Category: Holidays

Phab holidays

Avon Tyrrell 2019 – Friday – Wildlife Park and Campfire

We stopped at The New Forest Wildlife Park to eat the packed lunches which members had brought with them, and then to see the wildlife.


The wolves were not bothered by our presence

The lynx is normally hard to see, but we were there for feeding time, so had a really good view, and heard an interesting talk.

There was plenty to see, they have deer roaming freely, and bison, otters, pine martens …

Finally it was time to return to our minibus and cars and continue to Avon Tyrrell, where we unpacked –

And made our, now traditional, campfire in the firepit beside the lodge.


After sunset we toasted marshmallows and sat around and chatted. A great start to our holiday !

Holiday in Avon Tyrrell – Sunday – Climbing wall, High Ropes and home

On Sunday morning the day started bright and early and, not quite so early, we made our way to the Climbing Wall and High Ropes.

Preparing to climb

The instructors are very good, and rope in anyone in the area not actually climbing to hold the rope, which means they know were everybody is, but also means there are fewer pictures.


As with last year and the year before, the High Ropes were a great success.

Finally it was time to have some lunch, check the chalets, load up and go home.

Holiday in Avon Tyrrell – Saturday – Poole Boat Trip and Fish and Chips

Our little convoy set off for Poole, where we found somewhere to park near the Quay.
Half our group boarded the Dolphin III, an accessible boat operated by the Friends of the Dolphin. The other half explored Poole, including a stop for ice cream, and for some a visit to Poole Museum.

Both groups met up to eat our sandwiches on the Quay, and then the afternoon boat party set off for our nautical adventure !

We all enjoyed our trip.

They even laid on a Optimist Dingy race for us !
Some of us even had a chance to take the helm !

 
Finally we had to return to rejoin the other group.

We all dined on fish and chips

and had our traditional group photograph on the Quay

Can you spot the difference ?
Finally we returned to Avon Tyrrell to eat cake, chat and play games.

Phab Holiday in Avon Tyrrell – Friday – Travelling, Archery and Campfire

So many people (24) went this year that we used 5 cars. as well as our trusty minibus.

Minibus loaded and almost ready to go.

The weather was lovely, so the journey was dreadful ! As well as the normal attraction of a day at the seaside the Bournemouth Air Festival was in progress. Since its formation in 2009 the festival claims to have entertained over nine-million people, and they were all on the roads between Oxford and Avon Tyrrell that day !
We arrived, only a little late for the Archery session we had booked, hastily ate our sandwiches and unleashed our inner toxopholite (shoot arrows in the general direction of the target).


After archery we unloaded our luggage, and our valiant kitchen team cooked the choices we had selected of spaghetti  bolognaise, pasta carbonara, or a vegetarian pasta option.
Another keen group of forest foragers had been gathering wood and pine cones, and we had another campfire in the fire pit next to the cabin.

We also had cherry tomatoes and baby sweetcorn as a vegetarian option, but delicious for everybody.

Not a lazy Sunday at Avon Tyrrell – breakfast, more activities, and packing to go home

Breakfast was not as elaborate as the Full English we had on Saturday, we had a tasty continental breakfast instead.


We followed this with more activities. People who had not had a chance to do the High Ropes on Saturday now had a chance.

  • Kelly ready for lift off


All this activity gave us a good appetite for Chicken Casserole for lunch.
We packed out bags, loaded the minibus and cleaned the chalets.

Finally we had the group photography – always an activity in itself  !
Here Helen and Simon are setting up cameras on auto timers to take the picture of the group gathered outside the cabin.

The seaside at Avon Beach

Oxford is a long way from the sea, so when we have the chance on a Phab holiday, we love to go the the sea. Last year we went crabbing at Mudeford, but this time we went for a evening trip to get Fish and Chips from All Things Fish at Avon Beach (OSM).

After eating we enjoyed being at the seaside, looking for shells and pebbles, paddling, and watching the view of the Isle of Wight.

Archery at Avon Tyrrell

We brought out our inner Robin Hood in a couple of Archery sessions, split into two groups so everyone had plenty of opportunity to have a go.
Once again they had a gadget which allows archery, using a standard bow in a clamp, with a gate latch to release the bowstring.

Everyone who wanted to was able to have a go at archery.

This is just a selection of those who took part.

 
 

Evening meal and Campfire at Avon Tyrrell

After our swim some of us played games in the large chalet.

We had a choice of pasta carbonara or pasta with tomato sauce for our evening meal, with salad and home made coleslaw.
The drink in the wine glass is elderflower and pomegranate, rather than rosé!
After the meal we went down to the campfire site by the lake, and built a fire.

 

 
We toasted marshmallows, and sang campfire songs.