Gorge Walk by olivia.p

Gorge Walk by olivia.o

There I was,about third last last in line for climbing what looked like an ever lasting mountain of doom. While waiting for my turn I noticed I was jammed between an unrealistcally funny situation when the instuctor ( Joseph) changes Joseph's name to Mark, forgetting Mr McKenna was there and his name was also Mark so he yelled at the top of his voice ( so it could reach the instructor at the top of the cliff)"Hey you can't give him my name!" So at the end he got called Simon.

As time edged closer to my turn the atmosphere around the ridged oversized rock I was sitting on grew more thunderous and fearless. Jampacked and overloaded by my own excitement I single-mindedly decided to stand.

 In addition to soon having a traitor rope hurled at my overwhelmed face,as I started to stagger up the cliff the remaining people humorously sang a song on how I was going to fall off and die ( as they had done for everyone else ). After a while of swiftly and safely hauling myself north, I finally reached the top. Also when it came to abseiling down, guess what? yet another line. DA DA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Having been near the end ( again) I thought I'd have some time before I climbed down but nooooo the instructor asked me to sit at the edge of the cliff. Unfortunately for my revenge I decided to play the 'what if game.' I discovered that the only ghastly part of abseiling is only when one inch of your foot is on the cliff,your body is horizontal and the only thought roaming your head is you hurtling towards the ground. But past about one 6th down all thoughts erupts from your head, but i have to say the best part was over takingthe person infront of me!

So after a memorable, reckless, immense, energetic day we finally went home ( well to the benmore centre).

Wet walking (Group8)

 

On Thursday 9th of Febuary 2012, my group (group 8) went gorge walking.

First we got on the mini-bus not knowing that the activity ahead was full of wetness. In the warmth of the mini-bus, Thea was telling us how wet we were going to ge BUMP!!!!! The mini-bus went over a crack in the road.

Then it went over another one and another one so our determined instructor gave up.

After a while we arrived at a very spooky graveyard! Once we were ready we followed Thea and told Sasha to be quite on his story of how trees and the world started!

Then we started the walk. The first bit was harder than it should have because trees had fallen on the gorge.

After what felt like a minute we were halfway up. At one point there was a tree trunk that looked like a elephant but it helped us cross so it was a good elephant.

Then   a few seconds later we had to go through the keyhole one by one!

After that my feet were more  wet than my whole life’s wetness!! But I carried on! Then we had to climb across a large rock!!! IT WAS EPIC!!!

Finally we reached the end of the walk. Thea went first to show us what to do then I went first. First you had to bounce up and catch the rope and walk up the rest, holding the rope.

Then we went on the water slide! Looking forward to a hot shower when we got back!!!!!

Great day for group 8

Struan

Night Walk

Today we went on the night walk.It was going to be so fun, they had told us about it in the common room.They said we were not allowed head torches because it would ruin our night eyes and they told us to put our waterproofs on and to wrap up warm!
When we were outside it was pitch black but our eyes soon got

Gorge Walking

When group 3's instructors, Euan and Iona,said the magic words "we're going Gorge Walkin this afternoon guys" everyone went wild!I don't know how our poor instructors managed to quieten us down!

First of all we had to go to our trustworhthy dorms to put on at least 4 layers on (5 including our wet,muddy waterproofs that we were given at the beginning of the week) to go on the minibus and start our unforgettable adventure.

Before we reached the gorge we had to walk through a peaceful graveyard not too near the centre but not too far away either. The whole situation made me feel a bit disrespectful because instead of going round the graves that were still there since 1902 we went over the the graves without any second thoughts.Anyway,my uncomfortable feeling was soon forgotten, for we had reached the gorge and the sound of fresh gushing water and the thought that I would soon be splashing in that water brought back the excitement to my bones.

Caving

As the mini bus came to a fierce stop group seven and I jumped off the bus. We walked steadily down the steep pathway leading us to a hole, one by one we had to climb cautiously through the hole (helping each other a lot).

Finally it was my turn. It was quite hard. Eventually I got in and Steven (sometimes he can be a bit cheeky) our instructor attached me to a rope and I had to jump down a ditch which wasn't very nice trust me. We finally got out and hopped on the bus. Off we went back to snug Benmore with tea and cake.

The Gorge Walk by Eve!

When I first arrived at Benmore I could not wait to get the chance to do the gorge, despite that Millie had told me "Never ever go on the gorge walk,Eve its horrible"! However when my instructor said we were going on the gorge walk I was still raring to go. All of us (group3)

Climbing and Abseiling with Group 9!
Benmore will stick with me forever. I will never forget going abseiling.

After being told what we were going to do, we rushed to get changed and ready for going out on the activity. Before long we were up and getting our helmets and harness on. The instructor gave me a parachute harness and said that I was so good at climbing "wooooooo". Everyone except Alex H had a normal climbing harness. They all said that it was because I was smaller than the others.

  The indoor climbing centre wasn’t very far away, but we still drove in the mini bus to get there. Having got to the indoor climbing centre, where our instructors (Brian and Graham) gave us a challenge; we had to go all the way round without falling off below a certain point. Most people did very well but I am not impressed with myself. Alex H did very well and got all the way round. A little later we were split into groups: Alex H, Eilidh.C,Matthew and me. Eilidh.C did very well she concurred her fear, well done Eilidh.C!!! On one of the walls I was abseiling or floating down in my case! I waved my arms up and down like a fairy in a show.

   No matter how high we had to climb, I still wanted to get to the top. When I climbed up I went faster than my instructor expected. As I abseiled down, I went quite slowly but managed to touch the ground.We  had so much fun and I am sure everyone else did too!!!!

By Esther :)

Gorge Walk by olivia.o

There I was,about third last last in line for climbing what looked like an ever lasting mountain of doom. While waiting for my turn I noticed I was jammed between an unrealistly funny situation when the instuctor ( Joseph) changes Joseph's name to Mark, forgetting Mr McKenna was there and his name was also Mark so he yelled at the top of his voice ( so it could reach the instructor at the top of the cliff)"Hey you can't give him my name!" So at the end he got called Simon. As time edged closer to my turn the atmosphere around the ridged oversized rock I was sitting on grew more thunderous and fearless. Jampacked and overloaded by my own excitement I single-mindedly decided to stand. In addition to soon having a traitor rope hurled at my overwhelmed face,as I started to stagger up the cliff the remaining people humorously sang a song on how I was going to fall off and die ( as they had done for everyone else ). After a while of swiftly and safely hauling myself north, I finally reached the top. Also when it came to abseiling down, guess what? yet another line. DA DA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Having been near the end ( again) I thought I'd have some time before I climbed down but nooooo the instructor asked me to sit at the edge of the cliff. Unfortunately for my revenge I decided to play the 'what if game.' I discovered that the only ghastly part of abseiling is only when one inch of your foot is on the cliff,your body is horizontal ( not done yet)

Climbing and Abseiling

 

Jumping out of the mini bus, a rush of energy shot down my spine. Being first made all my excitement turn into nervousness. I have to admit climbing isn't my best sport.

I was doing excellent until a monstrous flat rock got in my way. But all my teammates and group 8 cheered me on. Anna especially shouted encouragement, and so eventually I made it up. The moment I got up I staggered across to the bench and waited till a cluster of my group arrived. Then we set off for the abseil.

I can’t believe it is my turn now and I’m leaning back and bouncing down the cliff .Its the end of the cliff so I’m done now. Its time to go back too the center.  

Danny - Mountain Biking

Awesome Mountain Biking by Danny Hendry
Today we were told that we were doing mountain biking. I was really excited. At first we had to get the bikes and yellow jackets. Mr Wallace our active school teacher came with us as well. We had to wait a while until we got our bikes and yellow jackets. As soon as we got our bikes we had to test the gears.To test them we had to go up a small hill and then down it.My gears worked majestically. Finally we set off,Jude in front and Coll behind.We came to a steep hill and I went very fast down it. Soon we crossed a tiny bridge and at the other side we got to do smashing tricks. Near the end we went off road and into the dark woods.It was very bumpy and Dawood smashed his leg off a rock hard tree.Ouch! At last we were out of the woods and heading home.Right at the end we were all tired but still had to wash our bikes before we could go. I thought it was AWESOME!

