Kepplewray - More News

“Everybody is normal because nobody is perfect and nobody is nothing” – 10 yr old boy from Sheffield.

Merissa and Demi-Leigh from Nottingham left us this poem after spending a week at Kepplewray with their primary school at Kepplewray.

Congratulations to our very own Jonathan Elvy who has been elected chair of Barrow-in-Furness Round Table. The Round Table are supporters of Kepplewray and we look forward to even closer ties.

Rick Townson left us recently after six years during which he set up our training and consultancy business. We wish him well in his new job and look forward to seeing him around the place as an unpaid volunteer! He is pictured here with the new toy we gave him at his leaving lunch. It was great to see Revd. Tim Montgomery our previous Chief Executive at the lunch. Tim recruited Rick and it seemed fitting that he should give one of his very humorous speeches.

Kepplewray was white in time for Christmas. A very generous donation enabled us to have the entire outside of the building painted together with repairs to all the remaining original windows, gutters and downpipes. Here's a sort of before and after photo all in one!

The recent Northern Soul evening in Barrow raised £600 for charity. Half of this was given to Kepplewray and half to Duddon and Furness Mountain Rescue Team. Here's our Val receiving half the cheque. Many thanks to all involved and especially Rob McKeever.

Wolfgang holding his big yellow dictionary

Wolfgang was with us for seven weeks last autumn. He comes from Düsseldorf in Germany and spent part of a gap year before university in community service. He was a great asset to the Kepplewray team and his excellent use of English showed many of us natives up. He's shown here with his giant German-English dictionary.

These girls are not smoking behind the bike sheds, but admiring their handywork after a solid day of hard labour. They had cleared out the undergrowth (actually overgrowth), dug back the bank and laid hardcore. This was just one of the tasks undertaken by a group of 20 teenagers from Wigan under the auspices of Positive Futures. Most are aiming for a Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. Andy, our Activities Manager said "This is one of the most hard-working workparties we have ever had at Kepplewray". Our thanks go to them all and best wishes for the completion of their awards.

Beaumont college had a great time on our net and ropes course and climbing tree. Both can be used by people with mobility impairments. The net and ropes course was built for us by a graduate team from Deutche Bank under supervision from a specialist company.

If you would like to receive regular news from Kepplewray, contact us and we will send you our twice-yearly K News.

Each winter and spring we run a number of themed meals for the local community. We had a Spanish evening (smaller picture below). The larger picture shows guests at the Greek evening earlier in the year.

We are delighted to announce that Mike Ketchell has now joined us as Cook in Charge. He is continuing our tradition of excellent fresh food.

Mike replaces Jane who has left us in order to get a part-time job nearer to her home. We gave her a farewell lunch - here she is cutting the cake.

Andy Giles joined Kepplewray in December 2003 as the senior person in charge of activities. Andy, his wife Jo and their two girls have moved to the Lake District from South West Scotland where he was previously working at the Barcaple Outdoor Centre. He sees his move to K as an exciting step motivated by the challenges created by the diverse flientele that K caters for. More details are in the current edition of K News.

Broughton Community Transport was officially launched on 16 September 2003 attended by Councillor Josh Curwen. Those who attended were: Sally Troughton (representing older members of the community), Daniel Leighton, Claudia Blaud and Bethany Mullen (children at Broughton School).

The end of October 2003 half-term weekend saw Kepplewray fill up with members of the Emmanuel Church, South Croydon Youth Club. The twist is that they had not attended for the last 30 years! This was a grand reunion where they all discovered they had not grown up as much as they thought! Pictures etc here.

Jane, our cook, was recently asked for some recipes because a group noticed how much better their members behaved when fed with Kepplewray food!

We have recently said Goodbye to the Young People's Trust for the Environment who have had groups from urban priority areas at Kepplewray for several weeks this autumn. They each did a mix of instructed activities and environmental studies. YPTE is sponsored by Barclaycard as part of their LivingLand community project. We look forward to seeing them again in the Spring.

Child smiling down from top of crate tower - this is one of our most popular and challenging activities

Congratulations to our patron Jonathan Edwards who received a lifetime achievement award from the president of the IAAF, Lamine Diack at the end of the World Championships in Paris. We wish Jonathan God's blessing as he retires from being an athlete and takes up new challenges. He has just had a golf day where he contributed half of the money raised to Kepplewray.

Last year, we received a substantial donation from staff at Deutsche Bank, who came up in a large team to erect our new ropes course. The individual donations were matched by the Bank. They have also agreed to return next winter for another project. Many, many thanks to the whole team.

Stanley High School took advantage of some great weather in early February to do search and rescue training. Here they are having found their victim - sorry patient!

We welcome Kara Walker and Chris Ella (mug-shots below) who have joined the K staff as members of the activity instructor team. Nickie Shaw also joined the team in early June. 2003 is set to be our busiest year ever, and we now have a larger team than ever to take our guests on adventures in the great outdoors. Matthew Johnson also joined in May to help on the catering and housekeeping side. We've also had Ruth Baxter and Joanne Sweet as short-term volunteers. This is Ruth's second time with us, and she is already talking about coming back next summer! Joanne is a Sports Science graduate and has been undertaking research on the beneficial nature of activities.

We have recently started providing school dinners to Broughton School which is next door to the centre. This is a good mutual arrangement as they get fresh food cooked almost on the premises, and we utilise our kitchens when they are normally quiet (our guests have packed lunches on weekdays because they are normally out on activities). Pictured below is the inaugural delivery by Jane, our cook and Peter our director (in the silly Trolley Dolly hat!).

We are very grateful to the Mountain Centre in Broughton for donating a large number of walking boots. Pictured below are just a few of them!

Trinity, Carlilse, Sixth form visited us again in April for a work party weekend. They took advantage of some great weather to do some hacking and hewing in the grounds, including working on the pond and the path down to our archery field. Here they are - still looking happy!

Seven pupils and five staff from Trinity School Carlisle rode from Carlisle to Kepplewray on their bikes to raise money for Kepplewray. Trinity have been great supporters of the project and we are grateful to them for this effort (8 hours cycling) raising another £500 or so.

Our disability awareness training and access auditing work is growing fast. As a result, Kepplewray has engaged a team from the ESCP-EAP, European School of Management in Oxford to help create a plan for further developing the business. Charlie Brown, a member of Kepplewray's Project Management Group says " We want to maximise our expertise in helping organisations to both comply with best practice on access for disabled people and from that starting point, develop to become fully inclusive themselves."

