london
Teen Travel UK Tour Group #1
25 June 2023
Sunday 25th June
6 Nationalities, 1 Trip
What a first day!
6 nationalities become one group.
Cam and Kenny were roaming the streets of London in search of their group.
We came together on a Teen Travel mission to explore the UK.
We set off on our journey exploring with a blast! Views from Big Ben, turbulent tubes and trains galore! London is a great place to sight-see!
After a fun-filled afternoon we ended our evening on a trip to Piccadilly and China Town! We enjoyed a Chinese banquet, enough food fit for a king or queen!
As the sun descends for the day, so do we to sleep.
In a final statement
‘Today we conquer London, tomorrow we are in search of the brightest beaches of Brighton’.
Over and out.
Monday 26th June
Brighton conquered.
We started off our day with decadent doughnuts, perfect perfects and coffees to go. Desperately needed for the dash of the 10:24 train to wivelsfield, only to change and head for sunny Brighton. On this occasion it was also quite windy.
We left our bags and set our sights on the famous Brighton Pier, where was arcades for all, rides for the thrill seekers and a class beach fish and chips for lunch. Some say beware of seagulls as we found out ourselves.
Some of the highlights of the day were dipping our toes into the crisp sea, visiting the famous Royal Pavillion and enjoying an ice cream of a lifetime!!
We ended our evening with a scrumptious meal made by our travel mentors and some traveller assistants, one who made a chocolate cake to die for, yum yum.
Topped off with an English breakfast tea, for all to try, before heading to bed in sights of the busy day ahead.
Cardiff you’ll be seeing us very soon.
Over and out.
Tuesday, 28th June
Chasing Cardiff
Bacon, sausage, pancakes
A splendid way to feel awake
A dash for the train
Thankfully no rain
But still feeling yesterdays aches
Oh what a scenic coach ride
Passed Cam’s love and pride
Bristol ya know
Lunch on the go
Onto Cardiff we stride
Shopping around the town
Visiting the stores all around
Lots of Welsh gifts
And a lovely thrift
Welsh castle on stony ground
Crazy golf was a shout
Fun is what it’s all about
Curry was bliss
A game of sardines not to miss
Over and out
Wednesday, 28th June
Bring me to Birmingham!
Today we set our sights high on heading to Birmingham, so we did.
But not before a quick stop to the national museum of Wales where we learnt some great Welsh history.
Did you know the corgi dog originates from Wales?
Another scenic Trainline, led to the bustling city of Birmingham, were some shopping til they dropped.
After our fun-filled morning and afternoon we became detectives taking on new challenges within some escape rooms, Dr Watsons office and Time Travelling, solving clues and riddles to escape the room
One group escaped the other were very close, but they were great fun!
After all this, we enjoyed a lovely take away from the amazing Birmingham Chinatown where we all sat together and spoke about the highlights of our day!
We now head to bed to go in the morning to enhance literary interests in the place of Stratford-upon-Avon to learn all about the origins of Shakespeare.
Over and out.
Thursday to Saturday, 29th June to 1st July
Land of Lake District
Our courageous journey to the Lake District started with a historical tour in the beautiful town of Stratford-upon-Avon. Our teens were engulfed with knowledge regarding the years of Shakespeare; where he was born, grew up, wrote his fantastic books and plays and eventually died. This was a once in a lifetime experience for us all! We greatly enjoyed the learning experience.
After this, we carried on with your journey to wild Windermere, we got there in the evening and enjoyed a British classic of kebabs and some pizzas. Delicious!
We were collected by a lovely taxi driver who drove us to the wilderness of our yurts. We were truly inspired and in awe of the nature that surrounded us in this beautiful area.
In the evening we grouped together and the teens collected materials and make us a group campfire! Where we enjoyed roasting marshmallows and making delicious s’mores, yum yum.
After this we ended our evening with some campfire songs, several national anthems and a little bit of Taylor Swift.
We awoke the next morning full of energy and excitement for…. SCRAMBLING! We ate our breakfast and headed into town where we had an explore and collected some lunch.
Before we knew it we were at Stickle Ghyll, greeted by our lovely guide David who assisted us in completing the scrambling mission.
We all successfully climbed waterfalls, swam around and some of us even managed to get through some tight spaces! It was the best fun!
We then relaxed in the bar with lemonades all round, before heading back to town for a delicious meal.
We ventured into a lovely English pub where we enjoyed many dishes for our dinner like burgers, chicken wings and even traditional fish and chips.
We ended this evening like every other, with group games! We played heads up, successfully guessing what was on each others heads and some games of “if I were to go camping what would I take”.
The last full day in the Lake District.
We had an epic day, exploring the city of Windermere, playing in the amusements; attempting to win prizes. Some of us visited the Beatrix Potter museum, which was quite enchanting! We finished our evening with a group bbq, making a wood fire, grilling steaks, sausages and all the sides you can think of!
We then played some games outside like tag, baseball and an ultimate bottle flip competition.
We now set our sights to the city of Edinburgh. We shall update you soon.
Over and out
Sunday 2nd & Monday 3rd July
Enchantment of Edinburgh
We had our expectations set high! And they were not diminished!