Maeve Abseiling

Maeve - Abseiling On Wednesday 8Th of February Group 8 & I went Abseiling & Climbing. When we got there I stood outside gazing up at the horrendous heights of the 50 feet Abseil. Just then I wanted to get up the Abseil straight away. My instructor asked politely if anyone wanted to go on the practice Abseil. Without warning I pushed everyone out the way & told Thea that I wanted to do it. No one else looked as if they wanted to do it. Then Sasha stood forward. I sighed with relief because I certainly didn't want to do the practice Abseil myself. We headed up the leafy forest path to start the Abseil. Next we got into harnesses & Thea showed us how to untie our harnesses. She talked about the abseil & to take nice easy steps until it was time for one of us to go down. Sasha went first. A few minutes later it was my turn. I stepped backwards onto the cliff. I could feel the rock beneath my soles of my shoes. I went back a few steps & soon got used to it. I was going much faster now & soon enough I would reach the bottom. After I was on the ground & I had got out of my harness I played with Briea the dog until we had to go.

Cycling at Benmore by Bea

Today at Benmore our group got to go biking. First of all we went to the bike shed to get our bikes and gear but I got to ride on a tandem with our instructor Chris. Then we started off down the road until we reached some enormous puddles. We just rode through them and so my back got really wet. The puddles were on a big track which we called 'Puddle Lane' which had a fast flowing river beside it. It was also very bumpy on the track. At one point we went down a steep hill and we went really fast and it was very exciting. Later on we rode past the low ropes and the high ropes where group 5 and group 3 were having an adventure. Never have I seen something so adventurous as when Eilidh jumped from a high platform to grab the trapeze. At the end we went back to the bike sheds and put our equipment away. I then went to my dorm to get dry clothes on. I'd really enjoyed my day biking. It was marvellous and I had lots of fun.

High Ropes by Catherine

On Wednesday I went to the high ropes course. When we were walking there Hector and Olly were singing another annoying song. When we got there we went on the low ropes while Angela got the high ropes ready. First on the low ropes we had to get on to some planks of wood but we were not allowed to go out from inbetween two logs. When we started it was a nightmare but then we began to work together. We found a long plank of wood. There was a rope hanging from the roof so we balanced the plank of wood against the logs. Everyone held it then we decided the lightest would go first;unluckily that was me. I had to walk across the plank, get to the rope and then swing over. Then I threw it back. After me everyone else took their turn. We also did an obstacle course on the low ropes where we had to balanace, swing and jump on and off other things; it was really fun. After the low ropes we went on the high course. I watched Eilidh and Eimear on the trapeze. Eimear got scared and slid off but Eilidh went for the trapeze. Sadly she did not make it. I went with Claire. She got scared and slid off but I jumped. Unfortunately I did not reach it either. Daisy was the only one who got it. There was a balancing beam which I also went on. I was terrified at this because Hector was belaying me and he dropped me on the way down. The high ropes course was so much fun and something I will never forget.

Climbing and Abseiling by Anna

In the morning, group 8 (which I am in) all went climbing and abseiling, and this is how it went:

After meeting in the common room, to find out where each group would meet, we all met in the courtyard and got our harnesses and helmets on. After we all were ready and we had learnt to use our harnesses, we got into a mini-bus and drove to a massive cliff, which we would be abseiling down.

When we got off the bus, we were able to see that off to the side was a path, slanting upwards slightly, leading to another cliff, but this time the cliff had way more hand holds and footholds, and looked so much more easier to climb.

After Thea explained everything, 8 of our group (including me) went up the path to start the climb. As we reached the bottom, our instructor started climbing up the cliff. She was saying that she was only giving us guidelines and that we were to mostly find our own way up.

 Climbing up the cliff had its easy bits and its hard bits. I had to think about were to put my hands and feet, and sometimes my knees, it was a bit like a puzzle.

Despite my hands feeling like they were going to fall off, I still went and the big abseil.

Waiting to have my shot at the big abseil, Charlotte, Roddy, Sasha and I were sticking leaves and twigs in the holes on each other’s helmets. It was so fun.

Once Sasha started to go down the cliff, charlotte and I were sticking lots of things in Roddy’s helmet, which he didn’t mind. ‘Roddy La Twig’ was what we called him. Just before Roddy went over the edge, Charlotte and I called out to the people on the ground, “presenting, Roddy La Twig!” everyone locked up and stared at him the whole way down.

Just then, I realized it was my turn to go down. Cautiously, I stumbled my way along the edge to where I would clip my harness to the ropes. I ventured over rim and started to slowly edge my way down the cliff. Having gone 20 feet out of the 50, I stopped walking and started bouncing. Boing, boing!!

Loving every moment of the abseil, I was disappointed when my feet hit solid ground, but I was also proud that I had actually abseiled down a 50-foot cliff. Climbing and Abseiling was definitely my favourite activity and a memory I will never forget.

Climbing and Abseiling by Anna

In the morning, group 8 (which I am in) all went climbing and abseiling, and this is how it went:

After meeting in the common room, to find out where each group would meet, we all met in the courtyard and got our harnesses and helmets on. After we all were ready and we had learnt to use our harnesses, we got into a mini-bus and drove to a massive cliff, which we would be abseiling down.

When we got off the bus, we were able to see that off to the side was a path, slanting upwards slightly, leading to another cliff, but this time the cliff had way more hand holds and footholds, and looked so much more easier to climb.

After Thea explained everything, 8 of our group (including me) went up the path to start the climb. As we reached the bottom, our instructor started climbing up the cliff. She was saying that she was only giving us guidelines and that we were to mostly find our own way up.

 Climbing up the cliff had its easy bits and its hard bits. I had to think about were to put my hands and feet, and sometimes my knees, it was a bit like a puzzle.

Despite my hands feeling like they were going to fall off, I still went and the big abseil.

Waiting to have my shot at the big abseil, Charlotte, Roddy, Sasha and I were sticking leaves and twigs in the holes on each other’s helmets. It was so fun.

Once Sasha started to go down the cliff, Charlotte and I were sticking lots of things in Roddy’s helmet, which he didn’t mind. ‘Roddy La Twig’ was what we called him. Just before Roddy went over the edge, Charlotte and I called out to the people on the ground, “presenting, Roddy La Twig!” everyone locked up and stared at him the whole way down.

Just then, I realized it was my turn to go down. Cautiously, I stumbled my way along the edge to where I would clip my harness to the ropes. I ventured over rim and started to slowly edge my way down the cliff. Having gone 20 feet out of the 50, I stopped walking and started bouncing. Boing, boing!!

Loving every moment of the abseil, I was disappointed when my feet hit solid ground, but I was also proud that I had actually abseiled down a 50-foot cliff. Climbing and Abseiling was definitely my favourite activity and a memory I will never forget.

Gorgewalking with Group 7 by Logan P6c

Today at the Benmore centre  Group 7 and I changed into our water proofs then we all met up and got on the mini bus then we all started to sing stop the bus I need a wee wee stop the bus I need a wee wee stop the bus I need a wee wee and Steven needs one too how do you know that Steven needs one how do you know that Steven needs one how do you know that Steven needs one 'cause is running down his leg.So then we arrived the group and I and the leader oh also Ms French walked through grave gorges. At last we all had to go under ground. The minute when the group and I had put our two feet into the water it was ice ice water but we all just carried on with it . We all climbed up bit of rocks. Steven was such a gentleman to Miss French.

Caving with group 8 by Charlotte Arah P6C

As the bus pulled up we were all very confused; we were in the middle of nowhere! we hopped off the bus with Brea and Ela- who are both Thea our instructors dogs- and waited for Thea';(Thea is a caring instructor, though she can be a bit shouty if you get on the wrong side of her) orders. "We are going to climb the grassy mountainside on the side of the road to our caves," Thea had said. And with that we set off, scrabbling up the steep hill, clambering over collapsed trees. In the end we got to the first of our caves. Well, it wasn't very much of a cave. it was more of a tunnel. We all lined up and clambered through one by one. Finally it was my go! I got down on all fours and squelched through. By the time I was through I was absolutely covered in mud! It took forever for the others to get through and when they were finally out we dordeled along to our second cave. Before very long we were there and after a little chit-chat we all clambered in. The further in you got the darker it got. There were a few tricky parts including a part where you had to climb up, a part where you had to slide down on your belly and a part where you had to side step along. After a while we saw a glimmer of light and the cave ended. Then we wandered along to our next location. First we had to walk, slowly, down a slope of rocks which led into a deep ravine. But we weren't going into the ravine. we were going into a side tunnel. You had to climb in and scrabble down on your stomach. Apparently there was some king who lived in that cave with the crown jewels. Finally we had to kick our selves out, climb back down the hill and clamber into the mini bus. I will never forget that day because it was sooooooooooooo fun! Luckily I'm going to Boroughmuir high and they go back so I hope to see Benmore then

Ropes Course with Group 1

Today we went to the ropes course, which everybody was looking forward to. First in the back yard were we put on a harness to go on our legs and blue helmets. Then we set off on the five-minute walk to the ropes course.

