Thursday, 22 May 2025

The sun goes down on our Bawdsey Adventure!

The Last Post

It's just after 10pm on Thursday evening and every child is fast asleep.

We've had another fabulous afternoon. After lunch (burgers and chips) we set off for more fun group activities. The sun started shining for the first time today as we joined back together for dinner - macaroni cheese., meatballs, garlic bread and wedges

Next it was time for a walk along the beach as the sun went down - time for final group photos and an amazing whole group shot!






We get up early again tomorrow, tidying our tents and taking our bags to the holding area, before breakfast at 8am. We then complete our final activities:

Survivor, Fencing, Giant Swing, and Archery.

(There will be no more photos from tomorrow's activities)

We then have lunch before jumping on the coach and waving goodbye to an adventure that the children will hopefully remember for many years to come.

Aside from the many activities they have challenged themselves to take part in, they have faced even bigger challenges of sleeping outdoors, sharing a tent with others, trying new food and being independent.  Please remind them that they have gone without their phones for nearly a week AND survived!

Each and every one of them has been extremely brave, conquering their fears and achieving so much.  Most importantly, they have developed further their friendships, have been encouraging, supporting one another with kind words and actions, and even a hug or two when needed. 

They will arrive home tomorrow afternoon better prepared for their next big adventure, when they move on to secondary school in September.  However, they may need dunking in a warm soapy bath before you get too close!

All of the adults will agree that they have been a joy and, as always, we have received many compliments about their friendliness, good nature and behaviour.

 

Of course, none of this would be possible without the following people:


Mr Smith, Mr Kelly, Mr Geeson, Mrs Cracknell, Mrs Hopkins and Mr Dulieu.


Nothing has been too much trouble for these wonderful adults and they have given the children superb care 24 hours a day, and always with a beaming smile.


This is a voluntary act - they have all committed to being away from home and their own families to look after your children and have had been on call 24 hours a day during this week.


They are proof that not all superheroes wear capes!  


Although you will be desperate to grab your child and take them home tomorrow afternoon, please turn them around and ensure that they say a massive THANK YOU!

   

Please share all of the blog posts with your child during the weekend as they

haven't seen any of these photos and will love telling you about their adventures.


We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow afternoon


God bless

Mr Parascandolo

Zip Wire - Groups 3 & 4

Zip Wire - Groups 1 & 2

Abseiling - Group 5

Thursday morning

 Good morning from Bawdsey Manor.

It's a bit overcast and chilly this morning but the children are still in good spirits and, after another cooked breakfast, are keen to take part in some of the following activities:

Giant Swing, Sensory Trail, Abseiling, Buggy Build, Orienteering and Problem Solving.



It's lovely to see how much everyone is caring for each other - offering a hug or a smile and kind words - you should all be very proud of them!

More updates and photos to follow - have a good day!





Abseiling - Group 1

Abseiling - Group 2

Wednesday, 21 May 2025

Trapeze - Groups 1 & 2

Jacob's Ladder - Group 5

More Campfire photos

Trapeze - Groups 3 & 4

Wednesday Evening Campfire

We had a great Campfire in beautiful surroundings this evening!
What fun we had!
Keep scrolling to view the photos and videos...














 

Abseiling - Groups 3 & 4

Zipwire - Group 5

Wednesday evening

 
Wow, what a day!

Sorry for the lack of posts today but there has been a major local power outage for most of the day, resulting in no wifi until this evening. 

That said, the children have certainly not lacked energy and have been busy ALL day long, finishing with a camp fire before bed. It is just after 10pm and lights are out and they are settling down to sle
ep (it's certainly getting easier as the days go by!)

There are loads of photos to post so stay tuned - I think it's going to be an all nighter!

Please be assured, once again, that your children are safe and happy and you should all be very proud of them.

Good night from Bawdsey Manor

Mr Parascandolo

Wednesday morning

Another good night with much more sleep but it was much harder to get up this morning!  The sun isn’t shining so brightly this but everyone is in good spirits, despite what these photos may show!




Sausages, beans, hash browns, mushrooms and cereal for breakfast






We then headed off for our morning activities, including: abseiling, buggy build, zip wire, ‘survivor’ and sensory trail (photos to follow).

Keep looking for updates and remember to comment - it’s great to hear your positive responses and they give our hard working (and sleep deprived adults) a much needed boost!

Tuesday, 20 May 2025

Rifle Shooting - Group 2

Challenge Course - Group 4

Challenge Course - Group 2

Challenge Course - Group 1

Challenge Course - Group 3

Raft Building - Group 5

Tuesday Evening

Another action packed day at Bawdsey Manor. 

The children were woken at 7am and after a really well received breakfast, children went off to start their activities - today included:

raft building, challenge course, Trapeze, rifle shooting, and climbing.


The sun has been shiny brightly all day and your wonderful children have pushed themselves out of their comfort zones, challenging their fears and ‘having a go’.  They have also been really supportive of each other - encouraging and congratulating, laughing, joking and smiling all day!  

We have had lots of laughs, especially during raft building when children either fell, or deliberately jumped off their raft into the lake. One even capsized the group leader's rowing boat, bringing him into the water - a first apparently!


We all met for lunch - Vegan chilli, jacket potatoes and cheese and lots of choice from the salad bar and then again for dinner - pasta, Katsu chicken and chocolate brownies!


Tonight they have all been together for fun games and have (hopefully) worn themselves out before (torch) lights out and sleep. I'm writing this at just after 10pm and all is well - so far!


The children really are having a blast - no moans or upsets - everyone is eating, smiling and making memories that will last a lifetime! 


Another action packed day tomorrow - during which we will continue to take as many photos as possible, whilst battling against almost non existent wifi and 4g. Most of this blog only really begins after bedtime so please be patient with us!






Group 1 - Challenge Course

Group 5 - Challenge Course

Climbing - Group 5

Group 5 - Rifle Shooting

Raft Building - Groups 3 & 4

Raft Building - Groups 1 & 2

 

Tuesday morning

 Good morning from sunny Bawdsey.

The children were brilliant last night and everyone woke with a smile this morning (well, mostly!)















Tent inspections first and then off to breakfast - bacon, beans, hash browns, toast and porridge! 
















More updates later today!  Please be assured that your children are safe and REALLY happy!