Our first stop after off loading our luggage was the Edinburgh castle, we were amazing by its beauty and charm. There was so many interesting artefacts dating back 100s of years. We saw King Arthurs’ crown; full of diamonds and ruby’s, dungeons and prisons which held 1000s of prisoners at one time and ancient weapons which were really cool! The view from the castle was amazing, we could see right into the city.
We then had some free time to explore the city and its tourist shops buying souvenirs to take home.
A beautiful sunset hike to Arthur’s Seat, the highest point and a movie night capped off a wonderful first day.
We started our second day with a visit to the National museum where we learnt about science, animals, fashion, and Scotland. Our eyes were then set and deceived by the illusions in Camera Obscura & World of Illusions. Finally, we learnt all about the underworld of Edinburgh, exploring vaults and dungeons whilst learning about the supernatural on a ghost walking tour. A scary end to our enchanting visit to Edinburgh.
Over and out.
Tuesday 4th July
Manic in Manchester
Theatre of Dreams
Old Trafford tour in sight
The time of our lives
Mammoth shopping mall
In Selfridges, we unite
A walker’s delight
Hot dogs, Mac n Cheese
Bowling Alley and Dodgems
The 4th of July
Over and out.
Wednesday 5th & Thursday 6th July
Oxford adventures & Thorpe park fun
Oxford was an adventure! We had one of the greatest tours of all time! Learning and experience university life, understanding there are many different campus’ within the university, some you have to apply a year and a half in advance! We loved our tour and some of our travellers may even have Oxford in their sights as an option for the future…
What can I say? We spent one of our last days soaring into the sky’s on some of the greatest roller coasters ever seen to man!
We travelled, long and far on tubes, buses and taxis in search of Thorpe park.
We arrived and we’re transfixed by the beauty of the coasters that stand before us.
We quickly headed for the gate and got into Thorpe park! We got into groups and rode as many roller coasters as possible; including the Nemisis Infernio, Saw the ride, Colossus and some of us even saw angry birds in the 4D cinema.
With all this excitement we built up an appetite having, hot dogs, chicken, burgers and lots of treats!
We carried on the afternoon fitting in as many rides as possible, even a lovely boat ride for some.
We ended our evening falling asleep in the taxi back to our beautiful house in Watford, where we ended the night with sushi and kebabs. What more could you want?
We start our very last day visiting some of the great places of London, speak soon!
Over and out.
Friday 7th July
Our final adventure in London
As it was our last day we ensured the travellers a fun-filled, packed day. Some of us visited Wembley and Chelsea stadium! We had a great tour and it was unbelievably fantastic. We then stopped over to the Tower of London and the British national museum, where we took in lots of knowledge. Some us also visited the famous abbey road! Where the Beatles took their very awesome photo!
We ended the afternoon with a trip to the famous Vivienne Westwood store to look around at all the amazing clothing and admire the store.
Of course we ended our trip with a couple of visits for the travellers to pick up some very last shopping and some important souvenirs! (Most of them were edible.
For dinner we went to Nando’s as our final group meal! Where we enjoyed chicken galore, fizzy drinks and so many sides!
As a treat for the group we went go-karting! Our final activity, some were much speedier than some of us on the course! We really enjoyed this and it was lovely to spend it all together.
As a final note, Cam and Kenny would like to thank the group for being so amazing the entire trip, we enjoyed the laughs, smiles and most importantly travel. We have had the most epic trip and we wish each and every one of our travellers the best for the future.
Over and out.
How do I know if my teenager is ready for Teen Travel?
21 March 2023
13 to 17 and everything in-between!
L&E Teen Travel is for 13 to 17 year olds. However, we all know that there are many different types of 13 to 17 year olds! This is a trip that we think every teen should experience and we want to make sure they are equipped with all the skills they need to set off on their own (not completely on their own!). If your child has previously attended camps then this is a good start. They have spent time away from you being independent and making their own decisions. As they get older, teenagers will naturally want more independence. This is a great first step to travelling without their parents but in the care of experts. Let’s be honest, no one knows your child better than you… but if you need advice or want to talk to one of our experts then you can schedule a call with one of our experts.
Speaking the language
The common language that will be spoken is English so will your teenager be able to communicate effectively in the group? We try to limit each nationality to ensure we are all speaking English. Therefore your child may not be with someone who speaks their mother tongue (if not English!). If your teenager is looking to improve their spoken English then we can think of no better immersive experience!
What type of skills will they need?
Teen Travel is about learning new things such as budget management and how to organise an itinerary. Each member will bring their own individual skills that will help the group. One of the most important things the teens will have to figure out early on in the trip is what they each bring to the table. Is there an A+ maths student in the group – they can take the lead with the expenses, does someone enjoy writing – they can assist others in writing the daily blog. No matter what skills each teenager has, they will all have to work together as a group. Each person’s skillset to make sure they get the most out of the trip.
What happens if my teen gets upset or homesick?
This trip could potentially be the most exciting and challenging thing your teen has ever done. Our Travel Mentors are fully aware of this. They will be monitoring each child throughout the trip to ensure they are happy and getting the most out of the trip. If any teen is upset for whatever reason the Travel Mentors are there to listen and to help them. We can safely say that 9 times out of 10 it is simply tiredness that makes someone upset. This is easily fixed by a good nights sleep or an additional rest day. The Travel Mentors will manage the itinerary. If it looks like the teens are travelling too often (changing locations every day) then they will step in before anything is planned and offer some sound advice.
Want to know more?