Firstly we went on the low ropes which had different things in a rectangle including a line of tyre's we walked across. Once everybody had completed the circuit. Our instructor Scrutts  told us all to go on a log in the middle. While he put a wooden platform together at the other side and we had to swing across on to it. We had to try and fit all ten of us on the small platform which we succeeded in doing until the last person Millie who in landing knocked some of us off.

After that we went over to the high ropes were Scrutts explained to us the three things of which we could choose two of. The three options were the catwalk, postman's walk and the trapeze.I choose the catwalk and trapeze.

First I went on the catwalk where Dave our other instructor was helping us. Rosie went first then it was my turn. I started the climb up the ladder u towards the first log. When I got to the log I ran across adventurously. At the end was footholds in the pole holding it up.So I walked up to the next log .

At last I was in the middle unfortunately my turn was nearly up when it had just began. In the middle I did a koala roll . Which is when you sit down on the log and wrap your arms and legs around it. This looks like your hugging a log which is basically what you're doing. Lastly you twist round and at that point I fell of.

Afterwards we had hot chocolate which warmed us to the bone. Millie was having her o on the trapeze while we were drinking. And we counted her in fort he jump .

After a while it was me and Rosie's turn. First Rosie climbed up the me. At the top was a small rectangular shaped platform. The platform was just big enough for us both to stand on.

We were ready to jump "1 2 3 ", bellowed everybody fro below. 'JUMP!' We jumped ...

Both me and Rosie flew through the air . It was the most  exhilarating part of the week.We caught it!We caught the pole dangling in front of us.

Lastly we tried to turn upside down while o the pole like Olive and Hannah had done before us.But We both Epicily failed.

So we jumped down and Scrutts lowered us down to the ground. the ropes course was my favorite activity of the week and I'm sure others in my group would agree.

Asiyah     

Gorge walking by Eve Petrie

When i first arrived at Benmore i could not wait to get the chance to do the Gorge walk,despite that after most of the people in my dorm had told me (and this was said by Millie) "Never ever go on the gorge walk ,Eve it's HORRIBLE!"However when my in instuctor (Euan) said we were going on the gorge walk i was still raring to go.My group (group 3) piled onto the small white minibus, all of us eager to get to the ledgendary gorge.We had reached our destination  but first we had to quietly creep round the edge of a grave yard.Before very long we were at the stuning gorge .Now i bagan to venture up the roots,rocks and tree trunks, while trying to avoid the crystal clear water below.

we had to grap a hold of tree trunks that had collased over the water. Then we came to a tree leaning over the gorge  whitch Euan said was called the elephant (because it was shaped like the trunk of an elephant)
we had hug the elephant to stedy 

Going Caving with Group 9 by Matthew mcConville p6c

Today the whole of group 9 went caving.On the way we listened to BBC radio 2. It was only about a 10 minute drive and then a 10 minute hike up a vast hill.Fortunately we made it up the colossal hill.Now that we're here we get passed harnesses to attach to a rope which lowered us down into a cave.Esther got lowered down first.just then I had realised that it was my turn get lowered down into what seemed like a layer. Suddenly I felt the ground of the dark gloomy cave.A few minutes later everyone got lowered down. We started to shuffle along.Just then i got warned about a 5 foot drop.The good thing was that it had a rope the bad thing was we were not allowed to attach to the rope.I held on for dear life ONE...TWO...THREE SWING!!!! i landed with a THUD then it was just a little walk though the cave.
BEST ACTIVITY EVER!!!!! 

Ropes Course with Group 1

Today me and my group went on the ropes course. We did not need to take the mini bus because the course was just a minutes walk there. When we got there we put our harnesses on. I had a special small harnesss because I am so small. First we went on the low ropes which I was not very good at, I kept falling off. Next we had to get onto pairs but me, Rosie and Asiyah went together. Our challenge was to go around the course without falling off but I failed epicly but Rosie and Asiyah did much much better than me. After a while on the low ropes we decided to go on the high ropes. So we went over and Scrutts explained what we had to do and on the courses. It took me a while to decided what to do and then in the end I did the catwalk course. On the catwalk course you had to walk up some giant staples well they were not really staples but the looked like them. You then walked on a long wooden pole (though I was a bit scared I was going to fall off). Once I had walked over it I then went back the way into the middle and jumped off which was really fun! After the catwalk I did the trapeze. In the trapeze you had to climb up some big wooden blocks and then you would reach a platform, you then had to jump to catch a bar, though I just missed; I felt a bit embarrassed that everyone caught the bar apart from me! So then I came back down and had some hot chocolate (which warmed me up!). There was also another course called the postman's walk  but I did not have time to go on that one. Unfortunately the weather was not the best for us though despite the miserable weather we all had a great time!!!!!!!

Missing all the Fun by Iqbal

On Monday I didn't turn up so Tuesday I came back. I was sent with Hafsa and Ali hamza, well Abdur-rahman was off. First we went to Mr Howie's classroom, I felt so terrified because I don't know the children.  Although I had to get on with it. Mrs Tariq looked after us. We were told to go and help with the P4 Scot's Night practice. We did that  till break time. After  break we went to the P5  non skiers to do animation pictures on pieces of paper until lunch time. After lunch me Hafsa amd Ai hamza were told to help the P1s with their reading and how to use computers because it was their first time using technology so we had to help each person. I helped a person called Roscoe

Orienteering with Eve & Angelina in Group 3 By Holly

"Right guys, this morning we're gonna go Orienteering!" said Euan our instructor. I heard some groans and sighs from behind me. I'll admit I wasn't particularly excited about going orienteering, but was sure I would find it fun when we started; well, we''ll see about that! Euan led us through to the Lecture Room, where we all pulled up a chair to a small table in the middle in the room. He opened a cupboard and pulled out a yellow file filled with hundreds of sheets of paper. All of us sat around the table for around twenty minutes so we could get the hang of setting map, before we went out in our groups to get started. In my group was Eve & Angelina ( I was glad about that!). After a while we finally stood up and wandered through to the main hall. Having decided I was determined to win, I ran all the way, unfortunately though,we came 4th place out of 5 groups! And we weren't any luckier on the big orienteer!

For the big orienteer, we started at the corner of a road which led of to a long pathway called Puddle Lane. The reason it was called Puddle Lane was because it had the most humoungous puddles you had ever seen! We set off down the lane one group at a time. My group went second, with the other group close behind. No-one could find the first clue though! It was well hidden behind a post, which Angelina found.
"Got it! the letters are M, O and N!"

"I'm so (pant pant) tired!" Angelina gasped.
"And so hungry!" I replied. We stared at Eve happily skipping off in the distance.
"uhhhhhhhhh soooooo hungry!" Angelina whined.
At last we saw Iona (our other instructor) standing by a gate waiting for us.
"YESSSSSSS!" Angelina cried.
"Come on guys! the quicker you are the quicker you will get your lunch!" Iona cheered us on.
When we got back to the centre we went straight to the dining room and had a well earned lunch!

Canoeing with Group 7 by Fedor Gorobets

As G7 stepped of the minibus with excitement with Mrs Watson we all got into a small hut to get are canoes and boyouncy aids. As we all heaved them onto the sand we got onto them. I think my canoe probably made the best team. Me at the front of it as captain, Freya in the middle helping with powering the boat and Mrs Watson at the back to steer. We all played Canoe Football(All you have to do is hit an enemy's boat or canoers). After that we had a race to the nearby bridge, at first Stevie and his lot were way in front. My team was last but when Louis(AKA Hulk) and Paul got stuck and couldn't reverse Stevie's canoe were forced to rescue them. Then a split-second and are canoe EXPLODED in front. Obviously we won. After we had hot chocolate on the shore we all played Canoe Football again. Team Watson won the game 14-10. As we were going back to the minibus we saw a capsized boat(don't worry, it was near the shore). As we canoed to it Freya clambered onto it. Seeming like fun I decided to join her. As I got on it the canoe went away the capsized boat started turning. As I didn't want to get wet I did a kamikaze jump onto my canoe to escape danger. Sadly Freya wasn't so lucky. Then Eden decided to jump in the sub-zero water. As she was getting out she lost one of her trainers so Steve had to get it with his paddle. Well all's well that ends well.

