Since the beginning of the school year, or even during third year, I have been extremely pumped and really looking forward to spending a week at Carlingford Adventure Centre with my year! I have heard many hilarious and amazing stories from students and teachers who have already been there in the previous years, and couldn’t wait to create my own memories there, so I could tell the story of my week in Carlingford to the younger students, and to my family!
This week we spent a thrilling, and thoroughly enjoyable time at Carlingford Adventure Centre in County Louth. From the 27th of February to the 3rd of March I find that as a year group we have bonded and strengthened relationships, many have conquered their fears, be it of heights or the water, or be it of spending a week away from home. We received the opportunity to experience things and partake in activities that lots of people never get the chance to do such as: zip lining through forests and quarries, canoeing in a big lake, laser tag in the woods and mountains and many, many more activities!
This week we spent a thrilling, and thoroughly enjoyable time at Carlingford Adventure Centre in County Louth. From the 27th of February to the 3rd of March I find that as a year group we have bonded and strengthened relationships, many have conquered their fears, be it of heights or the water, or be it of spending a week away from home. We received the opportunity to experience things and partake in activities that lots of people never get the chance to do such as: zip lining through forests and quarries, canoeing in a big lake, laser tag in the woods and mountains and many, many more activities!
Monday 27th February
I has just spent the previous week packing, what seemed an endless amount of stuff, into boxes as we are moving on Sunday the 6th. The entire week of mid-term, I was impatient to get on that bus to Carlingford and for the activities to commence, as they truly did sound spectacular! I barely slept Sunday night, in my bedroom full of boxes, and woke up on Monday feeling a little tired. However once I arrived at school that morning, dragging along with me my big bag and even bigger suitcase (I may have slightly over-packed!) I shrug off that tired feeling and I was bubbling with excitement for the week to come.
The two buses containing all of our year and 5 teachers, arrived in Carlingford at around 11am. It was a glorious day, and a great bus journey! I looked out the window in awe as we passed beautiful lakes reflecting the golden sunlight and stunning landscapes. We talked about the days to come, but honestly we weren’t sure what to expect!
The two buses containing all of our year and 5 teachers, arrived in Carlingford at around 11am. It was a glorious day, and a great bus journey! I looked out the window in awe as we passed beautiful lakes reflecting the golden sunlight and stunning landscapes. We talked about the days to come, but honestly we weren’t sure what to expect!
Carlingford, County Louth
After a brief welcome to Carlingford Adventure Centre and a summary of the rules and schedule for the days to come, we all sat in the Sports Hall surrounded by our big pile of baggage awaiting the announcement of the rooms distribution. One by one people got up with their suitcases once their name was called, and made their way to their assignment bedroom. I was one of the last people to be called out, and discovered I was to be in a room with 8 other girls, who are all lovely and kind! Quite obviously I was pleased, and chose the bottom bed in a bunk bed, under Lily. With no time to spare I quickly unpacked the essentials, lots people asked me why I would bother unpacking, but I find it a lot easier to get to my stuff and know what I’ve brought if I spread it out. I knew it was going to be hard to be organised and get to my stuff easily in a room with 8 girls, but I actually didn’t mind as sometimes it's good to be out of your comfort zone!
The front door into Carlingford dventure Centre!
After a yummy lunch of sausages and chips we got ourselves ready and prepared for our first outdoor activity! I was put into group B, which had a lot of fun and friendly people, and the instructors announced that our very first activity would be...Laser Tag! I had in my mind that this would be an indoor activity, as I have done Quasar at birthday parties a few times before, and I thought it might be something similar to this. I was completely wrong, and was utterly speechless when we were given our laser guns and outfit!
We got to wear camouflage jumpsuits, which made us look really intimidating and professional, and the guns were incredible! They were pretty heavy, and looked and felt almost frightfully realistic. We made our way up a steep hill at a steady pace, and reached the forest within 20 minutes. All of us were very excited, and more than ready to start shooting! We stopped in front of a scary looking, massive, concrete wall and entered through the gate.
Once we were divided into two teams, red and blue (I was in the red team) and we understood how to work our guns and we comprehended the rules and aims of the game, we were set loose into the wild and the ‘war’ commenced! The red team posed for a quick picture, and the minute the camera flashed the shooting began. It felt oddly real, as the guns made sound effects and when someone hit you, your sensor made funny sounds too. I can safely say I’m more of a defensive player than an attacking one! I hide behind some trees with Sophie Pierce and we patiently waited until we spotted the enemy and then we fired swiftly, before ducking our heads and hiding again! I could feel my heart thumping loudly in my chest as the game continued, it was very tense.