We have recently run a disability awareness course for community groups under the auspices of Barrow Council for Voluntary Services. More details of our range of courses. We have also recently access audited nine tourist information centres for the Lake District National Park Authority.

We said goodbye to Sarah Boughton in January. Sarah has been working as an outdoor activities volunteer for nearly two years. We are really grateful to her for all that she has done and for being such a great colleague. We wish God's blessing for the future.

In early September, we had a group of 51 people from Deutsche Bank erecting a ropes course in our grounds. They are part of the bank's worldwide graduate intake. Their work was coordinated by IMPACT. They worked enormously hard and managed to complete it in time to hand over the course to our Chairman, Revd John Libby before they left. We are very grateful to Deutsche Bank, Impact and all those who took part in providing this excellent new facility for the centre.

Kepplewray was represented at the Warrington Disability Awareness Day on Sunday 14th July. More details here. See the pictures of last year's event taken by the Warrington District Camera Club.

We're having lots of work experience and volunteer placements this summer. We are very grateful to: Emily Berry, Alison Vere, Becky Douglas and Ruth Baxter and Sam Gannon for all their hard work. We also welcome Frances Bradley onto the staff as Residential Services Assistant.

Congratulations to Jonathan Edwards, one of our patrons, for getting Gold in the Commonwealth Games - fantastic.

Prof Stephen Hawking has won one of the world's most prestigious prizes for popular science writing - the Aventis Prize for Science Books. The world-famous physicist's publication - The Universe In A Nutshell - was honoured with the £10,000 prize at a gala dinner at the London Science Museum on Tuesday.

David Holding, won the silver medal in the 200m in the HSA National Wheelchair Championships in Cardiff on 22nd June. He finished just behind David Weir, winner of the Flora London Marathon.

Taff Bowles, our Programme Manager, made a working visit to an outdoor activity centre in Lesotho. He writes:

"I guess that I was somewhat surprised initially to hear that Lesotho – one of the poorest countries in the world – was home to a new Christian project teaching outdoor pursuits (…outdoor activities were, I thought, traditionally linked with affluent nations, and those able to afford leisure time). I was further amazed to hear that this new project was keen to welcome and include disabled people – a concept that, after all, is still fairly new in the west!! It was wonderful and humbling therefore to watch as homeless street children shrieked with joy and glowed with pride on reaching the top of a climb.. and young people with learning disabilities hugged and clapped each other on the back with a real sense of joy and satisfaction as they successfully completed a teambuilding exercise. Clearly outdoor education can be an effective and exciting medium for personal growth and development anywhere the world…and I personally feel privileged and richer for having witnessed its impact on peoples’ lives in Lesotho."

In late March we had 57 international students from Jesmond in Newcastle staying with us. Here they are having breakfast before a day's activities.

The previous week, our guests included Felstead School and a work party from St John's College, Cambridge who did some great work in the house and grounds.

Barclays Bank recently sponsored a lunch at Kepplewray. The idea was to improve links between Kepplewray and the business community in the Furness peninsula. Our patron, Jonathan Edwards, welcomed the guests and presented certificates to members of Trinity and James Rennie schools who were at Kepplewray for a team challenge event that day. We are extremely grateful to Steve Collis of Barclays for organising this event and to all the Barclays staff who attended and a significant grant towards the work of the centre.

Last year, Kepplewray hosted professors, lecturers and students of geology from Medway University in Kent. The School of Earth and Environmental Sciences were on 10 day 'field trip' to The Lakes to study the various rock formations and outcrops, the purpose of which was to expand the student's knowledge of things geological. The group covered almost every square inch of The National Park in their ten days with us. Each day they departed from the centre bang on 9am having eaten a hearty cooked breakfast and packed their flasks and rucksacks full of goodies for lunch. Supper was served by our new cook, Jane, who plied them with mountains of home baked cakes, pies and a variety of hot tasty dishes. In the evenings they lounged around Kepplewray's log fires preparing for the next day's excursion and listen to the "prof's" evening geology lecture. At 10pm the centre was noticeably quiet as they were all sampling some of the house "specials" as guests of the Manor Inn. Kepplewray is a great base for higher education field trips. We have recently sent out a mailing to a number of universities and colleges. If you would like a brochure and have not received one, email us now giving us your mailing address.

Our thanks and congratulations to Penny Moreton who raised £1,420 for Kepplewray in the London Marathon.

K News was published in December. Call or Email us if you would like a copy or one of our brochures. The brochure is also available in audio form on minidisc or cassette.

In late September we had a group of mainly retired people from Emmanuel Church South Croydon staying with us. Emmanuel has been a strong supporter of Kepplewray from the start and we were proud to let some of the members see the place for the first time. They have since told us that the visit "was a great success". Here is a report of their visit written by Margaret, their leader.

We've just heard that we have been given a grant to build a fully accessible bathroom on the top floor of Kepplewray. This is the last room in the building which has not yet been put into use - at the moment it is unplastered and has no floor!

On Sunday 2nd June, as part of the Grizebeck Jubilee Weekend, 5 of us cycled from the Greyhound Inn, Shap, to the Greyhound Inn, Grizebeck, following old drove roads and bridleways - 35 miles in all, 23 off road.

Three of us breakfasted in fine style at the Greyhound, Shap, and Derrick the
landlord not only refused payment, but pressed £20 into my hand for the
cause, so we added the cost of the breakfasts to the total, as we had already
set aside £15 to pay for them.

It was dry when we started, but rained intermittently throughout the day,
culminating in a terrific lightning storm near Coniston, with pouring rain
and black skies.

Our support team met us at Longsleddale, Troutbeck, Ambleside and Hawkshead Hill, supplying hot tea, cake and words of encouragement.

We left Shap at 09.00 and arrived in Grizebeck at 19.00 having ascended a
total of 4,500 feet and descended over 5,000 feet (Ian and Barry
Postlethwaite got there 40 min. sooner, but they weren't held up by the
cows....)

We were all tired and very muddy, but filled with a warm glow of
satisfaction, especially when we realised that our efforts had raised £400,
which was divided between Kepplewray and the Duddon Branch of Arthritis
Care.

Now that we've proved it can be done, we'll be doing it again next year,
with one or two tweaks to shorten it slightly and make it an even more logical
route, which can be done sub-9hrs.

The five who rode were: Martin Salter-Smith and Sue Roberts (Grizebeck) Ian
Curwen and Barry Postlethwaite (Kirkby) and Barry Rabone (Chapels)
The support was by Gill Salter-Smith and Kirstine Curwen (not forgetting the
kids.

