Day One – The Journey where time stood still and yet I aged a decade.
After using every square inch of the boot space and front and back seat of the bus with our bags, we set off in a timely fashion; this was the last piece of good news on the journey. Mr M was blasting out his tunes at the back while the bus driver tried to drown out the children’s noise with the radio. Both meant it was a quiet and peaceful trip.
Haribos were smuggled from seat-to-seat like a prison black-market operation and Pringles don’t need to look much further than our bus for the recent spike in their sales. We eventually reached the services which was extremely busy; but that didn’t stop our intrepid explorers parting with their parents’ hard earnt cash on various sugar-saturated treats and, in one case, a triple shot coffee – the fun was to come!
We arrived to glorious Herefordshire sunshine and decamped from the bus. Tents were allocated and – the first activity – the children unpacked. Weirdly, it would seem several grenades were also set off in each tent just moments after the unpacking – a shocking coincidence.
After that, the centre staff introduced themselves and gave a short tour of the site for the children. Then onto the second activity – Team Challenge (emphasis on challenge). Each group was tasked with different challenges that needed teamwork, cooperation, leadership and compromise which we all showed absolutely none of. At least us adults had a good chuckle here.
Everly, Grace and Maya took on housekeeping roles and set-up, served and tidied away dinner – even mopping the floor without being asked (sorry girls, parents know now!). Bangers, gloriously creamy mash and veg were served up and inhaled – especially by Mr Evans. Apple crumble and custard followed before we set off on a walk to burn off the weeks’ worth of calories we ate at dinner.
We strolled through beautiful meadows, over rivers and were able to explore the flora and fauna of this remarkable area; well, the adults did at least. The children seemed more worried about the sheep poo and the incline of the next hill, but we made a full loop around Longtown and back to base where the children showered and had a hot chocolate before heading to the tents. The children are now fast asleep as I write this and I’m changing my name to Pinocchio.