The Birthday Girls
Another action packed day here at Lagganlia. It started at 7.30am when the adults visited the Birthday girls to sing Happy Birthday. Two birthday girls sharing the same room and birthday. What a coincidence! Chocolate cake for tea the night!!
Group 1
We really enjoyed the canoeing especially singing ' Pirates of the Caribbean' whilst zooming down the river - we did have a spectacular capsize! Lots of people got stuck under the trees - backwards!! Mrs Coltherd accidentally attempted to capsize her 'crew' but thankfully she landed on her feet up to her waist in water (the phone and camera were both fine)
We also had a brilliant rescue team. They did 6 or 7 rescues and 3 tows. They also had to paddle upstream. We got to the end of the journey when we saw a big bridge and some large rocks in 'rapids' We had reached Boat of Garten.
We had finally made it to the end and had to lift the canoes up the super muddy slope and help tidy up all the equipment. Once we got sorted we drove back to the centre. Several people fell asleep in the mini bus.
We've had a great week. A big thank you to our instructor Kris and the whole Lagganlia staff.
Group 2
Today was VERY WET!! In the morning Gemma was woken up by
the Papdale staff singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her and she was given a card
signed by everyone. We got ready for canoeing. It was quite hard to steer but
we got there with a lot of teamwork (and shouting!) It was hard when we all
stood up in the boat and then on the sides of the boat. After we ate Freddo
frogs for a snack, Gemma managed to skim a stone six times. At the end most
people decided that they didn’t want to stay dry so they ran and belly flopped
in the water.
In the afternoon we went kayaking in the pond. It was also
hard to steer, but we improved. When we stood up Kuba was the only person not
to fall in. We had to paddle to a little island and pull our kayaks out. Next
we got to slide down the bank into the water. Finally we got to swim to the
island.
Rafa was the best instructor and gave us some great fudge!
Final thoughts about Laggenlia:
Elsie Mae – It was totally amazing.
Jerry – It was cold, wet but fun.
Millar – The kayaking was the best.
Chloe – Gorge walking and kayaking were my favourite activities
and I’m going to miss Rafa.
Erin – My favourite activities were kayaking, snowboarding,
mountain biking and abseiling as they were all fun.
Kuba – My favourite bit was the kayaking as it was easiest.
Heddle – I enjoyed the wet activities.
Makayla – Today was really fun.
Gemma – I had a good birthday.
Last night we did a Night Line. We were all blindfolded and had helmets on. We had to hold on to a rope and do an obstacle course through the forest. It was hard but we worked as a team and finished it. It was great fun.
Then on Thursday morning we met up with Stew (our instructor). He told us we were going ducking. That is a rubber inflatable raft. We were in teams of three or two. We had to paddle from Aviemore to Boat of Garten, which is 10 km, down the fast flowing River Spey. We had to go through fast rapids. It was exciting and thrilling or in group three terms “Bricktastic!” We’ve has a great week of fun with our instructor, Stew.
Group 4
Another gloriously wet day again for us but as usual it didn’t stop us in group 4 we are, like the rest of the team, hardy to the weather. Our half day activities today were skiing in the morning and canoeing on Loch Insh with a good view of the osprey nest and the bird of prey itself flying around. Here are our words for today...
Bailey - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Being with friends and all that together - views were breathtaking, being excited, happy tears and scary.
Presley - hypothermia! Today I couldn’t feel my legs especially when we went swimming at the end and he water went down your back and hard to go underwater. There were challenges liking swapping places in the boats and forfeits for those who came last - dunk your head in the water and say sorry to the fish, put your head in the water and flick it and say I’m worth it and the third is stand up and do the titanic pose saying I’m king of the world.
Dillon - coldtoday in canoeing I put my head in the water as a forfeit just for fun. Walking in at the end for swimming it was really cold. Skiing was fun and I liked stopping in the pizza shape.
Daniel - exhaustingpaddling in the canoes was hard I was at the back steering everyone. There was a lot of splashing from my teammates and couldn’t see where I was going.
Tam - soggy, at the end of the canoeing get very wet and cold. I kept swimming and went right under. We couldn’t feel our body parts!
Sophie - freezingcanoeing, when we went in the water at the end because we love it so much but this time we only had our own clothes and therefore were really freezing!
Izzy - ahhhhhh! I heard this so much today both on the ski slope and on the canoeing trip also. It was another great day.
Jayden - funny, in skiing we kept falling over and bashing into each other. I just helped getting Sophie up when someone bashed into me! Canoeing had lots of funny times too.
Alex - difficult, I have been skiing before but had to walk up the hill to the top to get back down before we started the button tow. Canoeing was hard also as we kept bashing into each other. It was hard to not bash into each other and make sure you were all going the same way all the time!
Something I learnt or been surprised about myself...
Dillon - that I can ski
Bailey - that I can ski and canoe
Izzy - that I can use the ski tow and could go up it
Presley - at the end I could jump on my ski at the end of my run down the hill, also I don’t usually like muddy water, being cold, scared of fish/ducks or like being wet but this week has been great!
Jayden - sliding down on the gorge walks
Alex - kayak, didn’t know I could do that
Tam - didn’t know how bit an osprey was, and being able to ski and canoe
Sophie - ride a mountain bike up the hill
Daniel - I can steer a boat
Something I leant or been surprised about others...