The Wheely Big Bike Bizarre was held in Lancaster on 23rd June. Kepplewray was there and was interviewed on Bay Radio.

We have a new assistant activity instructor for the next ten weeks. He is Max, and he comes from an activity centre in Lesotho - see story below. Max spent the first two days wrapped up in jumpers and a jacket even though the weather at K was beautiful. Now he's fully into activities with groups staying at K he is keeping warmer through exercise.

Max joins the activity team of Taff, Cath, Sarah, Neil and Sandy (pictured below).

Millom Fell Rescue Team are planning activities at Kepplewray for everyone to join in on 20th of July as part of the Cumbrian Mountain Festival - part of International Year of Mountains. More details.

Edge End School from Manchester and St Giles from Croydon got on really well together during a few days when they overlapped at Kepplewray. A number of pupils had social needs, others were wheelchair users, and many had English as a second language. Seeing them all mix in together is what Kepplewray is all about.

We welcome Se-Young Park who joined the Kepplewray team on Sunday. She is a volunteer through the Time for God scheme and is expecting to stay through to the end of the summer. Se-Young is from Korea and has a degree in English.

Before Christmas, our Land Rover had an engine fire which resulted in it being written off. In February, we were able to collect a four-wheel drive 12-seater Fiat minibus which we have purchased from an activity centre in Wales. This vehicle was built as a prototype by Fiat but did not go into production. It suits our needs ideally. Fortunately it uses parts from other vehicles in the Fiat range. This gives us two minibuses for the spring/summer season - one fully accessible. Meanwhile, we are working with the local community in Broughton to apply for a grant for another another 17-seater with wheelchair access.

Several K staff and families were involved in the Broughton Players pantomime Mother Goose. If you can bear it, the photos are here.

Our new year houseparty was enjoyed by all. Although the weather was exceptionally cold, Kepplewray was cosy inside and everyone appreciated the log fire. Parties walked up Black/White Coombe and in the Duddon Valley on new year's eve when there was little wind and bright sunshine. The views from the top of the Coombes were spectacular (see piccy below) with Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man all being visible simultaneously.

We really enjoyed having the Zion Youth Group from Chesterfield with us. It was a full house and they now hold the record as the noisiest guests we have ever had!

We had five runners taking part in the Great South Run in Portsmouth on Sunday October 14th. They all had brilliant times ranging from 1:17 (well done, Ben) to 1:30. Our runners were, Ben, Mike, Richard, Cathy and Chrissy. Thanks to you all, and to those who sponsored them to the tune of about £800.

We have had several volunteers work with us over the summer. We are very grateful to Will, Ruth and Chris (from left to right) for their excellent work. If you are interested in working with us as a volunteer for up to a year, check here.

Ulverston Parish held their away-day on Saturday 16th June. A group of 60 from zero to seventy-something seemed to have a great time together.

Our latest project in the grounds has been to produce a fully accessible nature area which includes a pond and marshy area with a bridges. It is a haven for wild life. Pond dipping is already proving very popular amongst our younger guests.

We are delighted to announce that Rob Bianchi has agreed to become a Trustee of the Kepplewray Trust. Rob brings enormous experience in outdoor activities to the Trustees. He is national advisor to Campaigner Pathfinder Ventures, involved in projects in Romania and Lesotho, and is an ordained minister.

On Sunday 16th September we had around 30 runners taking part in the Great North Run. They were are all sponsored to support the Kepplewray Trust. More details. Whilst the run was going on, Broughton was having a Jazz festival and we provided accommodation for many of those attending.

In September we had a nine day cross-pennine sponsored canoeing event. There was a core team of 12 canoeists including people with a variety of sensory, learning and mobility impairments, and we involved canoe clubs and others along the way. A lady with spina bifida joined us for nine miles. She told us it was the furthest she had ever propelled herself. An older gentleman gallantly trying to stop one of our canoes drifting off fell into the canal - thankfully with no ill effects! Thanks to everyone who took part and supported us. Find out more and see the pictures.

Our Land Rover came to a sad end on the M6 on its way back from a Disability Awareness Day in Warrington in the summer. It appears a cooling hose burst and severed a fuel pipe causing an engine fire. It is probably a write-off. We are still looking for a replacement vehicle.

This picture was sent to us. Apparently it is in Malaysia. Although we are keen to give an exciting time to wheelchair users at Kepplewray, we have no plans to make it this exciting!

In August 2001 the Manchester Alliance Chinese church used Kepplewray for a houseparty. The following week we welcomed a group from Sense - the National deaf, blind and Rubella association together with a group called Abacus from Bolton Youth Service.

The K2001 Pathfinder Venture finished in early August. There were many tears as people said their goodbyes. Every year the venture stretches K to the limit with around 80 people on site. This year they have their own web site here.

Foot and Mouth disease has been around Broughton but we are able to offer a full programme to groups at K. Our investment in more activities in our own grounds last winter really paid off. Many footpaths and the high fells around Coniston re-opened on June 9th.

Our archery field is now being used. The latest task was to tarmac the track down to the field and summer house / chapel / environmental centre to enable wheelchair access.

The the multi-sensory garden is now complete. This has been masterminded and implemented by Mike Dixon who has put it many many hours into his creation.

The activities which we can provide on site are now greatly increased. They include orienteering (thank you Fran Stone), abseiling, problem solving and cycling.

Recent groups at K have included Salterhebble School, Yarlside School, St Luke's Special Needs Mental Health Group, Westbrook Lane School from Leeds, and an Oak Hall students' reunion. Groups are enjoying a great spell of weather and all the new activities we have set up on site.

We welcome Giles Denham onto the Trustees Management Group as a new Trustee. Giles lives in Northwood Middlesex and is a senior civil servant.

Sarah's impressive performance is no doubt due to all the exercise she gets at Kepplewray helping with activity instruction and improving our facilities. Here she is constructing our new maze with Simone Kraal.

Peter Sanders. our new Project Director (Chief Executive), started on 1st May. Previously, Peter was Director of St George's Crypt in Leeds - a pioneering work amongst homeless and disadvantaged people. More details in a press release.

Kepplewray was featured on a Channel 4 Television web site linked to a biographical programme about our patron, Stephen Hawking which was shown on 29th January.

We are immensely grateful for the support of Rt Revd Ian Harland, one of our original patrons, for his support over the last few years. Ian has now retired as Bishop of Carlisle and our patron. We are delighted to announce that Rt Revd Graham Dow, Ian's successor, has agreed to join Prof Stephen Hawking, Jonathan Edwards, Roger Uttley and David Holding as a Kepplewray patron.

