Last week Lower IV set off on our camping residential and I think I speak for my year group when I say that the trip was a success. As it was a week long, we had the chance to try out different types of water sports, hiking, camping and also wilderness skills like setting up a make-shift stove in the middle of the woods and building a raft to travel across a lake.

For me, the best experience was putting up, taking down and using the tents. We were set the challenge of constructing them and for the rest of the week we slept in them. It was a really fun and exciting experience to be able to camp with friends and try to survive in the woods together.

The water sports provided an opportunity to overcome some challenges for me and I was given the chance to come out of my comfort zone and try something new. Paddle boarding, canoeing and using the rafts we had built to float on the lake, wasn’t always successful, but always really fun. There were other activities like gorge walking which presented additional challenges. 

Activity groups set out to walk up the gorge/river together, taking on rocks, small rapids and pockets of deep water. Although the wet suits we wore were not glamorous, gorge walking ended up being one of the most fun activities of the week.

Erin Lower lV