We can offer advice to you and your teen. So please get in touch with us if you have any questions about Teen Travel. You can schedule a call with one of our experts who can talk you through the trip or email teentravel@learnandexperience.com with any questions you may have.
Teen Travel really is an adventure of a lifetime – take the first step, get in touch!
Teen Travel: UK Tour (26/06-9/07)
29 June 2022
Our first trip of the summer has begun and we have a wonderful group. 10 teens from 7 different countries met in London and have started their journey around the UK.
This is an authentic travel experience…the teens are in control of nearly every element of their trip. They will learn to budget, communicate, delegate, compromise and much more.
The teens will take it turns to document their trip. As you can manage this is full immersive experience so their priority isn’t to be writing blogs but they will endeavour to update us every 2-3 days…
Day 1 – 3: London to Cardiff to Glasgow
Berkeley, USA…
The Castle and the Cooking
“On our first morning in Cardiff, we explored the city, visiting important sites like Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Castle, and Bute Park. When we got back, we made homeade garlic bread, and spaghetti with a vegetarian sauce.
The next day, having mostly recovered from jet lag, I was chosen to be in charge of serving dinner. I elected to serve a Welsh classic, leek and potato soup, and rarebit. Ironically, in the land of leeks, we found every ingredient except for the leeks. This sent us on a wild goose chase through Cardiff, where we met Tom Jones, and ended our pursuit at the Cardiff Market.
Preparing the soup was a different beast. After a long time chopping leeks, potatoes, and onions, my crew and I set to work washing our mess and stirring the vegetables in butter. We followed the recipe perfectly, until we found out our blender was broken. Nevertheless, with a masher and some determination, we managed to create a wonderful, Welsh dining experience.“
Julia F, USA…
“While in Wales, we decided to make cookies. Though our airbnb did not have any of the necessary tools to make cookies (ex. bowls, whisks, spatulas, mixers, vanilla, etc.). I learned to problem solve, which ended up being me using a pot as a bowl and slowly stirring my concoction with a table spoon.
After booking our “pods” in scotland, we discovered they did not have any bedding. Although some of us might have gotten lost in a build a bear, others in the group were determined that we have comfortable sleeping accommodations. They went hunting from camping store to camping store and scored us all our necessary sleeping bags and pillows. They haggled for 15% off, and we scored some sleeping bags and comfy pillows (even though ava lost her sleeping bag like 4 times).”
Charlotte, France…
“Our train to Glasgow was cancelled so we decided to sit down and kill some time at a lounge in the train station by playing card games.
We all learned some new card games by watching and listening eachother.
We finally got two trains, one from Liverpool to Wigan and the other one from Wigan to Glasgow, both of them where pretty full but we managed to all finally have a seat.”
Day 4 – 6: Glasgow to Edinburgh
Charlotte, France…
“After a chill morning, we went to Go Ape in Aberfoyle. We started with the explanations and safety instructions. To start we did a first long zip line to join the different courses. we did 6 different courses including a long zip line 426 meters long and 45 meters high to finish. We were all separated into several groups of three. The different courses had lots of different activities as tarzan jump, small zip lines or crossing on wooden logs. It was great fun ! After this, we went to a pub. Most of us tried Irn-Bru for the first time a very sweet scottish drink. We all took different food as pizza, scampi… During lunch we made some plans for the night and secured our accommodation in Edinburgh.”
Ronny, Italy…
On June 30th we were in Trassachs Holiday Park staying in pods. In the evening there was the brilliant idea of having a bbq. We had a lot of fun that evening…we laughed and sang! In short we had a lot of fun then we made a fire where we also cooked marshmallows.
Jessica, Thailand & Marta, Spain…
We woke up around 8-10am and started to pack up and get ready for the day. After we had breakfast, we broke up into groups of three and started planning how to get to Edinburgh.
We ended up with having to get a taxi from the pods to a small town called Aberfoyle, and then a bus from Aberfoyle to Sterling. Then, we had to walk to the train station to catch the train to Edinburgh.
When we got to Edinburgh, we walked around 15 minutes to get some lunch at Nandos. We all had delicious meals and spent some time talking and laughing. Luckily, our accommodation was around 5 minutes away from Nandos, so we quickly walked to it and just spent some time chilling out in the apartments.
To end the day, we all went to an arcade, which was also just around 5 minutes away form the apartments. We had lots of fun playing games, and spent some time bowling in groups. Marta and Charlotte were the bowling winners!
After some fun in the arcade, we all went to the nearest supermarket to get some breakfast for the next morning.
Day 7 – 10: Edinburgh to Hogwarts to Brighton
Julia M, USA…
On the third of July we traveled an hour by train to see the castle that Harry Potter was filmed at for someone in the groups golden ticket. The castle was beautiful and there was so much to see. Some of us even dressed up in medieval outfits and wandered the grounds. While part of the group explored the “Hogwarts” halls others found fluffy hills to roll down again and again. We all joined together again to roll down a hill as a nice bonding activity. Later that day we found a cute pizza restaurant and enjoyed a delicious dinner. That night we walked through the streets of Scotland following a ghost tour and even got access into the underground streets where many years ago families had lived during very hard times.
Derek, Canada…
We left the accommodation at 12:00 and directly went to Arthur’s seat to roll down it. After a lot of walking and waiting we finally got up to the top which is when we realized we couldn’t roll down Arthur’s seat and went back down by walking.
