Lake District Activity Centre
It's safe to say we love it here at Bendrigg!With a selection of paints and pencils we created a mural as a gift for them. There was also a table for clay with lots of tools and shape cutters allowing our creative flare to run wild. We all loved painting colourful letters and drawings of activities for our huge masterpiece, and we all agreed it was an amazing piece or art. There were also some lovely clay models of animals and vehicle, too!
Feeling brave we harnessed up and before long we were whizzing down the zip line making all sorts of funny shapes and poses.
It was off to the equipment store to get some waterproofs and helmets for our day caving in the Yorkshire Dales! We drove through some incredible scenery, pointing out more spectacular sights to look at!
Once we had our wellies and helmets on, we walked up a hill to the entrance of a huge cave. Connor and Lee explained how the cave had been formed over many years and we enjoyed looking up at the rock formations! Once inside, we could feel the water lapping against our ankles and we were glad to have our torches on so we could see the curved limestone ceiling and huge variety of rock formations! We loved hearing all the facts about the cave and were careful to watch where we put our feet as there were lots of obstacles to avoid! We were told how many years ago people would have used candles to explore the cave so we all turned our lights off and they then lit a candle to show us what it would have been like. 
The sun was shining as we spent the day canoeing! We all made sure we packed our waterproofs and a change of clothes just in case we had a splash whilst we were paddling! We all helped unload the canoes and other equipment and worked as a team to attach two canoes together using wooden poles and velcro straps!
With our two larger canoes ready, we split into two teams. Now we were on the water, we practiced our rowing skills which everyone picked up very quickly. Then we were off and set sail down the beautiful meandering canal. A bit of a friendly competition between the two boats was enjoyed, retrieving rubber ducks and balls which one of the instructors threw into the water to see who could collect the most! We were all used to working as a team so both boats were very quick and agile as they moved around the water, gathering all the objects. It was another close draw!
We headed out to bike shed to collect our bikes for a cycle around the woods. There were lots of different options of bikes from 2 wheeled bikes, go karts, a bike you could pedal with your hands and one that was very close to the ground! To get used to our new bikes, we cycled around a track outside the bike shed, increasing with confidence with every lap. We then headed out into the woods on the longer route swapping bikes as we went.
Connor, our instructor showed us how to hold the bow and load the arrow and aim it at the target. This took some coordination but after a few practice runs we were ready for a tournament! We split into two teams and took it in turns to shoot at the boards which were worth different points depending on which colour you hit. We all became very good at hitting the targets, so Connor made it harder by adding balloons to the target board. We all managed to pop them with our expert archery skills!
We were ready to face the ‘mighty wall’. We started with a gentle warm up climbing at a low height and moving sideways, getting our footing right. Working together, we took it in terms to stand next to the person climbing to help 'spot' them and ensure they didn’t fall as well as giving some tips for where to put hands and feet on the climbing holds which can be difficult to see when you are on the wall! We cheered each other on as each person climbed higher and higher! Everyone looked very happy when they reached the top and we all clapped from down below! Then it was time to face our fears and have a go at abseiling. One by one we went up the stairs to meet Kathryn at the top of the wall before making our way down the wall, backwards, completely trusting Kathryn. Everyone made it all the way down which was absolutely amazing!
Another great team building activity was enjoyed where we partnered up to balance on crates, adding more and more until they toppled over! This took a lot of good leadership skills and communication to pass the crates to each other successfully. to experience the Sensory Swing! We each chose a piece of music we wanted to listen to as we flew around the room. The group chose a whole range of songs including Greased Lightnin’, We Will Rock You and Born in the USA! We all enjoyed the sensation of flying through the air and round and round in circles! 
An afternoon of bushcraft was enjoyed by everyone. We were thrilled to have all been able to make a fire using a flint stone.
We all wrapped up warm and headed to the fire pit, listening to music and telling funny stories about our time at Bendrigg and singing and dancing to our favourite songs! It was then time to roast some marshmallows! Yummy!
Everyone received a certificate, handshake and a photo with our instructor Connor for our marvellous effort completing all the challenges he set us! We all said what our favourite activity of the week was and agreed we have had an incredible adventure together!
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