Thanks to support from YMCA England, the group from OnSide (our inclusive sports project) were able to take ten young people to Fairthorne Manor, an outdoor activity centre in Southampton, as part of a residential trip.
The trip saw the young people get to meet other young people from two other YMCAs, as well as trying out a whole range of activities that the group had never tried before including; Kayaking, zip line, abseiling, high ropes, archery and a crate challenge.
The trip presented lots of challenges for the young people as many had fears of heights and were tentative about taking part in some of the activities. In particular, a young person called Joe, who spent 15 minutes at the top of the abseiling tower before he overcame his fear and successfuly abseilled down the tower.
Trips like this provide unique opportunities for young people to try new activities and meet other young people in a safe and supported environment. All the young people who attended said they wanted to come again and parents and carers gave some really positive feedback:
“Went over lake on zip wire … got a bravery award for facing my fears”
“staff fun and friendly”
“Just to say thank you very much for the weekend, J really had a great time. He has not stopped talking about it.”