After that we went back to town and visited camera obscura which was lots of fun even though it made us a bit dizzy.
Charlotte, France…
After a really chill morning, we took the bus for Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh. We walked to the top of it, it was really windy up there ! We took lots of pictures, the view was so worth it !! Down the hill we had ice cream, then headed to a chinese restaurant where we had lunch, it was really great.
After, we went to Victoria street, Jessica’s golden ticket ! Some of us went to a Harry Potter shop and others just admired this beautiful street. We explored a bit the rest of the city but everything was getting closed. However, we found Camera Obscura an illusion museum , where 21st Century tech meets classic illusions and historic science. It was great fun. When we left to get the bus we came across a man and his owl, Hazel the owl. Julia and Berkley took it on their hand for a few minutes.
We finally took the bus to go back to our accomodation. Arrived there some of us stayed to chill at the accomodation and the others went to the cinema to watch the new minion movie.
Jessica, Thailand…
We all decided to go to Alnwick castle, Ronny’s golden ticket. We travelled from Edinburgh to Alnmouth on the train, and took a taxi from the train station to the castle.
When we got to the castle, we all split up and had a wonder around. We learned about how the castle came to be, and who used to live in it. Did you know that some scenes in Harry Potter was filmed there? It was really cool to see where Harry and his friends learned how to fly their broomsticks.
When we finished visiting Alnwick castle, we headed back to Edinburgh and had dinner at a pizza restaurant. After dinner, we went on a ghost tour around Edinburgh, and a few of us got jump scared 👻. It was a fantastic way to learn about some of Edinburgh’s history.
At the end of the day, we were all really tired so we headed back to our accommodation and went straight to bed.
Marta, Spain…
We woke up early to catch the train. We traveled from Edinburgh to Brighton by train, making a stop in London.
When we arrived to Brighton, we had to find the accommodation were we would stay for two nights. When we were there we chose rooms.
We were starving so we went to eat fish and chips for dinner. We found a restaurant that was number one on TripAdvisor. Then we went to the beach and we went back to the accommodation.
Day 11 – 14: Brighton – London
Berkeley, USA…
On Wednesday, we were moving fairly slowly. We had things to take care of by the end of the day, but we started our day with small groups of teens going for walks in Brighton. We were situated by the beach, so it was a nice area to walk around. After an unstructured start to our day, we went to a taperia for lunch.
Following a nice lunch, we went to the North Lanes in Brighton. It was an area full of shops, mainly clothing stores. However, you could also find the occasional café, record shop, or haberdashery.
After shopping, we convened to find a place to stay. It was our last day in the AirBnB, so we needed a new place to stay. We tried AirBnBs, hostels, and even looked at hotels, but we didn’t find a good option. The best option we found was to book another AirBnB in Brighton, which was a successful venture.
Having found an accommodation for the rest of our stay, we went back to the AirBnB, where a meal of rice and vegetables was made.
Teen Travel UK Tour Blog
27 July 2018
Saturday -Tuesday
We are eleven people from all around Europe:
Lukas – 15, from Sweden.
Emily – 16, from Holland.
Paul – 16, from Germany.
Serafina – 15, from Germany.
Beatrice – 16, from Germany.
Maria – 16, from Spain.
Marianne – 15, from France.
Gaia – 16, from Italy.
Sam – 15, from England.
Connie – Travel Mentor, England
Julie – Travel Mentor, Scotland
Apart from Sam we all arrived in Manchester airport at various times on Saturday. From there we drove to L&E North camp to plan our trip and get to know each other better. We decided to depart the next day but before we left we all watched the final match for the World Cup and ate at he barbecue with the rest of the camp. After the barbecue big Sam drove us to our first stop in Grassmere where we stayed for one night in a hostel and we all went to the park in the town and we unanimously agreed that we all slept better there than at the camp.
The next day we had breakfast in the self serve kitchen of the hostel and Sam and Lukas made dough balls in the oven. We then took a bus to Brokehole where we went on a treetop trek which ended in a triple zip wire that was 200 meters long! “It was exciting!” – Gaia. Connie had to have her shoe taped onto her foot because it kept almost falling off.
We then took the same bus with a different bus driver who wasn’t as nice to Windermere where we had lunch which was pleasurable. After that we booked the accommodation for Glasgow the night after, furthermore we found a train connection from Kendal to Glasgow that was also affordable for the next day. We then took the bus to Kendal where it then started to rain on our walk to the hostel we were next staying in. After a break we went to Booths to buy food for tonight and the next morning. Sam and Gaia cooked a delicious meal for dinner – pasta with cheese sauce. Lukas told some ghost stories (not that scary) and we all sat and chatted until bed time.
Tuesday – Thursday
After a lovely breakfast in Kendal we took the train to Glasgow. It was a long journey and we had to stop and change the train – at the intermediate station Julie had to pretend to be a dog because of a dare!
Since this morning a fun game had started ,where everyone has to “kill” someone else in a specific place and way, two people were already killed.
We arrived at the hostel around 5 o’clock and we ate at Wetherspoon. The evening was full of talks and bonding and we also started to see Shrek
Deaths of the day:
- Connie – singing the national anthem on a train, in the morning.
- Marianne – smelling something in a shop, in the morning.