Fedor

Wicked Climb and Abseil

Today group 8 went climbing and abseiling. Although most groups took the minibus we walked to the fascinating natural cliff that was about a 5 minute walk from the center. The rock was split into to three bits a rocky bit (for climbing) a big space in the middle and a smaller space on the right (both for abseiling!). There was a bit in the middle went inwards so it would be quite difficult to go down.

When we arrived Thea (our instructor) and Jill (a climbing instructor) split us into two groups : people who wanted to climb first and people who wanted to abseil first. The majority of us wanted to climb first, including me. I was relishing the opportunity to climb an actual cliff. In addition to everyone wanting to climb first it took a long time until it came to my shot. Once I was hooked up to the harness I started to climb the rock. It was amazing! My hands didn't get cold so I was able to enjoy myself. Finally I got up and went all the way along to the other side of the cliff. There was a smaller abseil there that Thea said was practice. It was still exhilarating. When I got down, Roddy helped me get unhooked and send the rope back up the cliff.

After a while Thea came down as gracefully as a swan and asked if anybody wanted to do the massive abseil. I said yes as well as Roddy, Aidan, Anna and Charlotte. We walked up the side of the hill. There were some metal bars and lots of people sitting there. After five minutes it was my turn. Thea called me so I went down to her and got connected in. I started to go down. It was EPIC! When I got down I unclipped and sent it back up

A great day for Group 8 

By Joe 6C

Biking with group 1

As group 1 got ready to cycle away we did some test runs. Then we went off cycling in the unknown forest (to the children). Before the forest we went beside a very smelly farm (the smell made some people fall off their bikes). When we got to the forest it was darker than before we got in the forest! But without warning! Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv, ouch yelled Brandon as he fell off his bike! Good thing it was just a  bruise. So we continued on. What a delight we all got hot chocolate! Well I can't remember the rest, good bye.  

Gruesome Gorge Walking

PIT PAT PIT PAT the rain was bouncing of the dining room window we were having breakfast then the headteacher told us to go and do our chores we did our chores then we got told our activity 's ,ours was the wet and wonderful gorge walking our at least we thought it was wonderful at that time" get your waterproofs on and get into the van" said our instructor. we trundled along the bumpy road sudden We were soon bouncing up the stream using rocks and boulders as stepping stones . We came to a bit where the streambank was very steep and the water was too deep to wade through . Our instructor told us to grab on to the roots and use them as handholds. We shimmeyed along we climbed upstream a bit more until we got to this slide bit and we all went down soaking our feet in the process then we got to through the keyhole. It was this tiny space you had to slither through while a waterfall was cascading over you. Some people did,nt do it . We went on for a bit until we got to a sheer cliff face we had to climb up it using a rope . We then got up to the top of gorge and there was a path back down to the graveyard .We were all soaked we climbed into the van and trundled away . Coll P6C

Caving with group 7 by Freya Barber

Having decided that we were not going biking we consulted that we were going caving. It took about 20 minutes to get there (though it felt like a life time) to get to your location; and then we had to go down a certain path to get to the cave. After all of us went in, we got lowered down into the dark belly of the tavern. It was quite annoying because evreyone kept screaming maybe they were getting panicky, maybe because Lewis (also known as "hulk") got stuck; or maybe because Ruka's head torch kept falling off.
  Once we got out of that cave 5 more brave ones (including me) went into another. In that cavern there was a small route that Steven (our instructor) called the caterpillar; where you had to walk some of the way and shuffle on your back the other. Finally you slid down into this puddle and continued to the left to retreat from the darkness of the cave into the light of day. We had to walk all the way back to the mini bus and to finish  off the day we had some fantastic orange juice.

By Freya Barber

The Gorge Walk

It all started on the bus, we were all singing three little angels.  It is an 8 verse song with no real chorus.When we were done we arrived and ventured into the gorge (after we walked through the graveyard).  

Eventually we started and Kris said "don't get wet yet!" and I replied "you're a poet and you don't know it" but unfortunately nobody laughed.  

First wet was Isla who tripped and fell gorge wise.  Next was Olivia splashed by the momentum  of her fall.  Adam was after that when a loose log underfoot.  Freddie's fall was just after I slipped, we all got wet as we climbed the slippy slidy dam.

Log, Log, Log, huuuuuuu... really boring! Over!  Whoo running around on the rocks.  then we went through the aggresively  savage cold key hole.  emerging from the gorge, we made it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Gorge Walk

It all started on the bus, we were all singing three little angels.  It is an 8 verse song with no real chorus.When we were done we arrived and ventured into the gorge (after we walked through the graveyard).  

Eventually we started and Kris said "don't get wet yet!" and I replied "you're a poet and you don't know it" but unfortunately nobody laughed.  

First wet was Isla who tripped and fell gorge wise.  Next was Olivia splashed by the momentum  of her fall.  Adam was after that when a loose log underfoot.  Freddie's fall was just after I slipped, we all got wet as we climbed the slippy slidy dam.

Log, Log, Log, huuuuuuu... really boring! Over!  Whoo running around on the rocks.  then we went through the aggresively  savage cold key hole.  emerging from the gorge, we made it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

High Ropes with group 1 by Rosie

My group (group one) started the afternoon by getting our kit on for the ropes course! Buzzing with excitement we all squeezed into the tiny store room and it was at that point I really felt for our instructors Dave and Scrutts. Trying to heard ten hyper-active children around a maze of equipment - poor guys.

Laden down with equipment and ropes of all kind, we were ready to hit the course! After going for about a minute and a half (give or take) group one were facing the mighty structure that was the high ropes! Setting up camp at a near by bench, Scrutts led us over to the low ropes. Everyone was having fun practising their skills and having a giggle but we all secretly longed to let our agitated feet take control and sprint across to the high course!

At long last Dave gave us the signal and we all bounded over. One by one harnesses were put on and it was safe to climb! At the Cat Walk section I was picked to go first. I guess you could say it was scary but excitement ruled that out!The ladder was wet and slippery which made it extremely difficult to grip! After an ungraceful struggle, I was standing ,OK wobbling, at the first beam and staring back at me without an ounce of sympathy was the extremely intimidating Cat walk! (A long beam that stretched across two of the four poles that held up the whole course.) But then came the deeply saddening call from Dave. I had to full power sprint across the whole thing! Reluctantly I began to pick up speed and eventually was clinging to the end pole. Reaching out one trembling arm I grasped the first hand hold. Still trembling I managed to make it to the top. The weird thing was the atmosphere. It was quiet and eerie which made everything seem peaceful and remote. But then not so peacefully I was told by Dave to disco dance half way across and then koala roll along the whole thing. Soon I was back to reality and soon after that everyone else was too.

We then moved onto the trapeze and I was with Asiyah. We managed to climb up with ease and than actually catch the pole! Unfortunately the shell shock from being so high up prevented us from doing flips so we were lowered back to earth and given a plastic cup in which boiling creamy hot chocolate was poured. Practically in hailing the tasty liquid our whole group felt refresh and ready for tea and cake- good day all round!

By Rosie

Gorge Walking with Group 4 by Katie Haley

Early in the morning we got told what our activity was going to be.The activity was gorge walking. We all got our red waterproofs and jumped excitedly into the mini-bus. In the bus I sat next to Ellie. My group and I chatted and sang all the way to the gorge. Before long we were out of the minuscule mini-bus and starting up the tremendous gorge, hoping not to get our feet wet. All my group were up quite high up the gorge.

When we got to the keyhole,it looked quite easy because everyone else had got up, but when it was my turn I found it very hard and got tremendously wet. The whole group was drenched but we went all the way. At the end we decided to go back down the gorge instead of the path. The minibus was waiting at the side of the road for us to all hop in and go back to the center for us to get dry. Today was really exciting and adventurous, I liked sliding down the gorge at the end. Also I really enjoyed how Mrs Watson was with us all the time going through the gorgeous gorge. Sorry I have to go and get out of my soaking wet clothes,bye!!!!!! :) :) ;P

by Katie Haley

The Carnivorous Caves

Today Group 4 and I went down to the caves.We had to take a minibus to get there. Instead of the minibus taking us directly to the caves as we excepted.The minibus stopped at the slope of a hill.Reluctantly we clambered up.

After a quite exhausting climb and mistaking dark holes for caves.We stood at the mouth of the cave...Next everyone fastened their harness and had a drink of hot chocolate preparing themselves for the caves. Being lowered in the dense darkness of the vast cave was a unnerving but awesome at the same time.

