Day Three

Perhaps we spoke too soon about the sunny weather yesterday - it has rained ALL day today! However this has not dampened our spirits and Year 5 have had another amazing day. The children have taken part in all activities with enthusiasm and are doing BB proud!

Miss Best's group set off on an all-day mountain walk. The start of the walk was tough as the route was very steep. We learned so much along the way! Miss Best was very happy that we saw the water cycle in action (something we studied in school just last week). The children impressed the guide with their knowledge of evaporation, condensation and precipitation. Once we reached "Surprise View" we stopped for lunch (still in the rain). On the way back down the mountain we saw lots of interesting things including frogspawn, a sheep's skeleton and some baby lambs (with waterproof coats)! After a quick break for hot chocolate (in the rain), we finally made it back to the bottom. Here we shared our favourite parts of the trip and the guide congratulated the group on their effort and enthusiasm.

Mrs Norton's group also completed an all day mountain walk. The beginning was very tricky as we had to walk up a very steep hill. However, we all managed. We also discussed the water cycle and Nick (our group leader) was really impressed by our knowledge. We continued to climb even though the wind was blowing in our faces. We still managed to view some spectacular sights but not as many as we had hoped. When we eventually reached the top of Walla Crag it was extremely windy and we had to hang onto each other. Everyone felt very proud of themselves as they had managed to get to the top in very severe weather. We ate our lunch inside a dome shaped wind shelter and then began our journey back down the other side of the mountain. The sun did appear briefly and dried us off slightly. We learned lots of new things like moss only grows in moist areas and 1000 years ago a huge glacier carved out the landscape. Nearing the bottom of the mountain we were delighted when we spotted a cafe and were allowed to go inside. Nick thought we would all get hot chocolate as it was so cold, wet and windy outside, but because we are children we all got ice cream!!! We were exhausted by the time we walked all the way back to Derwent Hill. Even though it was difficult we were all proud of ourselves and so were Nick and Mrs Norton.

Mrs Tyson's group braved the elements to conquer the famous death swing! We all had to face up to our fears to climb the vertical ladder to the top of the tree. We were securely fastened onto the rope by Tom (the instructor) who helped us walk anxiously to the end of the platform. The group started the countdown 5,4,3,2,1.... Then we jumped into the unknown and screamed! It was fantastic and we really enjoyed the challenge, well nearly everyone enjoyed the challenge. After lunch, orienteering was on the menu - we were given the task of finding clues and symbols around the inside of the building. It was really difficult but we worked together proving we could work as a team. Then we put our tomato suits (waterproofs) back on and explored the grounds to try and find the picture clues to help us solve the map. Maya and Emily were the champions finding all the clues first!

As you can see we've had another fantastic day, although we are missing the Year 5 boys back at school! We can't wait to catch up with everyone and tell you about our adventures!