WEDNESDAY 24th MAY 2023
There were loud cheers as we came around the corner to Hilltop, then gasps and ‘ooooos’ as the children saw all the different activities hidden in the woods. Hilltop really is a magical, exciting place.
Once off the bus and reunited with their bags, the children made their way to their bedrooms to make their beds and start to unpack. Each room seems fairly set on winning the tidiest room competition and hoodies were soon hanging up with the names showing, trainers were paired and lined up tidily. Go Fressingfield!
After a picnic lunch on the green, the children had a chance to explore. Hannah and Alex loved meeting up with their footballing friends and a kickabout started in the time they had before the first activity.
At 1.30 we split off into our groups. For Arieanna, Betsy, William, Oliver, Liam and Scott that meant shelter building and bushcraft. They were shown how to make a lean too using Y-shaped poles, branches and brush and, over the course of the hour, their shelters took shape, including little seating areas, a bed, and fireplaces. The challenge was to make it completely waterproof using enormous handfuls of pine needles as roofing and, in due course, a thunderstorm appeared (in the form of a bucket of water) to test their waterproof qualities. Liam’s shelter – built with new friends from Laxfield and Stradbroke – unfortunately collapsed during the building, Oliver and Scott’s was deemed too unsafe to sit in by the building inspectors, but Arieanna and Betsy’s was impressively well-made, and almost totally rainproof, and William’s was built so solidly it took two adults to let it down safely. The session ended with the children making fires, boiling water for hot chocolates and cooking marshmallows.
Meanwhile, Callum, Alex, Jacob, Hannah, Chloe and Poppy were taking on the Treetop Trail Challenge. This activity, which is a little bit like Go Ape, requires the children to manage their own safety harnesses as they move from challenge to challenge. The trail starts at a low level, then slowly builds up, with some children opting to re-do the lower challenges, and others taking on the higher ones. The obstacles include giant rubber balls which block the way, Indiana Jones-style rope bridges, and other things the children had to push past or dangle from. Miss Cragoe, their group leader, was really impressed with them all. The group came back buzzing and full of enthusiasm.
The third group of Amelia, Summer, Martha, Charlotte, Melissa and Sophia meanwhile set off on ‘The Journey,’ a 7km walk to the coast via a ruined priory, up a hill to see the views of the sea, and along into Sheringham for an ice-cream. Apparently it was a long, long way – but the views were good and so was the ice-cream!
This evening we’ve played a wide-game in the woods called ‘The Enchanted Forest.’ I think it was designed especially to wear the children out – it involved lots of running up and down the hills searching for symbols and groups of numbers. After a short time in the games room, then brushing of teeth and hair, the children settled down to sleep. Mrs Tooley and I have been checking on the children and all the rooms seem quiet and peaceful.
A busy day awaits tomorrow!
