The Kepplewray Centre

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News from the Kepplewray Centre (Normally updated weekly - last done 13 July 2007 )

This year we will again be hosting two CYFA ventures at Kepplewray. One of the ventures has its own web site including a history section going back to 1999!

You can now support Kepplewray through

Just Giving can be used for setting up your personal Kepplewray support page (e.g. if you are doing a sponsored walk) allowing your sponsors to contribute online and benefit from tax-efficient giving to Kepplewray.

Quotes of the week:

“Very good weekend. Nice food and rooms were nice as well”. – Girl 12-18yrs

“Had a great time. I am disabled but was able to participate in all or most of the activities. Great!” – disabled male 12-18

When asked what was the most worthwhile activity a leader wrote:
“Team Building – it drew out some of the ‘characters’ in the group and highlighted others for me to work with.”

Regulars will notice improvements on their next visit. We have created another lounge area for groups on the first floor and completely refurbished a couple of bathrooms to bring them up to the high standard of the rest.

Keith Mitchell - our most successful, running fund raiser, has just completed the Chicago Marathon. A massive thanks to him and all his supporters for raising their efforts in supporting Kepplewray.

Keith Mitchell in marathon

This is most of the team of 43 who ran the half marathon Great North Run on Sunday 1st October. This was before the run, but they were still smiling afterwards at our hospitality area at the finish, complete with a masseur. Go to our GNR page if you would like to run to raise funds for Kepplewray next year.

The runners prior to the start

Our last Open Day was well attended and enjoyed by those that came. You can read a report written by one of our visitors, Sarah Hubbard, on the website of Cumbria Youth Alliance (Adobe Reader required). Call us on 01229 716 936 for details of the next one.

The Big Charity Box is a clever way of getting advertisers to contribute towards charities. Check it out and vote for Kepplewray.

The Keswick to Barrow Walk raised £400 for Kepplewray. Frances has written a poem which you will find on the walk's web site.

K News is sent out to supporters twice a year. The latest copy is available as a PDF file. You will need Adobe Reader.

Keith Mitchell raised well over ten thousand of pounds for the K project by running in the Berlin Marathon! Here is his report:

"Having run the Great North Run several times for Kepplewray I was in need of a different challenge. Never having been to Berlin and with the prospect of finishing by running under the Brandenberg Gate, I was inspired.

Getting in was a breeze! Simply logged on to the Real Berlin Marathon website and was accepted! The harder bit was the training! Living in the Fens has the natural advantage of non-altitude training and hills of the giddy heights of 100-200 feet! and running three times a week for weeks on end (culminating with three 20 mile sessions along the highways and byeways of rural Cambridgeshire) I was ready!

My observation on arriving and seeing the other runners was that they were a fitter lot than was the case in the other marathon I have completed, namely New York. The participants were leaner, fitter and more focused, which daunted me a little. Had I done sufficient training, would I achieve my goal (sub-3hours 30 minutes) should I nip off to the beer area for a quick one to settle me down? Too late to worry now!

The start was staggered and split into 3. I found myself in the front group of the second start so I had a clear road ahead when the gun went off. Rashly I hared off doing the first 5k in 23 minutes 40 seconds, buoyed by the occasion and Newcastle United's win the day before!. The sun was shining, blue sky overhead, so the 9.00am start was a comfort. It was going to get hot out there! Crowds everywhere, cranking rattles, clinking cow bells and the occasional heavy metal band. Never a dull moment. I completed the first half in 1 hour 42 minutes: not bad, a little slower than the GNR (i.e. 10 minutes!), and on schedule.

Gritting the teeth, thinking of my sponsors (and their pledges) and not wanting to let myself or anyone else down I ground out the miles. Cheered on by the masses (fantastic support) and testing out my schoolboy German on some unsuspecting runners I was strong all round. Eventually there was the Brandenberg Gate; but annoyingly the initial glimpse is some way before the approach to it! However the surge of adrenaline lasted for the 3 miles until it was there before me growing larger with every step (one mile ahead) and then it was behind me, with the finish 500 meters away. Time to put on the style (so the photo would kid everyone I had strutted like Seb Coe all the way around!) and to sprint to the finish. 3 hours 28 minutes 39 seconds. Brilliant!

Only left getting the medal, finding the baggage bus and off to have some beer to rehydrate. Overall a great event for a great cause and a good result all round. And for the next challenge - Chicago next year?"

We can now offer groups the opportunity to participate in a national environmental award scheme called The John Muir Award. It encourages the discovery and conservation of wild places in a spirit of fun, adventure and exploration. It is non-competitive and open to all.

We've put a memory game on our website based on our outdoor activities. Be careful not to get addicted.

Our Family Breaks are a great success. Families from all over the country (who didn't know each other) spend nearly a week holidaying together. The aim is to provide fun for all the family. We, of course, especially welcome anyone with a disability.

The first day is normally spent on our team challenge course. The see-saw maze is an example of where working together as a team is vital!

The see-saw maze is a real test of teamwork

Our wheelchair abseil ramp is now in use and is proving very popular. It takes guts and trust in those helping you!

Backing down ramp with sun shining Looking down from top of ramp

We would very much like to install a Webcam at Kepplewray but we need some kind person to give us £600 first! Meanwhile you will have to content yourself with a view of the crossroads in Coniston 20 minutes up the road.

Our shop has a range of Kepplewray-branded clothing items, plus postcards, sweets and drinks. Shown below are T-Shirts (adult £6, junior £5), Caps (one size £3) and sports bottle (£2.50).

Cool man! "I'll show them what I think of child-proof tops" "I feel a bit of a plonker modelling clothes like this"

You can see more shop items on our shop page.

Why not try your very own Kepplewray DIY project? The finished result is shown below and enables us to help a disabled child stay at Kepplewray for a holiday.

When full, this bottle holds £50 worth of 5p coins

Download this PDF file (Requires Adobe Reader) which gives full instructions for turning an ordinary wine bottle into this outstanding 5p coin collecting bottle. A full bottle contains £50! (A colour printer for the label is desirable, though not essential) Alternatively email us and we will post you a label.

Christians all over the UK regularly pray for the work of The Kepplewray Centre. See details.

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