Below is a photo diary of the June 2017 Coniston trip by Simon Scott:
At 8am, we set off by coach from the North Gate for the Lake District. After a pretty good journey, we were welcomed by the team at the Raymond Priestley Centre and had lunch. I think it’s fair to say that most people, if not everyone, was a bit apprehensive about what to expect, but any concerns dissipated pretty quickly when we got straight into the activities:
The groups were pushed in their tasks and had to coordinate and communicate well. It’s worth noting that the team at the Raymond Priestley Centre have a full range of activities to choose from, and every year they select the more advanced ones for LANS students, who have a good reputation for working well together.
After the activities, dinner was ready. I cannot emphasise this enough: I was told that there would be plenty of food and was sceptical about this, but there was way too much and we were never without food for snacks. Everyone was tired after the travelling and activities, so opted for puzzles, Love Island, pool or table tennis, while others read.
Everyone was up on time for breakfast, and then met in the meeting room before starting activities. Two groups went on the water:
Another group went out onto the ropes:
Then the groups switched over after lunch:
After the day’s activities, John addressed everyone in the meeting room to tell us a few things about the following day’s activities.
In the evening, we made packed lunches for the next day and then most people went to the pub after dinner.
After breakfast, we convened in the meeting room before getting stuck into another full day of activities:
Unfortunately, I was confined to the Centre with a foot injury so couldn’t join the groups on their activities. These photos are from later in the day as they worked as one group:
I should mention that the views, not surprisingly, are spectacular (although the photos don’t do it justice):
In the morning, we met up in the meeting room after breakfast. Yesterday saw the end of the main activities: today we had three to choose from, including mountain biking. After lunch, we had time for a group photo before catching the coach back to Birmingham:
It was an amazing trip and the team at the Raymond Priestley Centre made us feel very welcome. People were asking me if they could come again next year. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