Everyone at the bottom in the darkness, beginning a bit worried because our instructor Chris hadn't gone down yet.And we thought he had ditched us.Hearing Chris's Voice coming from the exit.We followed It throughout the cave.It was cool in the caves although I was happy to see day-light.Sadly we didn't have enough time to do the second cave.Even so I was glad at the prospect of lunch.

It was by far my favourite activity

Grzes

Gorge Walking

Despite the cold conditions group three still went gorge walking. Considering
the amount of clothing we were wearing you would think that we would
not get wet, well we did.

Before long we were all in the gorge getting absolutely saturated. The gorge was called the sleepy Elephant because when you got in the gorge there was a tree that looked like a sleepy elephant.

The first obstacle that we had to do was a fairly easy balance beam (a log). No one (well I think know one) fell or slipped in the cold water. Although the water would be cold in the Keyhole everyone was excited to see it. Alistair went first, everyone cheering him on however when he got out there was a big cheer.

After that I went, and pulled myself up, the cold water going in my face and saw Alistair there. We were both sitting down in water and we saw Murdo pop his head out the Keyhole.
When we were all out of the keyhole we started to make our way to the rock of Africa.
Despite the freezing temperatures we started to clamber up a stream using a rope.

Finally we are at the rock of Africa,shivering as we wait for our turn.The
water level is quite high but we can still do it. Before long it is my turn.The water was stone cold and I was completley saturated.

After a while we are back at the Benmore centre eating scrumptious tea and cake.

Climbing & Abseiling RUKA!!!!

Climbing and abseiling was everybody’s favourite activity. 

Firstly we drove to a little house by a white mini bus (that the instructor drove which was quite scary) which had lots of not just tall but colourful climbing walls. Group 7 had a very fun time playing musical climbing to jazz music. Everybody enjoyed their practice at the little house, but when we got to the cliff face that everybody were going to climb, lots of people were scared also terrified. Thanks to Ms Gallagher for playing follow the leader to make people laugh and stop them from being terrified. When people started climbing, there was a very puzzled part to climb. People waiting to climb were helping people that were stuck at the very annoying hard part by yelling, shouting or pointing which rock to put there leg on. According to the icy cold weather, many people made it to the top without being scared or terrified or frozen eventhogh, when they got to the line to do the abseiling, many people were half crying but some people were jumping up and down with excitement. Some people like Hannah and Olive were brave enough to jump down whilst abseiling.

Almost all the teacher that was there was cheering when people started to abseil.

I wish group 1 enjoyed there time with us group 7 at the cliff face!!!

GORGE WALKING


Despite the freezing cold weather at the gorge it was fantastic. Although I was drenched after going through the key hole with cold water gushing in my face, also having gone under the rock of Africa, I still had a good time and went on the slide twice even though I wanted to do it more. After that, we had to walk up a steep and wet hill with a rope and it was scary. We came back after an hour or so. The first thing me and Jude done was get unchanged and then strait to the showers, after that we had tea and cake.




BY DAWOOD IQBAL

Benmore blog by Brandon

Benmore Blog

While we were at Benmore we did abseiling. Even though I am scared of heights I really enjoyed it. It felt terrifying leaning backwards over the cliff because it feels like you’re falling off it, but while you actually go down it it doesn’t feel so scary. I felt so proud of myself once I got down, because I have never done anything like this before.

High Ropes by Olive

Massive, gigantic, huge, tall those are all words to describe the high ropes course and of course awesome!
Best course I’ve ever been on and it’s the first;
If you go to Benmore and you like heights do the high ropes coarse it rules.

Traipsing with Hannah, hanging upside down holding on to Hannah swinging upside- down well it doesn’t get much better than that, well not for me. Before all the swinging, fun, excitement, thrills and of course catching the trapeze we had to be safe so we had to get our harnesses on and attached to a rope well you probably knew that if not you know now. When Hannah and I were about to catch the trapeze I got a little nervous so Hannah and me counted to three then we caught the trapeze, never have I felt so proud despite the grey weather the fun kept coming our way.

At the end of two solid hours of enjoyment we went back to the house and had a lovely slice of birthday cake later we all packed are bags and all got ready for the disco ahead.



Here’s one little tip
(Whatever you do though don’t walk around on a peace of slippy wood without a harness believe me you will get a sore butt.)

Climbing and Abseiling by Mim

Personally my favourite activity was climbing and abseiling.
I was looking forward to climbing at the quarry because I had only climbed at climbing walls before .Our instructor decided to take us to the quarry before going to the indoor climbing wall, so we drove to the quarry in the benmore mini bus.
We got out and were split into 2 groups (abseiling first and climbing first) I got to abseil first. The abseiling group went up the shoulder of the quarry and along a path to the top of the abseil. I was the first person to abseil so everybody cheered me on, it was quite scary at first but then I got used to it and started to get more confident. When I got down I unclipped and joined the people waiting to climb. Eventually it was my turn, the lady at the top said I was really fast. Afterwards we went to the indoor climbing centre, which was fun but easy. In reflection that was one of the best days there!

GORGE WALKING AT BENMORE

A couple of weeks ago at roughly 1 to half 1 in the afternoon my group at Benmore [group 5] went off in one of Benmores mini buses to go Gorge walking. Before going up the gorge [at the bottom of the gorge] Angela our instructor showed us something we could do to make sure that the stone we were about to step on to was sturdy called the Elvis, when you put your first foot on the stone your about to step on to and say ohohu. Going up the gorge was quite stop start but also fun;

There were balancing logs [2 to be precise] to climb up and rocks to jump on and a really fun part of the gorge called the key hole. What it is, is that there’s small space for you to climb up and then (if your with an instructor) sometimes they pull you up. So that was fun, but there was something even more fun higher up the gorge... Sorry,I justlove using elipsis; so anyway there this part of the gorge where there is a dip of rocks where water filled up and then (if you or someone with you has some climbing equipment) can climb up some slippery and steep rocks;Not to mention the rock of Africa and the slide at the end! The rock of Africa is this rock that looks like Africa that you can choose to go under! The slide at the end is...well a slide at the end.

So this my blog for Benmore!

Canoeing by Robert

Canoeing

Excitement filled the air, we were buzzing with enthusiasm. Not many of people in my group had been canoeing before so this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get on the lake with the sun glistening on the surface. You could just imagine it.

My group were ecstatic when we were on the on the way to the lake but when we actually got there I was even more relived that I chose canoeing

Before we got on the lake we had to carry the canoes but they were very heavy, so we could only carry one at a time. Eventually we got on the lake and we had a brilliant time.
Especially the canoe football where me and Arjun got one point
in total.

But the best bit to be true was the hot chocolate.

Abseiling at Benmore !

Abseiling at Benmore !


Later after breakfast group six went Abseiling. First we went to Benmores’ Abseiling centre and practise climbing and Abseiling so that we could see what we will be doing on the real Abseiling challenge. After a while we were put into pairs and we all did a challenge were the girls were up agent the boys, we had to climb sideways along the climbing walls and see who was first to touch the big pink rock. In the end the girls won because I was the first one to touch the big pink rock and after that I was really proud because I’ve never done Abseiling. Before very long we where in the mini van heading towards the Abseiling rock, when we got there everyone was gob smacked at it’s stupendous size. Andy one of the instructors who came to help asked if he could have three people to come and Abseil first. Everyone put their hand up however he picked Jude Jack and Eyvindur and the others did climbing first and then we would swap around afterwards. After a while of waiting it was my go to climb up the rock I got really muddy because I used my knees quite a lot . As I was climbing I got really quite scared despite the fact that I was on a rope luckily I had really nice team mates and they were encouraging me to go on and not to give up so I took there advice and carried on .

Due to the encouragement of my team mates I got to the top and then it was my go for abseiling, when I was getting ready with all the equipment I stared to shake because I am really scared of heights although I had my team mates to help me I still just shook. Andy was helping me a lot so I thought to myself and I decided to have a go .As I was going down miss Gaffney was taking photos of us and that made me feel really really pound of myself . After that everyone had had a go so we headed back to the house and before we knew it we were all in our comfy clothing in the dinner hall having a scrumptious slice of cake and a cup of juice after our long day.

