St. Francis of Assisi – School Blog

It all started at 5 o’clock in the morning when we got to school ready to get on the coach for the most fun time of our lives!

As soon as we got there , we got a tour of Ullswater and in the first few minutes , I knew it would be the experience of a lifetime .

My favourite activities were: Jog-and-dip which was sooo fun.  You got to dunk your head under water . Cold!  Then you got to jump off a jetty.  But this was was the bit where you got verrry tired. While being soaking wet , we RAN UP A HILL BACK TO OUR GROUPS PLACE!  I was already exhausted but I knew there was more to come.

After that tiring activity, we went back up to our dorms and changed into warm clothes. We then got into a mini van and drove to the mountain we were going to climb! It was at night so it made it more fun. The boggy walk was very hard but really exciting to do . Everyone was slipping over and I  nearly slide-tackled my friend [K] accidentally .We got to the top and our instructor [called Tom] told us a story while all of us looked at the stars . On the way down , it was the most fun part about Ullswater in Frankie’s opinion.

On the 2^nd day,  we hopped back in the mini van and drove to a bigger mountain then last time! While we were up the mountain, we found lots of different edible plants!  We even ate a red ant. (It tasted like lemon.)  Also we ate a plant that looked like a clover but it was heart shaped and had 3 leaves.  It tasted like sour apple. (It was  called wood sorrel.)

Ullswater is the most exciting place I have ever been. Full of activities, fun and loads more. Activities such as: mountain-climbing , gorge-walking, tunnelling,  hill-climbing, and orienteering,

Introduction:

At Ullswater you will do many exciting things that you didn’t know can do.  You can discover many things in Ullswater, so keep on reading and discover amazing opportunities at Ullswater!

Activities:

Whilst at Ullswater, you can do many activities including rock-climbing, mountain-climbing, canoeing raft-racing, tunnelling, orienteering and much, much more.  Our personal favourites were rock-climbing, tunnelling and gorge-walking.

Dormitories:  In Ullswater there are several different sized dormitories – 2s, 4s, 6s, and 8s.  Every dormitory has at least 1 en-suite shower and toilet as well as an additional sink.

Staff:

In Ullswater there are friendly staff that help you on your journey.  They will tell you what kind of activities you will be doing.  They are have different jobs such as group instructor, cook, cleaner and much more.

Conclusion:

We think Ullswater is one of the best outward bound trust centres because it gives you some good experiences. It has so much to offer.  So go to your nearest outward bound centre and book a few days.  we guarantee you will have the time of your life!

Activities

Our favourite activities were jog-and-dip, gorge-walking and tunnelling.  These were our favourite activities because they were fun and challenged us beyond our comfort zones.  Our least favourite activities were rock-climbing and orienteering because they made us stretch even further from our comfort zones.

Facilities

When we got there, the duty instructor kindly welcomed us and explained the activities and what time they were.  They also explained what time breakfast and dinner were.  At Ullswater, you have dorms from two to eight people and you will be allowed to choose who you are with.  In your dorm, you will be provided with a shower, toilet and sink.

Staff

The staff at Ullswater are very kind and will help you when you need it.  They will tell you when to meet and when to start your activities.  They are very welcoming and guide you through your Ullswater experience.  Amazingly, in the morning, they wake you at 7.00 am to get ready for breakfast.

We hope your experience is as good as ours.

On November 27^th 2022, we went on a residential trip to Ullswater Centre for 5 days. It started off by going to school at 5am to ride on a coach for 7 hours and we looked like we were full of energy but we were very tired. When we arrived, we had our lunch and our journey had started.

Day 1:

We met our instructor, who was Ian, and introduced us to our rooms and our first task was to do our beds. We met at the garden and our instructor told us to either look or get something that was nice and explained why we liked it. After that, we did team building games on a plank of wood which according to Daniel, “It’s The slab of wood”. We had to order ourselves in  shoe size, age and height and we couldn’t speak so we used our hands to explain what we were supposed to say. After this, we went to our pods and talked about what we did to communicate and what we are going to do during the 5 days. We did another team building game, which involved pipes and a golf ball. Once we did that, we ate dinner, which was very delicious, then we went back outside and it was so dark. The next task was jog and dip, which was going in the freezing water plus it was night which made it colder. Ian got our buoyancy aid and he attached a glow stick to our buoyancy aid to make sure we didn’t float away and get lost from each other. It was very cold like you were encased in a block of ice, our whole body froze! After that we took off our buoyancy aid and walked back to the Centre, we took a warm shower and drank hot chocolate. Afterwards, we went to our dorms, went into our pyjamas and slept.