Throughout the couple of hours we played many games such as capture the flag, and a game where we were there were no teams, and we all had to fight for ourselves. In almost all the games the red team won, and in the solo game Anabel was the winner! I was killed in the solo game buy Mrs Ni Mhartin, who had a very good aim! It was incredibly fun and I would have loved to continue playing, as time flies when you’re having fun, but it was 5 o’clock and time for dinner.
We got to wear camouflage jumpsuits, which made us look really intimidating and professional, and the guns were incredible! They were pretty heavy, and looked and felt almost frightfully realistic. We made our way up a steep hill at a steady pace, and reached the forest within 20 minutes. All of us were very excited, and more than ready to start shooting! We stopped in front of a scary looking, massive, concrete wall and entered through the gate.
Once we were divided into two teams, red and blue (I was in the red team) and we understood how to work our guns and we comprehended the rules and aims of the game, we were set loose into the wild and the ‘war’ commenced! The red team posed for a quick picture, and the minute the camera flashed the shooting began. It felt oddly real, as the guns made sound effects and when someone hit you, your sensor made funny sounds too. I can safely say I’m more of a defensive player than an attacking one! I hide behind some trees with Sophie Pierce and we patiently waited until we spotted the enemy and then we fired swiftly, before ducking our heads and hiding again! I could feel my heart thumping loudly in my chest as the game continued, it was very tense.
Throughout the couple of hours we played many games such as capture the flag, and a game where we were there were no teams, and we all had to fight for ourselves. In almost all the games the red team won, and in the solo game Anabel was the winner! I was killed in the solo game buy Mrs Ni Mhartin, who had a very good aim! It was incredibly fun and I would have loved to continue playing, as time flies when you’re having fun, but it was 5 o’clock and time for dinner.
In the evenings we did another activity from 7 to 9 with our groups. We were to do an activity called Murder Mystery the first night, which seemed to be a sort of ‘real-life’ Cluedo! In the upstairs common room we arranged ourselves into groups of 6, and then hurried down the stairs and out through the door leading onto thee main street. Each team was given a sheet with instructions to find the clues, these clues were scattered across the town. The idea was that each clue allowed us to cross-off a weapon or suspect off our list, and each clue acts as a sort of stepping stone to the actual murderer and the weapon used! It was a creative and challenging activity as we had to keep our eyes open the whole time, the fact that it was dark made it that bit more difficult, for clues! A couple of times we were convinced we were completely lost, but as we worked together as a team we eventually got back on track! Somehow we came joined second, which surprised all!
The first day at Carlingford was even more exciting and fun than I could have hoped for! I spent the evening relaxing with my friends in the upstairs common room, and being beaten by Emma in ‘Snap’!
The first day at Carlingford was even more exciting and fun than I could have hoped for! I spent the evening relaxing with my friends in the upstairs common room, and being beaten by Emma in ‘Snap’!
Tuesday 28th February
It is quite funny, as from our bedroom, we have a very clear view of the kitchen from our window! So when we woke up at 7.45 that morning, all 8 of us peaked through the curtains to find out what we were having for breakfast! However as we looked through the curtains, I didn’t fail to notice that it was raining outside, not the best sort of weather when you’re spending the whole day outdoors. After taking what seemed like forever to fully wake up, we went down for a quick breakfast of toast and cereal and returned to our room, frantically searching for the adequate clothing for cold and wet weather.
I believe we were supposed to do water sports this morning, but thankfully the instructors decided to cancel it since it was too windy and wet. Instead we trudged up the mountain to an area belonging to the Centre that I had not yet seen. It was impressive, with obstacles hanging in the sky everywhere and dangerous looking activities that involved climbing up narrow and tall poles, scattered across the area! As we all stared at this climbing area called ‘High Ropes’ the instructors told us we would be doing that this afternoon, I was scared even looking at the equipement! This morning we were to be doing an array of different activities including frisbee golf, archery and a 3D Maze. I have only ever played frisbee golf on the Wii (and honestly wasn’t very good at it!) so I was curious what this activity would be like. Once we were given a demonstration I was convinced this looked like a cool game, but I spoke too soon as the minute we began playing in our teams the heavens opened and it began to pour rain! Thank God I brought my waterproof pants and rain coat! Anyhow, we continued our game of frisbee golf, and I can safely say I am better at it on the Wii than I am in real-life! I think David Carroll was the winner in our team, his frisbee seemed to go double the distance mine would go.