Although I’m scared I have to over come my fears of Abseiling; were starting of in a climbing area were we learn to use all the climbing equipment and then were ready. Its time to do the climbing and Abseiling now
Eyvindur has just gone down and he was shouting words of encouragement at me and Jude’s saying words of encouragement as well so I decided to do it. As I leaned over the cliff I got a thrill of excitement. When I got closer to the ground it got much more bumpier but Eyvindur told me were to put my foot and then I got faster and faster until I hit the muddy saturated ground. And then it was my turn for the rock climbing and the best thing was that it was right next to the cliff and there was lots of little hand hols in the wall so that made it easier but there was one bit were everybody struggled but I made my own technique and it was called right,left,right and it worked. Well that’s enough for me so we went home.

Today at 9 00am me and my group went orienting with our instructor into a small room called a lecture room with a ping pong table and a pool table. My instructor told us how to use a map although I already knew how to use one. When we finished talking in the lecture room we went on a small orienting course, it was called a lollipop orienteering course. It was extremely tiring because we had to go on about… 10 trips to far away markers. Me and Murdo came 2nd Mim and Elena came 1st. Afterwards we set off on a proper orienteering course of 11 markers. It was soggy and cold and we had to go through muddy puddles though after all that effort we came first with a whopping time of 23 minutes. Unfortunately we got the last one wrong twice and on the third time we got it right, third time lucky and finished feeling happy and exhausted!




by Murdo and Alastair

kjartan climing and abseiling

Hi, today group five went abseiling. This is us getting kitted out I’m the one with their boots over their head. Having decided that we were ready we got into the minibus. Before long we arrived at the climbing centre. Loud music was playing, and we played a climbing version of musical chairs, Hector won.
After that we did some climbing on the walls I think I did pretty well at climbing. Before long we were back in the minibus driving to the abseiling rock. Soon after we stopped to an ominous rock before us I think we were all feeling butterflies.
We walked up a steep path to get to the top it looked even higher from there. Soon it was my turn. Angela our instructor fitted a harness onto me and I took my first jump. Before long I was down. Once everybody had finished we clambered back into the minibus.
Back at centre we got our helmets of and went into the dining hall for tea and cake.

high ropes by Clare

Despite the weather group 5 still went on the high ropes course today at Benmore. It was a bit wet outside but we didn’t care. We started on the low ropes ware we had to go round it using teamwork. Soon after we went on the high ropes first we decided to try to jump on to on a trapeze we had to climb up a totem-pole I was terrified so I just slipped off. Afterwards we had to climb up a gigantic wooden poles then walk along two huge logs in mid air I was petrified but I still did it. Then we went back to our dorms and had some scrumptious tea and cake.

Gorge Walking by Kirsty

Gorge walking
Even though it was very windy, I went gorge walking with my group of 10.IT took us 10 minutes to get there in the minibus, next to a graveyard .(That we had to walk through to get to the gorge).We had to climb down to get in it .
At the start were told not to get to wet because you would be cold all the way through to the end so we tried to stay as try as we could for the start, until we got to the keyhole. Even though it was very cold some people still managed to do it. After that we had the rock of Africa to face , but to are disappointment when we got there our instructor said some people where to cold so we were not allowed to do it . There was one thing to look forward to was tea and cake back at the house.

george walking

Excitement filled the air as P6 entered the adventure of Benmore. It was an amazing week for the teachers/learning assistants as well for us; it was a great opportunity for us. We had three activities a day. Today I am going to talk about Gorge walking because I think it’s an exiting activity plus a funny activity. The gorge walk was extremely wet, the rocks where helping us to get us across the freezing waterfall, when we reached the top we spotted a tree shaped into an elephant. We tied a rope around the trunk and used our abseiling skills to get down. When we went back to the centre we had our hot shower and helped our selves to a piece of cake.Iam looking foward for Lagenllia but i bet it will not be better as Benmore.
By Sanaa mehmood and Jude mcintosh

High Ropes By Jake

High ropes


Despite my slight fear of heights, I was really excited to do the high ropes this morning. The high ropes were really awesome, but never the less, we still had to drag our way through the low ropes. I’m not meaning to complain, the low ropes were also fun, however, all of my group were arguing over who wanted to go next rather than how to get over the obstacle. However slow the low ropes were we finally got onto the high ropes.

The moment we got into the park I immediately ran over to the biggest, tallest, most scary activity. You had to stand on a really big pole and jump towards a big swinging trapeze (with a safety harness). Before the first person had even got to the top, I quickly changed my mind and trotted over to the slightly easier activity. However, before I was even on the first rung, I was trembling with fear. No Matter how scared was, I managed to push on due to the support of the people on the ground. All together it was a really great experiance

Abseiling Benmore blog :) by Rory

Abseiling Benmore blog ☺.
Despite the good weather we did abseiling it was ECSTATIC! Can’t say why just some thing about going down a cliff is ECSTATIC! You know. And even though I hate HIGH-HIGHTS! (And that is no undermine) it was so good and as for the Climbing Amazing because you have to climb to get to the Abseil harsh I know.
(Please leave a comment I will do all I can to reply ☺)(get Ranger’s Apprentice the ruins of Gorlan real good ☺)

caving by mairi

Wow I can’t believe how much I enjoyed caving; I thought I’d be scared in such small space however now I love being in small spaces. Strangely my favourite parts were when the blue rope lowered me down and wiggled through tiny gaps, most people hated those bits.
After everyone had got to the bottom of the tiny gap (where you have to wiggle) I was last and I went over a spiky rock I thought it was fine although when I got out the cave and I noticed
That my trousers had ripped!
Group 9 which was my group went into two caves the first one was just small and cramped however the second one you got lowered down by a long spindly rope the cave was dark, also some of the torches didn’t work. Caving took about two and a half hours, once we got out the cave we had to walk down a monstrous hill to get back down to the muddy mini bus. When we got back home tea and cake was waiting for us the chocolate cake melted in my mouth the icing was creamy and also melted in my mouth. After a while we all went to our cosy beds and snuggled up in our warm blankets and waited for the next epic day.

caving by mairi

Wow I can’t believe how much I enjoyed caving; I thought I’d be scared in such small space however now I love being in small spaces. Strangely my favourite parts were when the blue rope lowered me down and wiggled through tiny gaps, most people hated those bits.
After everyone had got to the bottom of the tiny gap (where you have to wiggle) I was last and I went over a spiky rock I thought it was fine although when I got out the cave and I noticed
That my trousers had ripped!
Group 9 which was my group went into two caves the first one was just small and cramped however the second one you got lowered down by a long spindly rope the cave was dark, also some of the torches didn’t work. Caving took about two and a half hours, once we got out the cave we had to walk down a monstrous hill to get back down to the muddy mini bus. When we got back home tea and cake was waiting for us the chocolate cake melted in my mouth the icing was creamy and also melted in my mouth. After a while we all went to our cosy beds and snuggled up in our warm blankets and waited for the next epic day.

High/Low ropes!

Despite my fear of heights and that my group (5) spent ages on the low ropes, which insured we had practically no time on the high ropes. It was a blast and everyone was so excited thrilled after the High ropes.

Low ropes: Never the less the low rope was enjoyable and was more about problem solving. I figured out the first task, which was quite easy. You had to imagine a boat was sinking slowly into the deep depths of the murky water. Everybody apart from the lightest person had to stand on a wooden plank. The lightest person had to leap onto the lifeboats (plank of wood) using a rope.

After that everyone got round the low ropes practicing skills for the high ropes. I thought it was fairly good but if you do it try and get round the low ropes really speedily or it gets boring.

High ropes: Firstly Ollie and me went to the trapeze I went up singing the Great escape theme tune. When I got to the top it felt sooo wobbly. When I jumped I chickened out as well as Eimer and Clare who slipped of(I just clung on to my rope).

BY HECTOR FRIEND

Gorge walking

Eventually we went gorge walking . Even though we were wearing water proofs we still got soaked. My group had a fantastic time! I didn’t really want to do the key hole but when I had a glimpse of it I decided I would do it. The rock of Africa looked like you would get drenched so I decided not to do it! As time went on I saw this really steep rock, I had butterflies in my tummy, I was so nervous! What I was looking forward to the most was when we were going to be sliding down the waterfall it was so exiting but I got really wet!



by anna L

The boltic gorge walk!