Wednesday 18th
The next day started slowly. We woke up at around 10 am and after a good breakfast we took the bus to Glasgow centre. After a short trip to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the park everybody was allowed to go of in groups of at least and discover Glasgow on their own. Most of us went to a burger and than make a short shopping trip.
Back (in at) the hostel Marianne started making crêpes – Sam as chef in training. We than went to bed “in time” because the next day would start very early.
Deaths of the day:
1) Paul – reading a book on a playground, at midday
2) Beatrice – singing the national anthem (german) in the bathroom, at lunchtime
Thursday 19th
To day we had to get up at 6.30 am to get the bus to Loch Ness at 7 am. Because of the early time we didn’t eat breakfast, so we had packed (a lot of) (many) snacks for the bus. The bus trip to loch ness took us about four hours but we had a few stops at beautiful places to make pictures and get a pass from the sitting.
When we arrived at Loch Ness we had two options. We could either go and see the castle and than make a cruise on the Loch or only do the cruise.
- Spent the day in Glasgow (shopping, eating, a pigeon poop on Lukas…)
- Tastes good
- Take bus (discover scottland)
- loch ness
- Take the bus back (strange songs)
Friday…
In the morning we arrived in Edinburgh. Making our way through the streets in the rain, we found a bus to take us to the hostel, not far from the city centre. Sam was in charge of directions and we followed him (cautiously) down several side streets off the main road. Despite a slightly scary looking front door,
we walked through into a travellers paradise; a ping-pong table, PlayStation, comfy sofas and relaxed, friendly staff awaited. The hostel was made up of converted shipping containers, neatly arranged with every amenity. We felt at home right away.
No time to relax though; we dropped our bags and went straight into town to explore. We picked up some lunch on-the-go, and made a beeline for the Royal Mile. It was hard to miss the incredible architecture as we wound through the streets; the National Gallery of Scotland and the Castle were particularly impressive. Reaching ‘Camera Obscura’ – a museum of oddities, illusions and mind games – we were were happy to get out of the drizzle. It full of bizarre, interactive activities and we emerged later on, giggling on to the streets. Straight on to a restaurant for food, we then just had time for a quick walk up to Calton Hill for the sunset. It did not take much persuading to get everyone to sleep back at the hostel after such a jam-packed day.
We awoke to a sunny day ~ yes, the sun does shine in Scotland! We all headed to the motorbike and music festival we had booked a few days ago, it was on the same side of the city as us which was good. It was very cool – lots of different styles of motorbikes, we even got to sit on some of them!! We also had a shot on a theme park ride – Sam has been on so many his facial expression didn’t change at all but all of the girls hair was going round and round and round!
After we got back to the hostel we collected our bags and headed back into town to try and get some onesies for the bus journey. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any we liked so we bought some blankets and some neck pillows which turned out to be invaluable. We went to a restaurant to get some food and to also make a plan for the next part of our trip. Our big map came in handy – it’s good to have a visual of the UK to see how far away each place is from the other. We all worked very hard to plan the next part of our trip – we were getting very tired which was good as we knew we were about to spend the next 9hours on the overnight bus to London.
The bus station wasn’t far from the restaurant which was great as we were all quite tired and ready to try and sleep. Although the bus was a little cold we did manage to get some sleep. Next stop – LONDON!!!!!!!
Most Incredible UK Summer Camp
9 June 2018
We are very proud to announce that we made it onto Tutorful’s Most Incredible UK Summer Camps list! Check out the full list here.
Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us!!! We work very hard to ensure our camps offer a unique cultural experience in a safe and enjoyable setting. We live by our motto that happy children thrive!
Our 2018 camps are filling up very fast so please get in touch with us soon if you are considering a camp for your children – we promise to give them a summer of a lifetime!
Thanks again Tutorful!!!
2018 Theme Nights Announced!
1 May 2018
We know you’ll be very excited to hear what our theme nights are for this summer so here you go…. Each week we will have an activity theme night. Bring your fancy dress accordingly. (it is not supposed to be something to worry about – you can be as creative as you want or just something simple is fine). If you are unable to bring anything then that’s also absolutely fine…
L&E North Camp
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Week 1: WORLD CUP
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Week 2: SPY GAMES
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Week 3: THE MOVIES
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Week 4: THE GREAT BRITISH SPORT-OFF
L&E South Camp
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Week 1: THE GREATEST SHOWMAN
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Week 2: HARRY POTTER
L&E Teen Travel: UK Tour 6th – 20th August
7 August 2017
Days 1 – 3
Hello everyone, first of all we want to introduce ourselves. We are a group of 4, 3 girls and 1 boy (poor boy). Hello, my name is Emile and I live in South of France. I’m 15 and my hobbies are athletics and music. Hi, I am Emy and I am fifteen. I am from Toulon, this is in the south of France, my hobby is ballet. Hi, I’m Silvia and I’m fifteen, I’m from Milan, in Italy. My favourite hobby is volleyball. Hi there, my name is Jipke I’m sixteen years old and I’m from Munich, but I’m Dutch, my hobby is singing. 
The first day we met, we were all so excited and nervous to find out who we would be spending the next two weeks with. We met at Heathrow Airport and when we had all arrived Julie drove to our first place – L&E South Camp which is at Forres Sandle Manor school in Fordingbridge. The mood in the car was awkward, because everybody was shy to speak and we all we’re very tired. Julie helped the mood by singing loudly! We arrived at the school an hour and a half later and we met the others from summer camp. After a BBQ we planned our fist trip which was to Poole the next day.
