a quick visit to the shop (as if anyone needed more sweets!) Dinner was lovely (curry, vegetable wellington or sausage and mash).
This evening's activity was Scrap Heap Challenge. This involved collecting points during various games to be used to earn cardboard and string. These were then used by each group to create a new PGL activity. The aim of this activity was to encourage teamwork and creative thinking. It was a lot of fun.
Everyone has been excited this evening but we are now ready for a good night's sleep to prepare ourselves for tomorrow's activities!
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Tuesday
Today has been our first full day of activities. Everyone woke up excited to get going. Today we did Abseiling, Aeroball, High Ropes and Giant Swing. Abseiling gave many of us the chance to get used to wearing a harness and to get used to the heights! High Ropes is possibly the scariest activity and involves completing an obstacle course in the sky! Many of us managed this and the wind added to the challenge. Aeroball is like basketball on a trampoline – it’s really run. Giant Swing is one of the favourites every year. The name describes it. The first drop is the scariest!
The day ended with a campfire with lots of singing! It’s been a great day and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.
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Wednesday
It’s been another great day, especially as it was Yunis’ birthday! We started the day by singing him happy birthday at breakfast and ended with cake after dinner! In between there have been lots of great activities. Today we have done The Zipwire, Tunnel Trail, Trapeze and Orienteering. The Zipwire is another universal favourite. You have to take a leap of faith before flying across the countryside below. We loved It! Tunnel Trail is a new activity. As the pictures show, we had to crawl our way through a network of underground tunnels (sometimes whilst pretending to be Zombies as part of a game!). The Trapeze involves climbing a large pole, then jumping from a small platform to try and catch the trapeze bar. It’s pretty scary but exciting! Orienteering gave us a chance to improve our map skills, explore the site and work as a team.
This evening we have played wacky races and have learnt some excellent new games. We are all having a great time and after another busy day we are feeling a bit tired!
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Thursday
Today was our last full day and it was a great one! We had another birthday – Jane’s, so there was more singing and more cake!
In the morning we did Vertical Challenge and Sensory Trail. Unfortunately it did rain, but it didn’t stop us having fun! Vertical Challenge is a rope activity where you must climb a swinging rope ladder followed by some tricky tyres. After that it’s a climbing wall and if you’ve made it that far, it ends with a cargo net to the very top. It really is a challenge!
Sensory Trail teaches us how important our senses are. We followed a path with lots of obstacles whilst wearing black out goggles. It really needs excellent teamwork and communication. We all realised how important these skills are.
In the afternoon the weather improved! Our activities were All Aboard and Problem Solving. During All Aboard the aim is to reach the top of the pole and along the way there are platforms to climb on to. Once again team work was essential because all three people had to try to climb on to the top platform which is the size of a pizza box!
Problem Solving was lots of fun as we solved challenges and worked as a team (again).
This evening it has been the disco! We dressed up and danced and danced and danced! Most of have packed. We are looking forward to tomorrow morning’s activities before our journey home.
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Friday
Our last day! We woke up feeling sad about having to go home, but also looking forward to seeing everyone. We also had a morning of activities to look forward to. The activities were Jacob’s Ladder and Challenge Course. Jacob’s Ladder is really tricky! You have to climb vertical beams to reach the top. You climb in groups of 3 so try to support each other .
Challenge course is an obstacle course (on the ground this time!) where, once again team work is crucial. We played lots of games and helped each other.
After lunch we said goodbye to our group leader and headed for home. We’ve had a really great time and have made a lot of fantastic memories.