Pupils from Davinhill School, Liverpool created these amazing sculptures from resources on the playing field at Kepplewray.

One new challenge in our team-building activity is building a crate tower. This is what happens to the over-ambitious!

Our son Mark wanted to do something different and exciting for his 10^th birthday; he wanted a sleepover and he wanted an adventure – not so easy in the middle of winter. So we invited a few of his friends and booked into Kepplewray for one night and a day’s activities. After a wonderful dinner of sausages, chips and ice-cream, Johan and Simone (our hosts) took the boys out on a night hike. Armed with torches, they were set a number of tasks, such as rescuing a prisoner without being spotted by the guards’ searchlights and ridding a ‘mine-field’ of hidden ‘mines’. Even the zip-wire in the park took on strange and eerie qualities in the moonlight.

The sleepover was completely hassle-free for parents. Already tired out by the hike, the boys were no trouble at all, and enjoyed their independence in their own large dormitory. After breakfast next morning it was down to the archery field for some target practice, then off to the abseil tree to get kitted up with climbing gear. Some lads were not keen on the idea of going up the tree but in the end they all had a go.

In the afternoon, Johan took us all off to Cathedral Cavern, an amazing network of caves and tunnels, where torches were banned and we were all given tea-lights to light our way through, while again being set some interesting tasks.

The whole event was a great success. Tremendous fun for everybody, but above all, as a mother with 3 children, it was the easiest birthday celebration I have ever organised – all I did was make the cake!

We have recently said goodbye to Simone Kraal who has been working with us as a volunteer for almost a year. We wish her well as she returns to Holland and attends university.

Kirstie and Andy Ryley sent us a cheque for over £750 as a result of running in the Nottingham Robin Hood half-marathon last September. Thanks for a great effort.

There is plenty of time in January without guests to make improvements to the Centre. We are very grateful for a generous gift which will enable us to finish our main lounge. The new work includes double-glazing, a new carpet, and completing the audio-visual facilities. The staff are decorating parts of the building using better contrasting colours to help those with partial sight. We are also installing new internal signs which will improve the look of the place as well as be usable by partially sighted and blind people.

We are delighted at the news that Jonathan Edwards, one of our patrons, was been awarded the CBE in the new year's honours list. Many congratulations to him from all of us at Kepplewray.

The Great North Run happened on 22nd October. Kepplewray had 36 supporters and staff taking part. Jonathan Edwards visited them to wish them well and sign autographs before the start. Lots of photos etc are here.

At New-Year, a large group of friends took over the centre for a houseparty. This part of the Lake District is wonderful in mid-winter with snow on the mountains, beautiful walks where you do not get too hot, and great showers, food and log fires to return to at the centre. If you would like to book Kepplewray for up to 47 others for a special occasion, give Val a call on 01229 716 936.

The Amabile choir recently returned to K with a BBC film crew. Expect to see us featured on TV in a few months.

Johan and Emma Hoving joined on the 11th September. They are living in the flat in Kepplewray and will be your 'hosts' if you come and stay with us during the next twelve months. Johan and Emma have only just finished their honeymoon!

Another new joiner for just under a year is Simone Kraal from Holland. She has already demonstrated that she is going to be invaluable to us.

And on Monday 2nd October Sarah Boughton joined us as a trainee activity instructor.

The K2000 Pathfinder Venture ended in tears as friendships made during the ten days were tested by parting. We had a record 84 using the Centre! K2000 has its own web page which was updated most days by the Pathfinders themselves and is still being updated with their post-camp emails.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School brought two pupils with broken limbs in plaster but they were pleased that it didn't preclude them from full participation in climbing and canoeing at our centre.

Kepplewray could be an ideal place to bring your school particularly if you mainstream those with disabilities. For details of how your school could benefit from a visit to Kepplewray see our schools page.

Failsworth Salvation Army Church, Manchester came to Kepplewray for a very successful Alpha Course recently. They managed to set off the fire alarm by some over-enthusiastic evening entertainment (please do fire-eating demonstrations OUTSIDE!!) and had very late-night Trivial Pursuit games which got competitive in the extreme! The young people enjoyed a session of archery and the weather stayed fine for a finger-licking barbecue with spicy chicken and spare ribs.

Ian Chrystie, from Croydon completed a hat-trick of Marathons in 2000 for the Kepplewray Project. They were - London, New York and Disney (Florida). He also took part in a miniscule (by comparison) half marathon - The Great North Run. He says that the most interesting and ironic thing about the Disney marathon was the absence of people dressing up in silly costumes.

Mid-Cheshire College have left us after a very busy week. It started off with some very wet weather but then improved. We organised a full programme of activities for this mixed-ability group. They really seemed to enjoy themselves.

The annual Karrimor International Mountain Marathon (KIMM) took place 28/9 October. Large numbers of rugged fit people stayed at K. Our very own Cath and Val (the left two in the picture below taken the previous weekend at the Great North Run). Val reports exclusively for K News:

KIMM is a 2 day event for teams of 2. There are a number of classes you can enter, Elite, A, B, C, Long Score, Medium Score and Short Score. Elite, A, B, C classes are set controls to follow in order, you still need to plot your own route around the course, the fastest team wins. Maps for each course are not issued until you cross the start line on Saturday morning. The score classes are also not given their maps until they cross the start line. In the score classes the plan is to score as many points as you can in the time allowed. The controls may be visited in any order you wish. Different controls are worth different values, the higher the value the more technical or out of the way the control is. Start times are staggered.

Cath and Rebekah, Una and myself were in the Long Score Class. We had 7 hours starting from Whicham Valley to get to Seathwaite scoring as many points as possible and not going over the 7 hours. If you are late the points are deducted at 2 points for every minute late. When you cross the finsih line your time and score are given to you. Then you have to pitch your tent and camp overnight. You carry everything you need for the overnight camp between the team. Each of our rucsacks weighed approximatley 14 pounds.

Sunday dawns and you get Sunday's map when you cross the start line and again plot your route back to Whicham, scoring as many points as you can. Time allowed on the Sunday is 6 hours. Cath and Rebekah were second ladies in our class and 53rd overall. Una and I were fifth ladies, first ladies in the veteran class, (one good thing about being old) and 96th overall out of 191 finishers. Approximately 40 teams retired in our class.