On we went to archery, and still the rain stubbornly poured on us. Everyone was a bit wet and cold during archery and sought refuge in a small sheltered area. We had all done archery before, in Avon Rí the previous year, so we knew the basics did quite well in our teams! Next we moved on to the 3D Maze, unfortunately this sounds better than it actually is. I think that the 3D Maze is the only activity at Carlingford that I did not particularly enjoy! We were all relieved it was indoors, but we only knew what we were getting into, once we had eneteed the Maze. One had to crawl into a small passage to enter the maze, and it was completely pitch black. I couldn’t see the person in front of me! It was a very scary experince as you were enclosed, some people felt awfully claustrophobic, in these narrow passages and you had to crawl the entire maze. It felt as if we were in the maze for hours, and all I wanted was to get out of this stuffy, dark box! Finally we got out, and power-walked back to the centre for a warm lunch.
I was feeling a little nervous about this afternoon's activity, the High Ropes, ever since I saw it this morning! I wasn’t particularly afraid of heights, but nonetheless I did feel a little uncomfortable with heights. As we walked up the mountain again I could sense butterflies fluttering in my tummy. Once we found ourselves on the climbing site with our harnesses and helmets on and our adrenaline pumping, we distributed ourselves among the three available activities. I stood at the foot of the long, narrow pole and told myself it was too high to climb, I certainly couldn’t do it! This activity is also aimed at team bonding, as we really need to trust each other while doing these activities. Sophie Harman and I held the ropes attached to Oliver Haydock’s harness, our job was to pull the rope every time Oliver climbed up the pole. As you can imagine it is quite a big responsibility as if we don’t pull the rope Oliver could potentially fall a considerable amount. As I watched people make it successfully to the top of the pole, and lift themselves onto the platform at the top I started to believe maybe I could do it too?
The High ropes!
For example Sinead said she was afraid of heights, but she climbed up the pole effortlessly and remained calm and balanced on the platform, despite the pole shaking continuously because of the wind! So if she could do it, why couldn’t I? I decided I could do it, so the instructor attached me to the rope, which Bobbie Rose and Oliver would be holding. I went up after Sophie Harman, my hands shaking with fear. I climbed slowly, making sure not to look down once, and took deep breaths as I mounted the pole. I was oddly calm as I reached the top, a sort of confidence had come out of nowhere! However once I was at the very top, with only the p,t from left to climb into I suddenly panicked and pictured myself falling hopelessly off the platform which offered no support. Sophie held out her hand encouragingly to me, and told me it was totally fine up there and that I could do it. But my arms refused to pull me up any further, and with a firm voice I called to the instructor I’d prefer to come down. The moment I looked down I grew slightly nauseous and dizzy! As I was eased back down a great relief washed over me, that I had tried my best and was finally coming back to level ground! It was an amazing and memorable experience that I will never forget, sometimes I wish I had gone up to the platform as I was so close and I was almost there. I also did the Jacob’s Ladder with Alex, Sinead and Bobbie which was incredibly fun and thrilling!
Jacob's Ladder!
By 5 o’clock I was starving and exhausted from an adventurous day outdoors, but I was a little disappointed to discover that dinner was curry. Since I have an allergy to curry, the only other option was toast and tuna salad which was fine but didn’t exactly fill my appetite! I munched on biscuits and crisps (not very healthy, I know!) after dinner and prepared myself for an evening hike. At 7, Group B gathered outside the Centre wearing several layers and carrying a torch. We did a spectacular walk up the mountains, with wonderful views on the town and sea. The fact that it was night time made it look magical. We walked up grassy hills, rocky paths and steep roads. The stars lit up the black sky, I had never seen so many stars in my life! I sleep very well that night, exhausted from the busy day.
Wednesday 1st March
As we left the Adventure Centre Wednesday morning, I had to squint my eyes, as the sun was shining brightly, illuminating the town. The town seems to be always very quiet, as if it is a Hollywood movie set! The shops have perfect displays in the windows, and the houses are freshly painted in a spectrum of vivid colours, it almost all looks a bit surreal! This morning we were told to pack a swimming suit, towel and extra pair of shoes because we were going canoeing! I couldn’t wait to get onto the water, and we were incredibly lucky since the weather was amazing. There was a spring feeling to the air.