The next day (Monday) we planned to take the bus to Poole to go kayaking, but it wasn’t that easy as we thought! We missed our first bus, and while we were waiting for the next bus we thought we could grab some coffees. One thing guys, never grab coffee while you are waiting for the bus, trust us its not funny if you miss two busses in a row! (Hahahaha). The kayaking was funny but so exhausting. When we arrived back from kayaking we made vegetable curry in one of the kitchens in the school, hmm so yummy.
We spent one more night at school so we could make some plans for the next few days. Right now we’re on the train to Cardiff and later on we are going to the trampoline park in Cardiff!
Days 4-6
n our last blog we said that we were going to go to the trampoline park and that we did! We booked 1 and a half hours but after 10 minutes we were all so exhausted!! We were taught how to ‘wall walk’ by one of the instructors which was very cool.
The next day we went to Cardiff castle and took a photo with the Welsh flag. As Jipi jumped onto Silvia’s back for the photo her phone fell out of her pocket and the screen cracked…..she learned a valuable lesson that day! We then went to walk back to the hostel to collect our bags as we had a train booked…unfortunately Julie suddenly remembered that the train was earlier than she thought so we had to run!!! Luckily we got there in the end and thought it was now time for us to properly take over all the planning!
The train to Liverpool took 4 hours so after dropping our bags off at the hostel we wanted to take a walk. Our hostel was right next to Albert Dock and luckily for us there was a theme park there. We all (apart from Julie who looked after our bags) went on some of the rides then we ate fish and chips and watched the amazing sunset.
The next day we went shopping in the city centre and bought some key items including a notebook to put our expenses in, a pen and most importantly, a toothbrush for Jipi! We then went to the amazing Beatles museum where we learned all about how the Beatles got together, their history and what happened to each of them after the band broke up. We also bought some presents for our families! It was a quick bus trip to Manchester where we ate dinner in an American style restaurant – lots of burgers and milkshakes!
We have named our group ‘Dudeacorns’, our name was going to be ‘Unicorns’ but we then we decided that ‘Dudeacorn’ was better – its like dudes and unicorns together.
Days 7-9
Here we are again. In our last Vlog we were in Manchester. Now we are writing the blog in the car, waiting for our laundry to be finished. Car? Yes we are sitting in a car. We rented the car in Manchester, we opted for a bigger car so we would all fit with our bags!
During the day we went on the “highest” building in Manchester which was in a hotel, we walked in even though we weren’t staying in the hotel just for fun to see the view of Manchester. After that we visited the science museum and then we went to a shopping centre to eat something before going to the pick up the rental car.
Julie drove us all the way to the Lake District, where there wasn’t signal and Wi-fi : the adventure ! In the morning, after a good sleep and a brunch in Windermere, we went to Treetop Trek where we had a good fun into the trees! No chill time: just after the Treetop, we had to go to Newcastle for a night in a hostel as we couldn’t find any other place to stay that night, and thanks to Silvia who spoke Italian with the receptionist we got a discount!
The next morning we drove to Glasgow, where we bought somethings that we need for the camping such as sleeping bags and food, then we had some time to relax. In the morning we then had a amazing real Scottish breakfast which included black pudding…..some of us liked it…some of us didn’t. We then drove to Edinburgh to give back the car and to check in to our new accommodation – a campsite….lets hope it doesn’t rain tonight!
We are all very excited about the Edinburgh Fringe…lots to see and do!!!!
Days 10 – 12
So, we finished our laundry and drove to Edinburgh to leave our bags at the campsite then we went to give back the car in the city. In the month of August the Edinburgh festival is on which includes the Fringe which is the worlds leading arts festival, suffice to say Edinburgh is VERY busy during this time. In the afternoon we looked at what shows were on, there are hundreds to choose from so it is very hard to choose! We managed to watch 3 shows, the first one was about superheroes, wired but funny. The second show was a guy talking about funny things he sees & hears when he is travelling around the world, again weird but funny. The last show of the day was a magicshow! The guy was super funny, we absolutely loved it and we managed to get a picture with him after his show! It was raining very hard this night so when we got back to the campsite it was straight to bed.
The next day, we went to the city by bus and we walked up Arthur’s Seat which was very cool. Arthur’s Seat is an ancient volcano which looks over the whole city and beyond. We were very lucky as not only was the sun shining but there was a piper at the top of the mountain – there were lots of tourists taking photos with him as he played some traditional Scottish music. We then walked back down and headed into the town to have some time in Princes Street gardens in the sun. We then found another show to go to, it was really funny despite it wasn’t quite what we expected. In the evening we walked around the main street to find the bus stop and while we were waiting we saw the fireworks that came from the Castle where the Military Tattoo was happening – very cool! The next morning, we took the bus to the train station where we left to go to London!
After arriving at the English capital, we took the famous underground and stopped at Queensway station where our hostel was situated. After we unpacked our bags, we bought some food to make in the hostel, the one microwave in the hostel is going to be very busy for the next four days!