The weather for the weekend was: intermittent thick mist, strong winds, rain, hail and beautiful rainbows. Our tents survived a battering from the weather on Saturday evening. The four of us managed to get a good nights sleep ready to face Sunday. We all met up at the finish and Una and I said NEVER EVER AGAIN! (that was before we realised how well we had done). We both have completed several KIMM's and the weather is always atrocious as it's always the same weekend every year, when the clocks are altered. The last thing you need is an extra hour in a tent at the overnight camp. Instead we will compete in the Low Alpine Mountain Marathon and the Saunders Mountain Marathon which both take part in the summer when the weather is usually kinder.

St Thomas' School Kendal spent two fun-packed activity days with us. Several of them said they want to do it again next year. Earlier we had over 20 sixth formers from Trinity Carlisle on a work party. They constructed a new log store, sorted our pond with a new liner and cleared up large parts of the grounds. Trinity continue to be fantastic K supporters.

For techno-freaks and serious hill walkers, President Clinton's announcement on 1st May to turn off GPS Selective Availability is very good news. If you now switch on your GPS receiver, you will now see EPE hovering around 7-15 metres rather than the 30-80 we were getting before. There is an even bigger improvement in height accuracy. Height readings can now be trusted, whereas they were of little serious use in the past. More details.

We have had a number of work-experience volunteers helping us over the summer. Shown below are Abby, Sarah and Robyn having lunch before another strenuous afternoon.

If you, or someone you know, would be interested in working at Kepplewray for between a week and a year, call Taff on 01229 716 936 saying what skills you have to offer. Kepplewray is a Christian project. All our volunteers should have a personal Christian faith and be active members of their church.

Tim examining the Whale cake (made by Karen Townson). One of the panoply of leaving gifts. (The giant Hellmans mayonaise is a private joke!)

Kepplewray's Chief Executive, Tim Montgomery, left us on July 7th to be Vicar of St Thomas', Kendal with St Catherine's, Crook where he has been serving up to now as a Non-Stipendary Minister. We had a farewell lunch for him squeezed in between two groups leaving and one arriving! The transition for Kepplewray is going to be full of challenge as well! Tim is a very hard act to follow. The Trustees have appointed a sub-committee to draw up the job description and person spec for what we will probably call "Project Director" in preparation for advertising the post nationally. In the meantime, Taff and Peter, our senior managers, are being even more senior!

In mid April, we welcomed a number of leaders of other outdoor centres in the North West to Kepplewray. This was a regular regional meeting of BCOC (British Christian Outdoor Centres). It is good to swap ideas and get a better knowledge of each other's work. Rick Townson, from Kepplewray, led the group in a mini Disability Awareness course to help them provide better facilities for guests with disabilities and ensure that they are complying with Disability legislation.

We have recently said goodbye to a group from Hazelwood Lodge and another from Holly Road Residential and Respite Care Services in Liverpool. Giles Stone also returned to run a Mountain Leadership course. We have also run a day of activities on Coniston Water for Lake District Cheshire Homes.

On Friday 14 July 2000, students from Trinity Sixth Form Centre, Carlisle cycled from Carlisle to Broughton-in-Furness to raise money for the Kepplewray Centre. This is their second sponsored cycle ride since they adopted the Kepplewray Centre as their Charity. The last section from Coniston to Kepplewray was on hand-cycles. Trinity are fantastic K supporters and regular users.

3H left us at the end of August after a 10 day stay. The weather was marvelous. One day they caught eight trout. Another was spent inOn Thursday, they spent the day in Blackpool. 3H brought a total of 30, 12 with disabilities. The previous week, the Ribblebank Resource Centre from Preston brought old and new faces for a week's holiday here in the Southern Lakes. By popular demand they did archery again. Tuesday saw them pony trekking around the beautiful Coppermines valley and some of the braver members of the group went up Coniston Old Man on Wednesday.

Anyone who has stayed at Kepplewray in the last 18 months will know Simon and Tanya. They have just had their first baby - Thomas She, and Simon have moved out of the flat in Kepplewray and live a few hundred yards away. Simon has just started a new job with Cumbria Social Services. Everyone at K wishes Tanya and Simon well for their future. We still expect to see them around the place often.

Year 6 children from Malin Bridge Primary, near Sheffield (47 of them!), left us promising to return next year. They enjoyed their 'journey of adventure' on Coniston. This combined climbing, walking, canoeing, team challenges, archery and orienteering. One evening they went to Sandscale Hawes to explore the dunes and fly kites. Our tuck shop was thoroughly depleted and needed an urgent re-stock before the next group arrived.

At the weekend six families who have known each other for years and with children of similar ages descended on us for a few days of activities. Competitive - or what? The Team Challenge on Saturday morning saw feelings running high with lateral-thinking so good it was nearly flat! They then went off gorge walking, canoeing and climbing.

Congratulations to Jude, Teresa, Rachel, Louise, Mandy and Alison. They completed the Three Peaks Challenge in an amazing 21 hours and 25 minutes. Latest report is that they have raised almost £3,000 in sponsorship for Kepplewray - fantastic.

On the 1st July 2000, six fit, if a little mad, young ladies from Kendal will be attempting the 'Three Peaks Challenge' to raise money for Kepplewray.

Starting off from Kendal at midday on Friday the team of Jude & Teresa Onions, Rachel Stavert, Louise Bilcliffe, Mandy Dawson and Alison Fleetwood will set off to Fort William. From there, at approximately 6pm, they will start the 4408ft (1344m) climb to the top of Ben Nevis. A steady pace should get them to the top and back by 11 pm when Shaun Onions will have the task of driving them to the next challenge leaving the girls time to rest in the back of the minibus. At 4.30 Saturday morning they will arrive and set off on the 3210ft (978m) climb to the top of Scafell. After 21 ½ hrs on the road the team, by now very tired, will begin the final leg of this exhausting journey to climb the 3560ft (1085m) up Snowdon.

The team aims to raise £1,000 through sponsorship from friends and family. Barclays Bank have also pledged to match-fund Rachel Stavert's sponsorship through their 'Pound for Pound' scheme, as Rachel is a Barclays employee.

We often have opportunities for volunteers to work at Kepplewray for periods between a day or two and a year. Just recently we had Anna Evans with us. Anna, pictured below, is studying for a qualification in Outdoor Education at Peterborough. Dr John Mercer regularly brings up a group of strong young men to work on our new cycle track (part of the Wheels For All project) and complete work on the children's' playground and garden. We are especially keen to hear from disabled people who want to work with us. To see photos of a recent work party, click here.