Day 2

The next day, we woke up by a woman banging on the door which was right next to Cairon’s ear. We had to rush to clean our room and got a good score for our room. We ate a whole British breakfast and it was delicious. We got free time after breakfast but after that we got ready for lunch and then set off. We went to do canoeing but first we had to build the canoes together in a team with ropes and logs. When we finished building the canoe, we went out into the water and had a race, sang songs and looked at the beautiful view. After that we went to the other side of the lake and ate lunch, drank hot chocolate and did some activities such as collecting wood for the fire. After we got back to the other side, we were very tired and our arms ached. We did another activity, which we don’t remember sadly, and from what I recall, it was fun.

Day 3

After day 2 we ate breakfast and then we had to get ready for the longest walk of our lives. We were going to climb a very high hill (it’s not high enough to be a mountain like Pluto). It was very high and very tiring, we had a lot of rests) we saw a lot of robins and cool plants. One of our stopping places was a very nice forest with rocks covered in moss, it was like sitting on a carpet. When we got to the very top, we were in the clouds! It was like we were in heaven except very cold. We started to go down, which felt longer going down, and saw a waterfall. We went back to the van that we went in and left the hill. Most of day 3 we don’t really remember.

Day 4

After day 3, we went back to the van and went rock climbing. It wasn’t as bad as we thought but that was a really short activity as we had to go early to go do gorge climbing. Gorge climbing is climbing a small water fall and we tried different techniques to keep ourselves safe like a roman handshake, gorilla walk and holding each other when we pulled someone up. We got very wet, which is obvious, and our boots filled with water. The day was like any other day dinner then sleep.

Last day

The last day was very emotional (not really) and our first activity of the day was rowing. It was canoeing but with oars and a bigger boat. It was really hard and tiring but luckily it wasn’t that hard. From what I remember we might’ve got stuck and a man on a speedboat had to save us. The speedboat was the best part, it was fast and very cool. Sadly after that we had to leave. We packed up and left for school. On the coach, we ate sandwiches and slept. Our parents and family members were very happy to see us after a few days away.

A little mention and overall rating

We rate this place a 9.5 out of 10 and I recommend going here also each day we had to do room inspection so we had to clean a lot of our room.

When we arrived at the Lake District, we were introduced to our duty instructor, who is the person who will be looking after you at your stay. They will make sure you will wake up on time for the upcoming activities and that you will arrive for breakfast, lunch and dinner on time. Each different group has a different time slot for eating.

Dorms

After a while your dorm instructor will assign you to your dorm. And after a while they will take you to your first activity around 10:30. Your dorms are a good size due to your amount you share with and they have bunk beds in the corner with your own bathrooms.

Food

There are different time slots for different groups and there is hot chocolate after dinner time. After you have got dressed you have to make your way to breakfast. After our dinner, we would either go down towards the game room and play varieties of games like pool, chess, and more, or you can stay in your dorm.

Activities

There is a different range of activities to do there, like canoeing or gorge walking. There are activities to do with water or land you can even climb mountains. You will have two grownups to look after your group throughout the day. You will do around 4 activities per day, 1 in the morning 1 during lunch and sometimes in the afternoon.

Ullswater

After a 7-hour trip to Ullswater, we finally arrived.

Immediately, we had to unpack our bags, which was so boring, then we went to our first activity.

Malachi’s  and Kacper’s (our) favourite activity was tunnelling because we liked going through the smallest tunnels as it was challenging,  We also liked river dipping and canoeing because it was also really easy but challenging. We also enjoyed campfire because we roasted marshmallows which was so nice. the dormitories were great. We had to do our pillow cases ourselves along with our bed sheets. other than that, it was amazing, they have the most comfortable beds!!!  The ride back home was so funnnnn because Kacper shared his food, of course. that’s the rest of our trip. Bye.