We have missed our oldest children this week while they have been having a whale of a time in Chester and North Wales. The children have impressed accompanying Eden staff and local instructors with their resilience, enthusiasm and send of fun and adventure.
A highlight was a day in beautiful, rugged North Wales. Laura writes: We traveled by van into the
stunning Welsh hills, dodging wandering sheep on a single-track road to reach a magnificent rock face
overlooking Castel Dinas Bran and the valley below. There, we donned helmets and harnesses, and set
about scaling the climbing routes then abseiling down. Some routes were more challenging than others,
but all were willing to try. Honourable mentions go to Iris, for successfully navigating herself down a
challenging rock face, Ryan and Geva for some exceptionally quick and agile climbing. After lunch, in
teams of two or three, we paddled the historic Llangollen Canal. Most of the class managed to stay dry!
The two-man crew of Sammy and Geva showed some extremely impressive skills, canoeing with speed
and accuracy, and earned worthy praise from instructors.
By contrast, the following day was spent in Chester, on a World War Two theme:
We all slept well, and woke up to a beautiful, home-cooked breakfast courtesy of chef Phil. It was a short
drive into Chester city centre and the Grosvenor Museum, where we took part in a workshop introducing
us to life on the Home Front. The class explored the types of foods that were rationed, the experiences
of evacuees, and the concept of ‘make do and mend’. After that, our instructor led us on the short walk
to Chester Military Museum, where we ate our lunch in the Cheshire Regiment’s rather impressive
meeting room. We had two workshops there – one focusing on the role of the Home Guard and the
things that civilians needed to do to keep safe during wartime, such as building Anderson shelters, and
the other on the roles of the British military during wartime. The class were able to dress in real 1940’s
military uniforms, handle a deactivated rifle, and practise putting out an ‘incendiary bomb’ (a potato!)
using a hand pump, water, and sand. This really sparked the interest of many class members! We had a
short walk through the beautiful city to visit the gift shop at the City Hall. Whilst there, we were also able
to visit the Cathedral cloisters to admire the medieval architecture, then take a short walk along the
ancient city walls to the remains of the Roman bath house. The class played table tennis, pool and card
games before bed.
My huge thanks and appreciation go to class teachers Chloe Jacobs and Laura Proffitt, and teaching
assistants Grace Park and Alana Jacobs who have given their time, care and energy to ensuring that
the children make amazing lifelong memories. Eden staff are incredible.