In August, we welcomed Andrew Redpath and his carer, Alan, from Crossroads Carers, Knowsley for a short activity break, and Cheryl and Matthew and their mums for a weekend activity break. Despite inclement weather Cheryl and Matthew had a wonderful holiday and are talking of when they can next return. The notice board in the hall is full of their artwork and expressions of thanks for a wonderful canoeing session.

We have recently said goodbye to Street Lane Primary from near Ripley in Derbyshire. They came for a creative arts weekend, and creative they were: Saturday was spent in Grizedale Forest creating music from natural instruments and planning compositions on the permanent musical sculptures. The weather was fantastic and ice cream was very much on the agenda. The Sunday saw a LOUD day run by Barracuda from Barrow. They had drum workshops, mask making and a full-scale performance at the end.

Kepplewray welcomed its fourth group in 5 days in early June as 30 excited 7 and 8 year olds from Yarlside in Barrow left us and we welcomed Little Weighton School. Monday saw a temporary up turn in the weather and the youngsters were able to enjoy all K's favourite activities, including hill walking and mountain adventures in the dry and warm. It stayed fine for a barBQ in the evening which was much welcomed by kids and staff alike and we discovered how good Jane's homemade barbecue sauce is. Peter and Pat have a busy few weeks as so many groups come and go quickly which means lots of bed-changing and organisation on the rooms front. Dot our cleaner is being ably assisted by her daughter Wendy at the moment who is lending Kepplewray a hand in its busy times. Unfortunately the rain has descended again midweek which has tested our availability of very small waterproofs for some small seven year olds.

The last week of May at Kepplewray saw two groups - Westbrook School for children with disabilities from Leeds and Furness Riding for the Disabled Association - doing the integrating thing together! Each group had people with various disabilities and some specific dietary and high personal care needs. Blessed with dry, and at times, sunny weather, each group joined together for on and off-site activities. Canoeing on Coniston Water, abseiling down crags, archery and horse riding provided Kepplewray's team of instructors with numerous challenges of adapting equipment to enable people of all abilities to participate. This was achieved successfully and everyone had a safe and fantastic time. Many of the children had not slept away from home before, nor had they attempted adventurous outdoor activities. It was great to see so many smiling faces at the end of their stay at Kepplewray, and they all want to come back and do it again next year!

This following weekend Kepplewray hosted another two groups. "Artists Anonymous" - artists with visual impairments came up from Liverpool and Kings Church Kelso Alpha group came down from the Scottish Borders. They got on famously together. Staff at Kepplewray were anxious that our facilities would not be up to standard for the visually impaired people, but they coped very well and have given us some good ideas for improving the signage, lighting and location of "strategic" hand rails. It was great to host Angela, John and Jim from Liverpool, who had insisted they do as many outdoor activities that can be squeezed into a weekend. Angela, who is virtually blind and who uses an amazing guide dog, rated Kepplewray so highly, she wants to bring all of her visually impaired group from Liverpool next summer and has made a provisional booking for 40. That will prove a challenge for Kepplewray.

Kings Church Kelso had an excellent Alpha weekend. The Kepplewray "hosts" joined their group for worship in the evenings and they all left vowing to start a diet the following day!

As "Artists Anonymous" and Kings Church Kelso departed, so another group arrived. St Luke's Church from Manchester came for their second visit, and took over the whole centre. Kepplewray's cook, Jane, worked overtime churning out home baked flapjack and Bakewell Tart! This group is made up of older people, some with mental health disabilities, others just frail with old age. Peter, their minister, is a kind, caring and spiritual man and the group are obviously very fond of him. They proved their own entertainment, giving Kepplewray's team of instructors a breather before a load of hungry and energetic psychology students from Birmingham University students arrived last weekend.

The adults from APS Breakaway have just enjoyed their exploration of the area using Kepplewray as a base and have also dabbled in archery and kite-flying during their stay. In fact another couple enjoying Kepplewray’s accessible facilities for the week have joined in with the group activities and followed them down to Haverigg beach where the wind was sufficient to lift 5 kites off the ground simultaneously. They have explored a number of the wheelchair-accessible walks in the area including Coniston lake (south from the jetty), Tarn Hows and Grizedale Forest.

Stainburn School then have an action-packed 2-day programme of fully accessible activities.

In May primary children from Wyche School in Nantwich shared with secondary pupils from St Giles, Croydon. St Giles caters for pupils with disabilities. This was their second visit, and they have appreciated the improvements we've made in the grounds, disability equipment in bathrooms and a wider choice of food.

Year 5 pupils from The Wyche tackled a range of outdoor pursuits and saw the Lakes at its best in the wonderful weather we have been having. They particularly enjoyed the Journey of Adventure option aroundd Coniston Water which involves all sorts of challenges including canoeing and swimming.

St Giles pupils combined some of Kepplewray's activities with their own programme of off-site visits including an evening trip to see local Broughton pigs!

April saw Kepplewray going truly international hosting guests from Holland, the Czech Republic and Leeds! John Jamieson school in Leeds have for the past few years arranged for pupils with disabilities to do international exchanges to give them the experience of visiting another country.

This has been integration at its best with people not only overcoming physical impairments but also language barriers. Everyone had a busy week taking advantage of the stunning spring sunshine. Activities included archery, canoeing, kite making and flying, abseiling, hill walking, horse riding and visiting sites of interest in the south Lakeland region. The Dutch minibus drivers coped admirably driving fully-loaded left hand drive buses around the tricky lanes.

On the last night we hosted a party. The pupils exchanged presents from each other's country. The Kepplewray staff were bemused at seeing Leeds United paraphernalia being given away. Now that they have lost the fight for the premiership they can't sell the stuff so why not pass it onto some poor unsuspecting tourist?

In this last week of March, we have had from Farnborough College in Hampshire staying with us. They left us with a postcard on which was written this poem by one of the girls, Jill:

Kepplewray is the ultimate pleasure
The perfect place to spend your leisure
The food is nothing short of great
Oh dear, oh dear I'll gain more weight
The people are so helpful and friendly
Especially if like me you have a disability
Although it has only been a very short stay
There's something I'd here & now like to say
Thank you, thank you lovely Kepplewray

Kepplewray hosted a number of different groups and families over the Easter holiday and following week. A group of eight adventurous outdoor-types were trained in Summer Mountain Leadership by the intrepid Giles Stone. It was not a holiday, but a week of lectures and practical exercises. The group found out what it is like to rescue an injured casualty from a very cold river. The following day saw them putting up all kinds of tents and 'home made' survival shelters. Then they went out on the hills practicing their navigation skills in very showery weather. Easter weekend saw the group out on a 48 hour mountain expedition followed by an exam on their last day. Kepplewray staff had to provide vast quantities of nourishment and log fires to thaw out those cold toes.