Khadijah’s

Benmore Blog



Gorge walk
Thursday

Unexpectedly we went on the Baltic droopy gorge in the afternoon.
I felt as nervous as ever, but as soon as we got on the bus I got really excited. As we got there we abandoned the mini bus and set off to the gorge. We went up the graveyard and there was a little hole to the gorge. We went down that one by one. Eventually we started walking up the gorge. We discovered there was a tree that looked like an elephant; we used it to help us get up higher. After some time after walking and walking we slid down a bit of the gorge and when it was my turn, I got extremely wet because of the deep bit of water, I got splashed plus my waterproofs inflated. Soon we reached the keyhole the keyhole is a big hole that you can climb up and there’s gushing water rushing down. I made a wise diction not to go under the keyhole. Since I decided not to go under it I had to climb on a log and slid up to were the rest of my team was. As soon as everyone was there we dragged our selves up even higher until we reached under Africa I didn’t do that either! . Eventually we got to the top and then we crossed the gorge and walked to the mini bus. I was relived when we got back in the used to be abandoned mini bus and went back to the centre cause I we were all drenched and needed some warm cloths.

The low ropes by Isla

The low ropes

Despite all the cold wind group 4 battled the wind to get to the low ropes area. We were split in to two groups so we could play a game. The game was to get back to their podium were the winners. So we started the game and our team had to get over the wobbly beam on to another podium then across the tyre swing with great care over the really, really wobbly beam to the podium the team started on to the really wobbly swingy tyre thing, and, of course we had a better technique to get across them last of all we had to get over a beam and on to our podium
we were the winners!!!!!

by Isla

climbing and abseiling-By Elsa

Another thing I enjoyed about Benmmore was climbing and abseiling. Never in my live I have done climbing and abseiling however, I enjoyed it a lot. I was really scared about climbing and abseiling but I did it! Strangely enough it was my favourite activity because I had never done it before but I just seemed to enjoy it.
After we got off the bus, I put my harness on and waited for my instructor to say my name then I got to climb. I climbed up a rock face and if I fell a blue rope would pull me up. Afterwards I did abseiling a red rope lowered me down, and then I had to let go of a bit of the black rope and lean back and abseil.
When we went inside to do climbing I actually thought it was harder inside than outside. I started on the easiest wall however I slipped once inside but Iona (one of my instructors) pulled me up aging. Then I went onto the harder wall I could not get up to the top because there was a bit that was sticking out (you will see if you go to Benmore) and I could not get over it.
I thought climbing and abseiling was really fun and Benmore was too.

Benmore Climbing and Abseiling

Climbing and Abseiling
At Benmore
Thursday

In the afternoon, Group 5, my group, went Climbing and Abseiling. Despite the horrible rain, grey sky and mist, the brave group adventured out to the mini-buses. After about 3 minutes, the bold group 5 abandoned the mini-bus and set off into the indoor climbing walls. Then, the music was cued, and a game was played. Later, on Thursday, every school camper would attend a school disco. However, right now they were just practising their moves. Angela, the instructor, would play a song, and once the music was stopped, you would have to jump onto the nearest wall.

With the warm-up out of the way, the brave, brave we sauntered out to board the mini-bus yet again and face the
Cliff face. As soon as we got out, we were handed a piece of equipment (either rope or a metal thingy) and were lead off, up the cliff face.

One at a time, we were called over to the edge and were told to lean over and start walking down the cliff face. Eventually, after yells of encouragement, we were all eventually safe on the ground.

By Daisy Phillip
P6B

Night Walk by Amaya

Today we went on the night walk. It was going to be so fun, they told us about it in the common room. They said we were not allowed head torches because it would ruin our night eyes and they told us to put our waterproofs on and to wrap up warm.

When we were outside it was pitch back but our eyes soon got used to it. We had to get in lines so that we did not get lost. By the time we got to the first course I was very cold and very excited.

When group 2 was called out to start we had to pick a leader. Although I wanted to be a leader I let someone else have a go and they let me go second in the line so I was pleased. Eventually they told us to hold onto a small piece of rope that we had to follow along. The instructors said that the only way we would be able to do it was by using teamwork, so basically you had to pass a message back along the line.

When they had finished explaining we got started. First we walked through a sort of gorge and my boot almost got stuck in it. Next we had to climb over a stream but not fall in, it was too hard so I just walked over it and got my feet soaking. Soon we came to a very steep hill and it was very hard to climb up but then we reached the end of the first course. Now we were on the second course and it was my turn to be leader, I have to say it is very, very hard. If you are at the front you get all the branches in your face, get your feet wet and fall over tree roots while telling the people behind you what to look out for.

When we reached the finish I was battered and bruised all over but I had so much fun. After everybody was finished we started to walk up the hill. At the top one of the instructors showed us the stars and we saw one of the planets - Jupiter. Eventually we started to walk down the hill. I walked down the hill with Charlotte and we started the most strange conversation, it was about haggises and what they might be doing if they were at Benmore.

We pictured them jumping about in the grass. We finally got back to the centre and I was so tired. When I got up into my dorm I wanted to fall asleep with my wet waterproofs on, but when I did go to my bed I could not get to sleep however Hannah soon sorted that by saying a rhyme that made me sleepy.

That was the best day ever I thought to myself and then I fell asleep.

gorge walking with group 4 Reina by P6C

The first activity we did on Tuesday was gorge walking, everyone in my group was looking forward to it and so was I . After a while we set of to the gorge, it was at a grave yard. Then behind the trees, I saw the vast waterfall with the water racing down the rocks it felt atmospheric . As I walked towards the waterfall the water was roaring with anger, it was magnificent. All of a sudden Kris told us to jump across the rocks, then we had to climb a cliff to get to the key hole, the first person to get up was Freddi, he got up really quickly, then after Adam, it was my turn! I could not climb up it at all so SPLASH I fell in the cold freezing water I was drenched, but then we slid down the water fall - that was epic, I had A GREAT DAY. TBC...

REINA
P6C

Caving with Group 9 by Eilidh Cline

Caving was epic! First of all we had to put our waterproofs on and get a helmet fitted. Hastily we hopped on the mini-bus and Graham (our instructor) started to start and stop the bus, afterwards I felt a bit sick. Once we arrived I jumped out the bus and started to clamber up the hill. After what I thought was forever we finally got to the top! Unfortunately there was another group doing caves at the same time, so my group had to go and do the harder cave first.

First we crawled into the cave, over rocks and then up a hole. Up the hole was a chamber and we turned off our head-torches, but unfortunately someone turned theirs on. Behind us there was this tight tunnel which you had to wriggle through. There were two ways to get out through the tunnel, one way was to lie on your side and go down a hole and then, pop, your out! The second way was to go past the hole, go over a spiky rock, then go through a puddle, finally, you're out. Scared I was going to get stuck I went the first way.

After everyone got out, we ventured over to the second cave. Brian (our other instructor) put harnesses on us, because guess what, we had to be lowered down on a rope, maybe 7 meters. Swiftly everyone was down and Kirsty and Keir lead the way because we had to choose two people to get us out the cave, so no one else knew the way out except them. Finally we got to the end and had to grab a rope and then climb a ladder. Slowly but noisily we all wandered down the hill. At the bottom we washed our waterproofs in the lake, jumped on the mini-bus and went back to the centre.

Everyone had a great time and Mr McKenna came with us and he had an fun experience. I would love to go caving again.


By Eilidh Cline

Canoeing with group 7

Today we

Canoeing with group 7

conoeing with group 7

canoeing with group 7

Biking with group 1

Going caving with group

Abseiling with Group 8

caving with group seven

The gorge walk!

Going

High ropes by Catherine

On Wednesday my group went to the high ropes course. On the way there, as we were walking there Hector and Olly were singing another annoying song as they had been all week.

When we got there we went on the low ropes course while Angela (my instructor)got high ropes course ready.

First on the low ropes we had to get onto some planks of wood but we were not allowed to go out from inbetween to logs. Qhen we started it was a nightmare but eventually we began to work together. We found a long plank of wood and there was a rope hanging from the roof,so we balanced on the plank of wood against the logs and everyone held it. As a group we decided that the smallest would go first but unluckily that was ME!!. To begin with, I had to walk across the plank.

Group 4 by Bea

Wow! what a fantastic day I had with group 4! When we were going biking we wore bright yellow jackets with helmets to keep us very safe. I didn't get very muddy like other people. I went on a tandem with my Awesome instructor Chris. A tandem is a bike with two seats and two sets of pedals. I loved it!

On the forest walk at first we all got quite wet because we went under some very wet bridges with water gushing through them. I was very cold and wet but in the end it was great! After that we went up the mini gorge. My hands got all wet and cold but I didn't mind much!

Today at the low ropes it was really fun because you got to swing on ropes besides balancing.