Once we reached the canoeing base, where the canoes and equipment was stored we were each given a wetsuit. They were given out in order of size, so the smallest person received the first wetsuit, that person was, of course, me. I ended up on a canoe with Jack Finnegan, but the we weren’t doing ordinary canoeing, we were to be doing ‘Canadian - Style Canoeing’! So basically three canoes were attached to each other with wooden beams. The 10 of us slowly eased the boat unto the ice cold water, the water soaking up in our shoes and creeping its way steadily up our wetsuits! I was very exciting and pumped for this activity all week, so when we finally got our canoes on the water and everyone was aboard I couldn’t help myself but let out a loud yelp of joy! At first we moved at a rapid and energetic speed, calling out ‘Row, Row, Row’ at regular intervals, but quickly we started to get tired and the pace slowed dramatically!
The canoeing starting point
I just took a moment to take in my surroundings and appreciate them. I leaned there against my leg, closed my eyes and took a deep breath of fresh sea air and watched the sunshine dance on the calm water. With the help of a speedboat, pushing our canoes from behind we arrived at a silver coloured beach. Here we stepped out of our canoes soaking wet, and after half an hour returned to our canoes even more soaking wet! How is this possible? Well we were told by the instructors about a magical waterfall, and the myth was that if one went under the fresh water waterfall for 5 seconds their wish would come true. Through a dark tunnel we ambled, tripping over slippery rocks in the ground and finally we reached the waterfall. I went under the waterfall of freezing fresh water for 5 seconds, and felt I had lost my senses when I came back out of it! It took me while to come back to reality and breath normally again, I think the cold water really shocked me! Following a few fun games to warm us up we returned to our canoes, and now with an experienced and by now well practiced rhythm we made our way back to the base where we started from, and sang a few songs while we were gliding across the water.
I didn’t think this day could get any better, as the canoeing had been am amazing and incredibly fun experience! My group walked up the mountain for the, at least, 10th time this week and reached the Ziptopia sight at 2.30pm. Ziptopia is a massive zip lining course, which goes through forests and over deep quarries with fantastic views and thrilling obstacles! When I saw the zip lines for the first time, I couldn’t believe how high up they were and had a big bubble of doubt growing in my stomach. I got my harness on, and triple checked I had put it on correctly, then I followed the instructor further up the mountain, to the very start of the course.
The introductor and the practice course gave me a boost of confidence, and a boost of energy! Swiftly we made our way, one by one, onto Ziptopia and started sliding across line wires. I was one of the last to go into the zip line, as I didn’t want to feel I was holding up a line of people behind me! I personally find jumping off the platform, launching into the zip line, the most frightening part of the experience. Once I am safely on the zip line, and I’m swimming through the air I feel a sort of blissful happiness, and freedom come through me! As I made my way through the course, I started to enjoy it more and more, and I was honestly a little sad to get off the course at 4.30pm! I had done zip lining a few times before, but nothing compared to Ziptopia! It is most definitely an experience I will never forget!
Wednesday evening a special activity had been planned for us, called ‘The Nightline’ (sounds a bit like a horror rollercoaster to me!). We found ourselves in the depths of the forest, in the pitch black in a single file anxiously grabbing onto a rope on our right and clinging onto the person in front of us, oh and we also had blindfolds limiting our eyesight drastically! How did we get there?! Well the challenge was to go through an obstacle course blindfolded, and we must rely in the people in front of us to warn us of the dangers, or obstacles ahead! Sophie Harman was in front of me, and Eleanor behind me. If we lost the people in front or behind us, we had to shout ‘ELEPHANT’ so everyone could halt for a moment to find the lost person! It was definitely as thrilling as it sounds! It was quite hilarious because, after we completed the Nightline we were shown what the course actually was (as we couldn’t see a thing with our blindfolds!) and everyone noticed how very easy and simple it was! It is interesting how much we depend on our eyes. This activity was fantastic, and really made us work together as a team!
Thursday 2nd March
We only had two more activities left before we had to return back to the comfort of our homes, so I made sure to make the most of my last full day at Carlingford! The morning seemed promising, with specks of clouds in the sky but no sign of rain. The activity we would be participating in today was called ‘Treasure Island’! The other groups had already done this activity, and I received a few tips on what to do, and what not to do during this activity, which proved to be very useful!
At the sight, where we had done many of our previous activities already, we split into 3 teams. This activity involved a lot of teamwork and imagination, two things I like a lot! We had to pretend we were one a ‘Treasure Island’ and in this island there were many obstacles we had to overcome in order to receive precious ‘gems’. The team with the most gems would be crowned the winner of this challenge! As a team we completed many activities which were at times difficult and challenged the will power and strength of our team, and at other times extremely fun and highlighted the motivation in our team! My favourite activity was the one where we had to get a ball through a maze, and in this maze were countless holes. If the ball fell through one of these holes we would have to unfortunately start again! We worked brilliantly well in this activity, only restarting twice before completing the challenge, we earned 4 gems for this! In the end, the teams compared the number of gems they had earned and our team came last with 8 gems, the winner had 11 gems! Oh well, our team work was worth more than 8 gems and will have a lasting impact on us as friends.