People were lending hands and did good teamwork
Jayden did the abseiling even though it was hard for him
Alex could ski so well that he didn’t crash into anyone
Tam was good at kayaking
That Presley can say 60 likes in 7 minutes
Team 4 were a credit to both themselves, our school and their instructor. Most years the teams do so well but this year particularly they have gelled well and really worked as a team. It truly has been a year to remember right down to their catchy review advert for Lagganlia song. So many highlights much more than we can share here, hopefully they can share more in person, especially Mrs Teamwork Bailey! It has been a true pleasure this week team - Mrs Dufort
Group 5
Today we went mountain biking. The tracks were muddy, slidy
and slippery. We went through lots of puddles and nearly fell off the tree
roots. Scrutts (the best instructor – ever!) told us to brake before and after
the roots so we wouldn’t go haywire. It was steep therefore it was hard to go
up and down so we used our gears and brakes. There was plenty of midges which
didn’t really help along the way.
In the afternoon, we went on the dry ski slope to do
snowboarding. Craig, our snowboarding instructor, helped us get started and we
learnt new skills. We learnt how to fasten our binds to our boots, balance on
the board while going down the slope and to push and move on the board. We had
to glide and slide. It was hard to go up the slopes and at first, it was
difficult to control your balance but snowboarding was enjoyable once you got
the hang of it! It was a challenge to gain speed but you had to push. Going down
was easy. We had lots of fun. It was a good last day with Scrutts.
Group 6
We started our last day at
Lagganlia with another tasty breakfast and then we had to get geared up for
canoeing. We had to wear fleecy dungarees and a fleecy jumper, waterproofs on
top, wellies on our feet, a buoyancy aid and a helmet. It was very important to
help each other fasten our buoyancy aids nice and tight.
When we arrived at the river
Stewart instructed us how to hold the paddle and use it to move in different
directions. He also showed us what some signals meant so that the instructors
could communicate with us when we were on the river. We then put our canoes into
the water and set off. Our first task was to paddle across the river to the
opposite bank, which turned out to be not as easy as it sounds! We soon learned
that when you are paddling a canoe with people you don’t know very well, you
have to trust each other so you don’t tip the canoe over and so you don’t run
into rocks, a tree or the river banks.
After a bit of canoeing we
stopped and ate our lunch on the river bank and we made sure we left the area
exactly as we found it. Finlay suggested we put our apple cores and orange
peels in our empty roll bags. Back in the water we found steering a canoe was quite
hard at first but then after a while we got the hang of it and it was ok. It
was raining before and after lunch so we got quite wet, but it was really peaceful
on the river…until the rapids! We were on the river with group 1 and so Chris
was also instructing and helping us. When Sophie, Zak and Miss MacMillan got stuck
on a rock across the rapids both Chris and Martin came to the rescue. We had to
stop a few times to keep the groups together. We also had to stop once when
some people from the other group capsized and Martin went back to help them. I
think Megan, Ellen and Alannah got a huge fright, but thankfully their buoyancy
aids saved them and they survived to tell the tale!
Finally we came under the bridge
at Boat of Garten on the River Spey and pulled in to the side of the bank. We
also had to empty the water out of the canoes and carry them up the bank to put
them back in the canoe rack. The slope was very muddy and slippy to get up but
everyone worked well as a team. After a long, wet day on the river we went back
the centre for tea. Before we put our waterproofs in the drying room we said
thank you and goodbye to Martin, our instructor. He was great and we learned so
much. For tea we had burgers or fish and
chips and then chocolate birthday cake for pudding because today is both Ellen
and Gemma’s 12th birthday.
So our last
day at Lagganlia was a real adventure. We improved our canoeing skills and
learned to work better as a team. We’ve had a great time here and can’t believe
we’re going home tomorrow because the week has gone really fast. Today was
tiring and very wet but it was fun, so we’re all exhausted but in a good way. Let’s
hope we sleep all the way home on the bus tomorrow!
And now some
words from group 6 to sum up today ;
Finlay – It
was really challenging because we
had to steer the canoe from side to side without it tipping over and crashing
into the sides.
Harvey – Today
was about endurance because I felt
we had to go a long way without giving up.
Zak – It was exciting because we never really knew
what was going to happen next.
Kris – It was tough as we had to keep paddling
non-stop or you would just drift off.
Angela – My
word is sore. Today was tiring because when you’re rowing your arms get really sore.
Sophie – It
was nerve-wracking because we got
stuck on a rock and we didn’t know if it would happen again. We had to work as
a team and we got out of it.
Kiera – We had
to go really carefully at the rapids
because we had to make sure we didn’t tip over and at the same time not go to
the edge.
Ilona – I felt
it was tiring as we had to use our
arms the whole time to steer away from rocks and stop bashing into the banks.
Libby – It was
very fun and very knackering as we
had to use our arms the whole time and concentrate a lot so as not to tip over.
Brooke – As we
were going down the river we experienced some parts which were more choppy than others. I felt like the canoe was going to capsize. I was relieved nobody
did but some of the other group did.
And finally
group 6 would like to thank all the instructors and staff at Lagganlia for
working so hard to give them such an enjoyable and memorable week. WE LOVE
LAGGANLIA!!!