Three separate family groups are staying at Kepplewray over the following week including Pat Edwards, a wheelchair user, who is returned for her third visit. Pat loves the rolling hills and fells of the southern Lake District and had been struggling to find hotels and B & B's that could provide for her disability needs until she discovered The Kepplewray Centre in 1998. Now she wouldn't stay anywhere else.

We had a group from the James Rennie School together with sixth formers on day visits from Trinity School, Carlisle. James Rennie pupils have various disabilities and the sixth formers from Trinity were working to ensure they have a wonderful time at Kepplewray and learning a lot in the process. At the same time a work party from St John's College Cambridge were flexing their muscles clearing out the un-restored part of the top floor of Kepplewray and starting renovations on the old summer house near our new archery field.

Mid February saw Kepplewray packed to the seams with two groups totaling 51 people with three married couples overflowing into a nearby B&B. Sharing the centre proved a success with the 18-30s group from Manchester Vineyard Church using the large lounge for their meetings whilst the other group from St Anne's planned a young people's venture for this summer. The St Anne's team made the most of the good weather to explore the area.

We welcome our new cook, Jane, who started on 1st March. She used to cook for Lord and Lady Cavendish at Holker Hall, so we are expecting some very grand menus! Jane has a hearing impairment which has forced her to learn to lip read. She can now lip-read anyone complaining about her food at 100 paces. Jane is very interested in outdoor pursuits such as riding, swimming and canoeing.

Jane's appointment is part of our effort to further improve the standard of our catering, and to free up Peter, Pat, Simon and Tanya more for their main jobs.

Our lounge is now looking much better thanks to a lot of hard work by Peter, Roy and Don plus a gift of Heaton Cooper prints from a supporter.

The lounge is now wired for improved AV facilities and an induction hearing loop.

The week of 13th December (last century!) saw the first of three REC (Rescue and Emergency Care) First Aid training courses. Some participants came from nearby with others making the most of Kepplewray's residential facilities to stay over and reduce traveling times. A further course was held in February.

The Arthritis Care Duddon Group are now using Kepplewray for their regular monthly meetings.

George Lucas kindly invited Kepplewray to the London premiere of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace on the 14th July. Professor Stephen Hawking, one of our patrons, represented us with his two sons. The Star Wars films have interesting implied messages about inclusiveness (of the intergalactic racial kind (!) and the acceptance of 'people' who have very different appearances to ourselves).

We had a big Millennium House Party at Kepplewray over new year, but now it is back to business as usual. We are offering very competitive accommodation rates during the winter so do give us a call if you or your family, group or school would like to make a last minute booking.

Thank you to all those who have responded to our Christmas appeal. This time of year we are always financially stretched as guest income is lower than in the summer. On Christmas eve we heard we had been awarded a £5,000 grant from another charity wanting to support our work.

The first week in December saw the most amazing storms and wintry weather, yet young people from Ivy Cottage youth group in Manchester were not put off and managed to canoe, climb and fly kites in a variety of inclement conditions. The kite group made the world's smallest kites and then motored down to Haverigg Beach near Millom to fly an assortment of dual-control, stunt and kit kites. A couple of snapped strings later the enthusiasm had not waned and the next group headed down there to continue the challenges of longest length of time in the air, highest kite etc. Many prizes were awarded over the two days. During the 'inside' sessions many games of pool and table tennis were won and lost, as well as thought-provoking sessions on 'Truth- what is the truth?' The general pronouncement from the group themselves was that they loved Kepplewray as a venue and it was "much better than some place in Wales that we went to last year".

Before that, we had the youth group from St James' Church, Carlisle staying with us. They arrived Friday evening and immediately took on our photographic orienteering exercise .... in the dark!! A weekend of abseiling, worship, craft and 'Who wants to be a millionaire?' was mixed around Christian teaching, drama and discussion. Weekend groups have been enjoying the home-made soups, cooked breakfasts and three-course meals served up by our truly unique catering staff.

At the beginning of November we had the 'Mainstream Canoe' weekend with several canoe expeditions for experienced canoeists with some Christian input in the evenings for thought and reflection. This was followed by a week of work in the gardens by the staff team. Beautiful autumn sunshine helped as hedges were cut, leaves cleared, grass rolled, flower beds dug and fruit trees pruned!

Saturday 2nd October was our OPEN DAY. Despite thunder, lightning and power cuts, over 100 people came to see what Kepplewray is all about. There were cream teas, archery, abseiling, challenges, disability awareness, and . . . the world's smallest kite that really flies! The press were there, too, and we had some favourable coverage to spread the word.

Meanwhile, we experienced a week of great encouragement on our funding. we rely on our donors and grant-makers especially at this time of year. We received a surprise donation of £10,000 from one of our first supporters who helped get the project going. Three days later we heard from the Pilkington Trust that they are to give £10,000 towards our first minibus. Other recent grants have come from The Astor Foundation and a local company, Stead McAlpin. We are grateful to all these people and organisations for their generosity plus the large number of individuals who regularly support us (many through deeds of covenant).

If you've stayed at Kepplewray before, next time you come you will find all the steps on the ground floor are gone and replaced with low-gradient ramps suitable for wheelchair users. At the same time we have put in more bathrooms and re-carpeted all the older parts of the house. We must now rate as one of the most comfortable outdoor centres in the UK.

Autumn 99 has seen many weekend groups staying at Kepplewray including a number of families. Tattenhall Christian Fellowship enjoyed their annual church break away and chose Kepplewray because they needed an accessible venue to include two of their congregation with disabilities. We were encouraged to receive the booking as a result of two of the children in the church coming away with their school to K in the summer and then saying "my dad could come and stay here together with the rest of the church". Holy Trinity Platt returned for their second stay.

After months of preparation for the 3H Fund visit, it has finally come and gone. So who are 3H? - A group of young adults who have spotted the Kepplewray holiday in the 3H brochure and fancied a Lake District experience in the company of volunteer carers from 3H and the Kepplewray staff. We have proved that Kepplewray can accommodate 10 young people who use wheelchairs and that they can enter into all our programme. 3H went canoeing, walked round Grizedale Forest, and visited a myriad of local attractions including the aquarium at Lakeside and the Windermere cruise. The Kings Head pub kept them entertained each night and Gary the publican was even seen wearing a 3H T-shirt towards the end of the week.