Days 13-14
We awoke after a very good nights sleep on Thursday morning – our beds were especially comfortable after our camping expedition! After some relaxation we made a plan for London to ensure we did everything we wanted to do over the next 3 days. First on our agenda was 221b Baker Street – Sherlock Holmes’ house. There is a very cool shop under the house which we went into and had a look around – we also managed to get a photograph with the ‘police officer’ who was standing outside (not sure if he was a real police officer!). It was then onto Camden Market to have a look around all the weird and wonderful stalls. After some tattoos (henna) and some Dutch pancakes we made the short walk to Amy Winhouse’s house were we sat in the little park across from where she used to live and chatted for a while. It was then back to our hostel where we watched a movie in the common room.
The next day we headed straight to the London Dungeon – this amazing experience takes you through the history of London where you meet such characters as Sweeney Todd, Jack the Ripper, Guy Fawkes and Mrs Lovett. There was a very big rain-storm just as we came out of the attraction but as always it cleared and we headed to the m&m store (not the Eminem store Julie!) to check it out. After this we then travelled back to go on the London Eye. The views were amazing and due to the storms the sky was very atmospheric. We were all very tired after our big day so we headed back to the hostel via Nando’s where we got some dinner.
On our last full day in London we decided to rent some bikes so we could cycle around some of the Royal parks of London. Our hostel is right beside Hyde Park so we saw Kensington Palace on our way to get our bikes. We cycled through Hyde Park in the sunshine and then down Constitution Hill all the way to Buckingham Palace. The Queen was in her residence that day….how do we know, because the Royal Standard was flying from the flagpole. We then took our bikes back and grabbed some lunch as we wanted to visit Oxford Street and Harrods before the day was over. Harrods was amazing, we headed straight for the Toy Store which did not disappoint. We played with electronic footballs, giant Frisbees, remote control cars, drum kits, pianos and fake snow…just goes to show, you’re never too old for toys!!!
We decided it would be a good idea to pack before we headed out for our last dinner. Our room is very small so we took turns in packing our bags. We agreed upon an Indian restaurant for our last meal and luckily there was a nice restaurant not far from our hostel. We ordered some mocktails and chatted about our trip – it seems that Liverpool and Edinburgh were the favourite cities. We ate tapas style so we could all try each of the curries, some were spicier than others but we loved them, especially the peshwari naan!
The next morning some of us made it to breakfast and some were lucky enough to get breakfast in bed!! We had to get the underground to Heathrow but on the way we dropped Silvia off as she was staying in London to meet her parents. We waved goodbye to her on the platform…it was just like in the movies! The rest of us then went to the airport where we said our last goodbyes. What an amazing trip!
New Forest – Poole – Salisbury – Cardiff – Liverpool – Manchester – Lake District – Newcastle – Glasgow – Edinburgh – London.
The End.
South Camp Diary – Week 1 & 2
31 July 2017
Sunday, 30th July
Sunshine, The New Forest and a great group of campers are the best ingredients for an amazing first night at the new L&E South Camp! The children arrived, excited for a new venue, and a new group of friends to be made. They ate a glorious BBQ on the terrace followed by lots of games with the tutors. The campers were undefeated in a game named ‘splat’, much to the tutors frustrations. As the sun set over the old manor house, we all retired to some chocolate cake for Daniel’s birthday and then into our dorms for a good night’s sleep, all excited for what tomorrow will bring!
For more photos from Sunday click here
Monday, 31st July
Well what a way to start the first south camp! The children all arrived last night and we enjoyed games and a yummy BBQ together to get to know each other.
We hit the ground running today with a great session of Dodgeball, the children vs tutor games got very competitive! We then got straight into activities with one group heading out into the school grounds for some outdoor art, another group into the pool for water polo and the third group hopped into the bus and went down to Mudeford Quay to do some crabbing! The fantastic English teachers took their groups for their lessons.
The outdoor art group used natural resources to create pictures, they have turned out really well! The sporting group had great fun in the pool playing water polo, before heading out to play football after biscuit break. The crabbing group, adventured to Mudeford and had a whale of a time catching a total of 13 crabs!
After a great Lasagne lunch and a little bit of free time, the afternoon activities got underway. The activities included; creating stop-motion videos, den building, yoga, tennis, rounders, kick ball and wood weaving. The children really enjoyed these activities and were all socialising well.
After the activities were finished the pool opened and lots of us enjoyed a cool off! We then enjoyed dinner together and the evening was filled with fantastic ice breaker games from communication games to making up dance routines.
The children have bonded well and the camp could not have started on a better note!
For more photos from Monday click here
Tuesday, 1st August
Today’s blog post comes to you in campfire song!
The day started with dodgeball,
What else could it be?
The kids are getting better,
It’s plain to see…
Souki and Shido are Japanese champs,
They hurl the ball faster than a car from a ramp.
We’re having a right laugh at L & E,
Making great friends, you and me.
Many things to do and many places to go
It’s better than North Camp!
I’m telling you so!
After lunch and free-time,
There were towers to climb.
Up them like lizards
Abseiling down fine.
Lacrosse with Ashleigh,
Let’s recap the rules,
We scoop like an ice-cream
And twist like no fools,
We’re having a right laugh at L & E,
Making great friends, you and me.
Many things to do and many places to go
It’s better than North Camp!
I’m telling you so!
A swim to cool off,
Board games in the shade,
Beautiful brownies and fajitas well made,
Songs around the campfire,
Burning marshmallows,
This perfect evening,
Spent among the fellows.
