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An overview

In September, we set off on our new adventure to Lagganlia in the Cairngorms National Park. The bus took 3 and a half long hours. We were told our dorms and activity groups, then we ran upstairs to checkout our dorms. We got a tour of the campus, ate lots of blueberries and an amazing meal. We then curled up in our beds and soundly fell asleep.

The next day, with the birds tweeting we had a simple but delicious breakfast followed by the plan of the day. Throughout the week we did lots of fun activities such as tree climbing, skiing, snowboarding, hiking, swimming, mountain biking, archery, bouldering, competitions and downtime over the four days.

All through the week we had amazing breakfasts, lunches and dinners. The activities were so much fun and the teachers, plus the instructors were really nice. We all had a really good time. We pushed ourselves and each other. There was some scary and nervewracking parts but that was fun to go through. We had an amazing time and hope all future Remove students will too. Ghorgie and Sophia, Remove X

Activities

The first day was all about settling in and blueberry picking. We met our cheerful and enthusiastic camp instructors. They seemed to be pleased to see us and they said they were going to challenge us.

My favourite activity was swimming in the river. It was very cold, which was superb because it was a very hot day. We had spent the morning cycling for two to three hours through the woods. I was hot and sweaty when we returned to the camp for a picnic lunch on a bench. The river was only 5 or 10 minutes walk away and I played in the river for a long time. Other people got out and played with the pebbles on the island. The sun was shining and there were no midges. It was really refreshing.

Another enjoyable day was when we went on a walk around a loch. We made crowns out of reeds. Our instructor Fiona taught us how to make it. We picked the reeds ourselves and then walked along while we plaited a reed crown. There was no time to sit still, the midges were attacking. The afternoon was more restful. We made a fire and Fiona brought dough that we wrapped around a stick and cooked in the fire. We picked blueberries and squashed them up to make blueberry jam. They were very sweet and delicious. I did 27,000 steps that day.

On another day I took part in archery in the morning. I really enjoyed that and would like to have another go. In the afternoon we went skiing. It was hard work, but I had never skied before.

The final morning was competition time. The instructors had set up lots of puzzles and we had to compete against the clock. There was a big spiders' web and we had to get everyone in the team through a different hole in the spiders’ web. Some people had to stand on my back to climb through. Another problem was rescuing a duck from a drainpipe using only water. The drainpipe had holes in it, and we weren’t allowed to tip the drainpipe up. Our team did well but we didn’t win. Well done to team three who did win.

I learnt a lot at camp, and I especially liked being with all my friends. Kate, Remove P

What we learned

Camp at Lagganlia was a fantastic opportunity to challenge ourselves and to get to know each other better.

All the activities were super fun. My personal favourites were skiing and archery. I also enjoyed it in the evening when we had a bonfire and ate marshmallows! The instructors helped us to get out of our comfort zones and pushed us to the best of our abilities. In some activities, such as orienteering, we had to be in teams which encouraged us to work together and support each other. At nighttime, we were blindfolded and held onto ropes to move around. We had to trust and rely on each other to find our way. I found snowboarding quite difficult as it was new, but I learnt that you cannot be good at everything and tried my best. Overall, I loved my camp experience, exploring the outdoors and learning new skills. Fifi, Remove Q