High ropes by Charlie

Today,me and the rest of group 1, went to the high and low ropes course.The ropes course was about a minutes walk from the centre so we didn't need a mini-bus to get there.

When we got there we put on our harnesses and Scrutts (our instructor) explained the challenges.The Postmans walk is a thin wire,you have to walk along, holding on to another wire above you,then climb up a ladder and do the same. Also there is the cat-walk,there are two long beams that you have to walk along. When it is wet it is very slippery! Last (and the best of all) there was the trapeze,it is a big pole with a pizza box sized platform and a bar hanging In front of you. Two people climb to the top and stand on the platform. You have to jump at the same time and hang from the bar.

Next we split up into groups,I went for the postman's walk when it was my turn. I was doing well until I got to the top and nearly fell,but I made it without falling. After that we had hot chocolate and I waited until it was my turn on the Trapeze. I went up with Thomas.

When I was at the top of the pole it was shaking crazily because Thomas was climbing up,and when he reached the top I nearly fell off but I didn't!!!

We counted down and jumped at the same time and we both caught the bar!

When we got back on the ground we made our way back for lunch. What a wonderful day with group 1.

Amazing abseiling by Sam

Hello, I'm Sam and I am going to talk about the climbing and abseiling activity. Our Adventure started on the minibus. We were listening to BBC Radio Two and Brian told us to guess the band; it was The Cure. Brian called them the band with only one song but I know that is not true because I have one of their albums.

Later on we got out of the bus and crossed the road. Graham said, "keep our helmets on at all times just incase of falling rocks."
Brian said, "if you hear anyone shouting rope below put your heads down."

While we were waiting, me and Matthew could still find a way to enjoy our selves by cheering on Hamish when he was abseiling and making a macarena for each country. Every five minutes Brian would bellow out, "rope below." Finally it was my go. There was only one hard bit it was when you had to put your right foot on a very thin rock and then had to reach with your left foot very very high up. When I got to the top I felt proud but then it took ages to get my harness off. I now had to get ready for the ginormous abseiling rock. When it was time for my go I had to face Brian while he was putting my harness on. I looked down over the rock and it was so high I got a shiver. After a while of getting scared and standing on the edge of the thing that I was getting scared of falling but eventually I managed to step back and walk down the rock. I made it.

This was the best activity in Benmore because I faced up to my fears.

Gorge walking with group 3 by Hamish

Today we went on a cold but extremely fun day with group 2 at the gorge. All of the people in our group took a minibus to the activity. We slowly drove to the gorge and when we arrived began to walk up towards it through a graveyard.

It was so exciting as we walked up the hill. After a while we reached a sort of cave with a hole in the top of it. It had water going through it like crazy. Ewan our instructor, told us that it was called the 'keyhole'. Most of us went through the hole. It was really hard to get up the walls because they were really slippery also the water was really strong and as well as that it was so cold and a really narrow hole as well. However we got there in the end. We were asked to sit down at a straight bit in the gorge and here they set up some ropes connected to a big boulder. At the bottom there was a really deep hole full of water deeper than my head. How do I know this? I fell straight into it and the water was colder that a freezer and as a result I was shivering and really cold and wet.

After that some of the people went under the 'Rock of Africa' The rock itself is really big. Today the water level was really high and as a consequence it was really weird going under it because you can barely breathe and it is really dark and cold. When you get out it is all over for that challenge but you still need to go down a very slippy and muddy hill ...

One hour later I was all warm and clean and most of our dorm were singing 'disco, disco.'

Gorge walking - the wettest of wet except for canoeing by Rebecca

What a fantastic (and wet) day I have had today! Today I went gorge walking with my awesome group, group 8 and my adventurous instructor Thea.

When we first got in the minibus we were all on a high. All ten of us sang a particularly annoying song all the way to and from the gorge. Thea told us to be quiet 4 times before we stopped and got out.

Eventually we got to the gorge. Thea set us a challenge for us all to keep our boots dry. Having decided the goal wasn't worth it, five minutes later I stuck my foot in the icy, cold water. I could nearly feel it freezing my feet off!

Due to the 2nd of January storm lots of the trees and debris and leaves had fallen into the gorge and formed a dam. A few people helped to unblock the dam so we could walk across a small island to get to a climbing bit. Me, Roddy and Erin kept trying to unblock the dam even though Thea was shouting for us to keep up.

Even though we had lots of spare time, we didn't get to go through the 'keyhole' which is a little hole in the waterfall or under the 'Rock of Africa' which is a rock that looks like Africa. Disappointed, we all kept on going.

There were hundreds of bits where we had to climb and try not to slip. There was one bit where we went one-by-one. There was quite a lot of waiting and I leaned towards the pool of water we were standing next to too much and I nearly fell in. I got my OTHER foot soaking wet then! I was at the back of the 'queque' so I had lots of time to try to tie my laces up which had completely come undone when they got wet.

After what seemed like an age, it was finally my turn to climb up (without a rope). I was really scared because a waterfall was crashing underneath me and shooting freezing cold water at me. I was soaking when I got to the other side for the waterfall had splashed me clean since there was a lot of mud on my waterproofs from when I fell over.

Then we had to climb up a little bit with a rope. I had forgotten my gloves and my hands felt like they were stuck in ice! I shivered my way up, with renewed water in my boots (for I was walking up a waterfall) and my hands were freezing off. I was feeling so tired by the time I had hauled myself up, but then I saw that we were at the last part of the gorge walk.

The slides!

About five of us could go on on slide at once. I went on the second go, but was first to sit on the ledge of the stone cold waterfall. As more people got on, the water behind us was slowly climbing up our backs, reddening our muddy waterproofs and pouring into my trousers. Once it was nearly up on our necks, Thea let us slide!

All the water we had been holding up poured over our heads. I tumbled over the slippery rocks, unable to hear anything over the thunderous water crashing over my head. It tumbled over the slippery rocks. Unable to hear anything over the thunderous water crashing over our heads we all landed in a pool of what seemed to be ice. No, I corrected myself, it was water, gorge water.

I burst out of the small pool we had landed in and ran our, splashing everyone within range. Not that it mattered, everyone was already soaking wet and frozen to the bone.

After recovering, we all set off down a muddy path. Thea warned us it was slippery but no one really listened. We should have! I slipped and slided down the first bit of the path. I don't know why, or who, but someone squealed. Once my attention was drawn to that, I fell onto my side completely. I tried to get up but I just slid down further in the mud. When the ground had turned relatively green I stood up and stayed up.

We all had to go back into the gorge for we were all brown as cow pats. Obediently, we all had to lie down in the stream in the gorge and wash all the mud off.

Finally we all got into the minibus and sang one song all the way back to the centre. The only thing I wanted to do when I got back was, before lunch, have a nice, hot (and WET) shower.

Gorge walking was the most fun thing I had ever done in my whole, entire life. I will definitely do it again!

Climbing/Abseiling with group 4 by Adam

What a great day group 4 had climbing!!!!!!

As we stepped off the minibus we saw the huge, grey rockface; a 48 foot cliff that we would attempt to climb skyward then abseil to the ground. I couldn't wait!

So when we were all off the bus Kris showed us all how to put the rope on then gracefully as a swan he leapt and climbed up the rockface.A little while later Kris threw down the rope so that Fredi could attach himself to it. He next manoeuvred himself into position and began to climb. I began to take pictures of him climbing up. Next I was thrown the other rope so I was soon climbing. At some points I remember it was quite hard (at one point I was stuck for a minute or two but then I managed to get going again). After a while Joseph and Reina (pronounced Rain-a) climbed up and Kris holding the rope led us along the cliff to abseil down.

After a very quick walk along the cliff we saw some metal poles tied together with ropes that showed where we would abseil from. Meanwhile, Kris had headed out, attached the rope and was calling for the first person who we decided would be Fredi because he had been the first up. So round went Fredi, got the safety rope attached and was told to lean back and then head down. That was the last we saw of him ... until later!

It was my turn now, I headed round and got attached in and then Kris told me to, " Lean back, release the rope slowly, then walk back, releasing the rope as you go."

I began walking nervously down which felt peculiar but nice. A little way down it became harder as the cliff went inwards and I had to lower myself to almost vertical then continue my descent. As I approached the bottom Fredi said to try jumping down which to do you jumped of the cliff, let the rope go, grabbed it again and landed.

When I got down Fredi showed me how to get out of the harness and to then send the rope back up. We then told jokes until everyone was down before heading back to the bus. That was my favourite activity. It was fun, exciting and a bit scary but that was what made it great.