Saturday saw the annual Broughton and Millom show which 3H visited and proved that wheelchairs can negotiate that field on a sunny day. The temporary disabled loos erected on the field were also much appreciated. Peter and Pat Fox created marvellous meals in the kitchen, 3H were plied with choices of each of the 3 courses on a daily basis and Simon and Tanya Crowder laid on a cooked breakfast. Sunday brought sadness as they embarked back on a long coach journey to Tunbridge Wells and the end of a week with new friends. However the centre was not empty as a group of Nottingham friends met up to enjoy the bank holiday weekend together, they were joined on Monday by a family group from Liverpool who have already played scrabble with the Nottingham lot!

The weekend of 15/16 August saw teenagers from Christchurch Pennington Pathfinder group and Youth for Truth, Manchester come to be very active. They canoed, walked and generally went to bed late! Then on Monday the pace slowed down and we welcomed a group of adults from St Luke the Physician church in Manchester for their annual week away. They visited most of the spots of interest in the area and raved about Cartmel village on their return. Also staying this week was a small group from Nottinghamshire Social Services, providing a holiday for a young teenager with behavioural needs. The evenings were a time for mixing and people from both groups were seen to be playing scrabble in front of the log fire, the weather turned a little cold here this week.

On Saturday 7th August, we had a visit of a whole coach full from St James' Carlisle, one of our supporting churches. It was great to be able to show them around at last.

George Tomlinson School from Bolton shared Kepplewray for a week in July with Cedar School, Gateshead, and a K Trustee and his family. The weather was been a bit variable. Richard Aston and his sons had to abort a ridge walk on Coniston Old Man and descend the quick route. However both school groups have been carrying on regardless and donning waterproofs for canoeing and gorge walking. Grizedale Forest has been the venue for artistic explorations. Pupils from Cedar School enjoyed sculptures left by the other school along the trail from a previous day and added their own. Tortoises, tigers, hedgehogs and snakes can all be seen along the Riding Trail if you go there soon! The final evening again saw a great K barbecue in the garden.

In mid July we had our next door neighbours, Broughton C of E Primary School, doing all sorts of activities with Kepplewray staff. This was an opportunity for us to say thank you for being such good neighbours and for the oldest class of children to take part in the activities that they have watched from their school windows all summer. It turned out to be such fun for us all that it's likely to become a regular event. The school made us a lovely thank you card.

Year 10 and 11 pupils from Northfield School in York chose Kepplewray for three days rather than city breaks to London, Edinburgh and Paris that they have done in previous years. They brought with them a fantastic community atmosphere and much joking and banter. A few students got soaked despite the dry weather on their final canoe and fishing trip. Kepplewray staff deny all responsibility! Coniston fish beware as Kepplewray has just started to take guests on coarse fishing canoe trips.

The week before we had older teenagers from James Rennie School, Carlisle doing crafty activities alongside the outdoor adventures of St Oswald's Primary School, Kendal.

St Oswald's cooked pancakes Swallows and Amazons style on Wildcat (actually Peel) Island on Coniston Water, and then sailing rafted canoes further up the lake.

James Rennie School pioneered the visit of Broughton's own mobile farm (!!) into the K grounds. (Hope to have a photo soon to prove it - Ed) Jo McGrath brought various goats, sheep and other livestock for the group to see while others made wooden mobiles with Kendal's own craftsman Roger Chadwick. Meanwhile Taff Bowles taught some of the group conjuring skills. The week also saw the first kite-making workshops this summer

In June, both Methley Junior and All Saints Primaries were determined not to let the fact they only had half a week at K deter them from fitting in a enormous range of activities. In fact, at 5pm on Wednesday, Methley were delaying the 'final off' and All Saints arrived after an action-packed day out on Windermere giving K record numbers of children having a good time here simultaneously!

It was excellent to welcome younger Year 4 children to Kepplewray. They were the first group to enlist the help of Mike Dixon, creating K's multi-sensory garden, in providing materials for their 3-dimensional sculpture gallery in the Kepplewray grounds.

They scaled the climbing tree with fearless enthusiasm, and the whole class gathered round to cheer on and applaud Ana Chrome's ascent and descent - a real achievement for Ana who has limited movement in the lower half of her body.

The following weekend we had Giles Stone running a summer mountain leader course and another group from T.A.C.T. here to relax and enjoy a week's break in the South Lakes.

Cath Sibbald is our Programme Assistant. She helps run our activities programmes in the spring and summer. Cath is a nurse, experienced with spinal injuries. She's had an increasing interest in adventure training with mixed ability groups and is a qualified canoe instructor. She says "I first got involved with K as a Project Partner, someone brought in to run a special activity session. I'd been interested in Kepplewray for a long time, so I jumped at the opportunity to work on the staff".

In mid-June we had two schools staying with us: Peases West Primary from just outside Durham, and Clare Special School from Norwich. The two groups integrated brilliantly. There was an amazing game of football with all the children involved let by a young person from the village. Two children from Peases West were seen sitting on an outside bench on their last morning showing each other the hand signs they had learnt form one of the deaf children from Clare School - this inclusive stuff is very exciting!

The sun once again shone all week with a need for hats and sun cream. 9, 10 and 11 year olds from Peases West discovered the highs and lows of gorge-walking down Tilberthwaite Ghyll. "It goes up your waterproof trousers when you sit down" Tanya Crowder was told on one girl's return . . . but very exciting all the same. They also explored the wilds of the Dunnerdale Fells and were the first group this summer to embark on a long all-day hill walk. Peases West say "Watch this space" they'll be back.

Clare School had an environmental theme to their week's activities. A range of tree leaves have now been framed and decorate the dining room window. Their canoe trip to 'Wild Cat' island on Coniston Water was a perfect lunch stop in Swallows and Amazons country.

The Junior branch of The Eurallyis Phab Club, South Tyneside, invaded Kepplewray in early June, ably assisted by local members of The Youth Action Volunteers. The week was a culmination of previous joint ventures with the Brinkburn Junior Youth Club and all the children joined in together to have an action-packed time. They tackled archery and canoeing for the first time and when the nerves set in for Michael Baines, aged 9, when faced with the climbing tree, he sent his best friend, Mighty Joe the monkey up the tree instead!

Children from Blackamoor School in Blackburn achieved 'firsts' in outdoor experiences in May. Amy, pictured below, is enjoying handcycling round the new track in the K grounds, with Karin on the tandem behind her. Rob is scaling the climbing tree. He made it to the top, abseiled down and then kept his ecstatic grin from this achievement for the rest of the week!

The week before last we had a great group of 40 from St Margaret's School, also in Horsforth staying with us:

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