Residential Trip 2022

Friday 10th June:

On a sunny Friday afternoon, everyone was so excited that the residential was going ahead! We were all in good spirits as we met our partners for the weekend. There were lots of smiles, laughs, music and (of course) Top Trumps as we got onto the coach, headed towards the lake district. The journey went pretty quickly and before we knew it we were in the Lakes! We were met by the lovely staff at Bendrigg Trust, who welcomed us with a really yummy dinner. After dinner we got shown to our rooms, and then had an evening of playing sports games. We headed to bed, excited for all the activities of the next day...

Saturday 11th June:

We woke up, looking forward to all the fun the day had to bring. We had a cooked breakfast! followed by getting into smaller groups for the activities, which we rotated round. We had canoeing off site, in a river nearby (getting to check out the local wildlife including the cows, sheep, ducks and even 2 dogs- it was like a lake district safari!). The other groups had lots of fun abseiling, rock climbing, zip lining and swinging about on the sensory swing. There was also the option of the sensory room, which was really fun! The grounds were great for exploring too, with an outdoor low ropes course and swing, and lots of games to play with too. We had lunch and then swapped activities, having lots of fun along the way. We had a break in the afternoon for relaxation, playing and of course, getting ready for the famous Phab Nottingham disco that evening!

After eating our dinner, the disco lights came on, the music got started and the amazing fancy dress came out! We had karate kids, disco groovers, unicorns and much much more. Everyone had a good old boogy. A real highlight was seeing our members grow in confidence, get stuck in and have so much fun in the process. We also had biscuit decorating (with some real outstanding biscuits made which looked too good to eat!), a bonfire and also t-shirt decorating. We all had a brilliant evening and headed to bed with smiles on our faces and disco tunes in our heads

Sunday 12th June:

Our final day had arrived, but there was still lots more fun to be head before we headed home. We woke up, had breakfast and headed out for our final activity. The weather even held off for the canoeing group, (although you might not have known it for some volunteers who seemed to have been splashed so much!). After lunch, we had our awards ceremony. Each member achieved so much on the weekend, and received a certificate and big round of applause.

We headed home on the coach, where the new classic song came out of P-H-A-B (to the tune of YMCA). The journey went quickly and before we knew it, we were back in Nottingham.

The weekend was brilliant, and it was such a joy to see so many smiles and laughs. None of this would have been possible without our amazing volunteers, who went out of their way to get to know their partner and encourage them to achieve new goals. The bonds built up were really heartwarming.

We hope everyone has a great summer, and we look forward to seeing you next academic year for many many many more smiles, laughs and memories