Oxford Phab return to Avon Tyrrell

We greatly enjoyed our Phab holiday in 2019, where we visited the New Forest Wildlife park and had a camp fire, and did high ropes, the climbing wall, archery, and some did canoeing and the zipwire. We had such a good time that we booked to go again in 2020, but a Global Pandemic upset our plans (as well as those of many others).

The ever helpful staff at Avon Tyrrell allowed us to roll over our booking to 2021, and then again to 2022 – and our much anticipated return became a reality. Sadly some of the members who came with us in 2019 could not join us on this trip, however we were joined by some people who had never been on a Phab holiday before, and a fresh perspective on trip was refreshing. As one of them, Libby, said

What an awesome weekend. It was great to spend some quality time with a range of top folk, learning together, challenging each other to get outside our comfort zones but knowing that we all had each other’s backs. It was a fun weekend, packed with lots of different activities and things to do, but one where we had the space and time to chillax and rest.

This sums the weekend perfectly.

It could not have happened without a lot of hard work, particularly from Mary, our club leader, but also financial contributions from The Bruce Wake Trust and Wesley Memorial Church. Their contributions enabled the holiday to be affordable for all our members.

Activities

We had a very action packed weekend, with different activities happening in parallel, so on Friday afternoon some groups were doing Archery, and some Canoeing. On Saturday we all went to Poole, where one group went on a boat trip to Wareham, another to Brownsea Island and another explored Poole town. On Sunday were further opportunities for Archery, Canoeing, High Ropes and the Climbing Wall.

Archery

Canoeing

The canoes were used in pairs, joined together with a plank securely roped to the boats, making them very stable.

High Ropes

The High Ropes allowed us to push our boundaries, as well as simply have fun !

Climbing Wall

The climbing wall had been replaced since our last visit, now even higher !

Poole

Our day out in Poole was so filled with variety that it deserves its own article – here.

The adventure continues …

The holiday was so good that we have already started planning for a return in 2023, meanwhile, if anyone who went has memories or pictures suitable for sharing on a public web site, please contact me, or post a comment.

Avon Tyrrell 2019 – High Ropes and Climbing Wall

The Climbing Wall and the High Ropes are adjacent, so although we were split into two groups, we could try different activities, and watch how our friends were getting on.


Picnic by the lake

After our picnic we relaxed and chatted in the lodges for a while, and then set off for the seaside !

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.

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.


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.

High Ropes at Avon Tyrrell 2016

After our Archery session we moved on to the High Ropes. These are allowed us to get high up into the trees !
DSC00006In the middle of this picture Maria is climbing a tree, watched by Tom and some of the Avon Tyrrell instructors.
DSC00008I am walking along a log above the forest.
https://vimeo.com/167383472
I do make it to the end !
DSC00012Trisha climbing.
DSC00016Trisha has climbed even higher, while, in the background, Helen has climbed up to the horizontal log.
https://vimeo.com/167383748
Kelly going for a swing !
DSC00029Sarah on the High Ropes – heading up,
DSC00038and has enjoyed the experience !

This short clip of Tom is hosted on this PeerTube server.

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