MR FOTHERGILL BRAVES BUSHCRAFT AGAIN WITH YEAR 5
Wearing a fetching pink hat, Mr Fothergill reports on the annual Bushcraft Company trip.
With a change to tradition, we moved the annual Bushcraft trip from May to September, hoping for a few Indian summer days. This residential trip now has a teambuilding focus for Year 5 and was a great way to start the year. It's fair to say the children have been looking forward to the trip throughout the summer holiday and some confessed to having their rucksacks packed and ready before the end of August.
The trip started well and we enjoyed a good walk into the forest to find our camp. The first day's activities revolved around getting to know the camp and tribe leaders as well as building shelters to sleep in. Lots of new fire lighting skills were tested as the children cooked their own lunch over their tribe fires. Unexpectedly heavy rain prevented the shelters from being used on the first night but we were hopeful that they could be used on day two.
Tuesday provided us with some excellent weather and a chance to swim in the lake. This proved to be real character building stuff as the water was very cold, but the children showed great determination to have a go and coped well with the shock! It was lovely to see them all being so encouraging and supportive of one another.
The highlight of the trip for many was the unexpected early evening visit of a female fox to our camp. We were very quiet as the fox approached but we need not have worried because it refused to leave. Unfortunately, her persistence was enough to prevent the shelters being used again but it was all worth it to see a wild fox so close up.
All of the children were a credit to the school and received high praise from the Bushcraft Company staff for the way they approached the activities over the three days.
Mr Fothergill (AKA Bear Grylls)