At the sight, where we had done many of our previous activities already, we split into 3 teams. This activity involved a lot of teamwork and imagination, two things I like a lot! We had to pretend we were one a ‘Treasure Island’ and in this island there were many obstacles we had to overcome in order to receive precious ‘gems’. The team with the most gems would be crowned the winner of this challenge! As a team we completed many activities which were at times difficult and challenged the will power and strength of our team, and at other times extremely fun and highlighted the motivation in our team! My favourite activity was the one where we had to get a ball through a maze, and in this maze were countless holes. If the ball fell through one of these holes we would have to unfortunately start again! We worked brilliantly well in this activity, only restarting twice before completing the challenge, we earned 4 gems for this! In the end, the teams compared the number of gems they had earned and our team came last with 8 gems, the winner had 11 gems! Oh well, our team work was worth more than 8 gems and will have a lasting impact on us as friends.
The sky was deceiving in the morning, as those tiny specks of clouds had no magically transformed into evil looking grey clouds drenched in rain. Our final activity of the week was the ‘Sky Park’ one of the most physically and mentally challenging of all! The Sky Park involves walking, or shall I say dragging, oneself across a long course suspended in the sky. It has a few zip lines on it, but mostly contains logs dangerously dangling from a thin rope and narrow wires suspended in the air, and we are expected to cross these obstacles mentioned along with many others!
I said to myself, I’ve done the High Ropes, I’ve done Ziptopia, so I can do this! To get used to the height I quickly completes the Yellow course first, as there was no queue for it I thought I might as well, unlike the Red course which had a long, long queue! Then once I had comfortably completed the Yellow Course, it began to lash rain and the temperature seemed to suddenly drop 5 degrees! I ventured onwards through the rain and started the Red course. The Skywalk was a rewarding, but not exactly enjoyable activity for me! There were times when all I wanted to do was get down back to ground level, but I said to myself if all the others can do it so can I! It was very unfortunate that we had bad weather for this activity, since gripping the wires while crossing an obstacle becomes increasingly harder when they’re wet and slippy! However I continued and completed the course, much to my surprise! It was a great learning lesson for me, and helped me to overcome my fears and doubts. I had never been happier to put on dry clothes back at the centre that evening!
Thankfully we spent the evening activity indoor, doing the ‘Carlingford Challenge’. The purpose of the activity was simply to have some fun, and savour the last few hours in Carlingford. I teamed up with Peter, Sophie Pierce and Eleanor and we named ourselves the ‘Elephant Team’! I had come up with many suggestions for team names but apparently they were all ridiculous so chose Elephant in the last minute! Throughout the evening we did many hilarious activities, which made my stomach sore from laughter! One of the activities was so talk to Albert the Apple for as long as we could without repeating ourselves or hesitating! I was nominated for this activity, as I have a habit of talking a lot, for a long time! I was a bit nervous at first but then I got the hang of it, and even talked to the Apple in Dutch and French for a while, mainly to kill time and also as it was different and made others laugh! I pretended to be a Belgian Exchange student, and the instructors actually believed and began telling me how good my english was!
That evening it was almost impossible to fall asleep as everyone wanted to enjoy their last night in Carlingford. Some people got takeaway at 9pm and we talked, danced and sang until we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer.
That evening it was almost impossible to fall asleep as everyone wanted to enjoy their last night in Carlingford. Some people got takeaway at 9pm and we talked, danced and sang until we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer.
Friday 3rd March
Bag packed, rooms cleaned, breakfast eaten we sat in the Sports Hall answering a questionnaire for the Adventure Centre before we left the building and meandered back to our buses. I enjoyed every activity we did (maybe the ones we did in the rain a little less) and thought the staff and instructors were very kind and helpful, the food was fine and the beds comfortable! We left the little and quaint town of Carlingford, I whispered a goodbye to the mountains and lakes, which I wouldn’t be seeing again for another while. On the bus I found myself lost in thought, thinking about the eventful and incredible week I had just experienced! I will remember and cherish this trip for a long time, as I have strengthened friendships, overcome fears, done things I thought impossible and built a lot of confidence in myself here. Another trip that has made my Transition year so far memorable and incredibly fun!