For more photos from Tuesday click here
Wednesday, 2nd August
“My dear rain…As you pour down with all your might,
Will you come to me as my guiding light?
Will you wash my heart?
Will you quench my thirst?”
As Anup B Deen wrote in the poem, the rain can sometimes be a blessing and it certainly didn’t dampen our spirits today!
A group of 17 brave children headed to the Aqua Park and either kayaked or paddle-boarded their way around the huge lake. Great fun was had by all and we are certainly looking forward to returning for the inflatable challenges there tomorrow! Back at the ranch, our English immersion group were in full swing and I am pleased to report great progress (along with a lot of fun) is being made by both groups. The drenched water-sports gang returned to lashings and lashings of hot chocolate and hot showers. Suitably refreshed (and now dry) the Sports Hall was turned into the setting for games and mini challenges. The group skipped, threw and bounced their way into the L&E record books.
After lunch, board-games, badminton, volleyball, origami and dance-choreography were all on the menu. The children had great fun and Shane proved his ability to thrive in the London property market in a very competitive game of Monopoly. Dance rehearsals continued during break-time as the dance crew added the finishing touches to their routine. It was wonderful to hear the children making ‘small-talk’ and really enjoying each other’s company throughout the afternoon. Following a delicious evening meal it was time to contact home before watching the dance show. A couple of stunning solo acts from Elena and Maria who were then joined by Charlotte for a ‘Little Mix’ mash-up; the video proves just how professional and polished the performances were.
Once the popcorn had popped we all settled down to watch, ‘Swallows and Amazons’ in the theatre. Pillows and duvets were strongly encouraged andI had never heard children applauding at the end of a movie before – I guess Jade and Vicky picked well! Finally it was time for hot chocolate and relaxing in the Common room. It spoke volumes about how tired some of the children are as they started to head upstairs to bed before being asked by their tutors.
Sleep-tight L&E South: the sun will come out tomorrow and we have another busy, exciting and enlightening day ahead of us.
For more photos from Wednesday click here
Thursday, 3rd August
After a rainy day on Wednesday everyone was looking forward to the chance to get outside in the sun. Now, we might not have ended up with the completely rain free day Sarah had promised us but that did not stop us and the morning was filled with activities off site.
Those studying English headed into Salisbury to put into practice what they had been learning in lessons. They were split into groups and with the help of an able tutor they had to find their way around the city while completing a scavenger hunt.
The rest of the campers headed out to the New Forest to explore the lovely countryside. They used a GPS device to find Geo Cache orienteering points and had to work as a team to navigate. The campers all reunited after their excursions over a lovely chilli con carne for lunch.
The afternoon was filled with exciting activities; campers showed off their skills on the football pitch and helped to prepare decorations for the theme night ahead of them. Half of the camp headed out for an adventurous afternoon at the water park, jumping and splashing their way around the inflatable obstacle course, lots of fun was had by all!
The day finished with an extravaganza of a theme night. Forres Sandle Manor had the pleasure of welcoming famous World Leaders to dinner, this included Cleopatra, the Queen (x2), Ghandi, Napoleon, Teresa May, and Beyoncé. After being struck down by a natural disaster the campers had to step in and take up the mantle to lead the country. Teams competed in a range of challenges to see who would be strong enough to take the lead, some excelled in grape throwing while others showed their memory skills navigating their way across a minefield game. The night culminated in Team 6 winning the evening’s events and will hopefully be worthy world leaders.
It has been a fantastic day at South Camp, and we have so much more to look forward to!
For more photos from Thursday click here
Friday, 4th August
As the final day for some campers approached, we were greeted with some glorious sunshine and tasty waffles and syrup for breakfast. With bellies pleasingly full, the campers headed on down for the final game of dodgeball of the week.
The very excitable campers (and tutors!) set off to the waterpark for their adventure option where they bounced, jumped and spectacularly slipped into the water and off the obstacles including trampolines, stepping stones and swings. It is safe to say that Ashleigh and Rowena need a fair bit more practice before they try again! Our budding musicians got in touch with their inner song writers to create a fabulous song about the four seasons to the theme tune of ‘if you’re happy and you know it’ which went down a treat with the other campers. Our sporting superstars took to the AstroTurf for a hockey session with Vicki and Jade, which saw Hongjie and Josephine stand out from the crowd with their sporting prowess.
A traditional English meal of ‘bangers and mash’ awaited the campers for lunch, which seemed a success as their meals vanished within minutes of arrival! The annual L&E triathlon was postponed due to the lack of bicycles; therefore Sophie and Sammey put their heads together and created a fantastic afternoon which saw the children participate in ‘The Italian Job Relay’. This saw the children split into groups and competing against each other to win more tools and ammunition for the water fight at the end of the afternoon. The children took part in 5 different team events, a ten legged race, a penalty shootout, a Mario-cart timed race, a swimming drag race and ending with eating a biscuit in the fastest time. Hawaiian took the winners medal which resulted in the ‘Pizza’ half of the campers gaining access to water pistols and more water balloons than the ‘Pasta’ team. A quick dip in the pool to warm up after the water fight and a fantastic afternoon of team building, meant that the campers had plenty of time to get themselves ready for the upcoming Oscars evening.
An important part of L&E tradition is to celebrate the achievements and successes that the campers have shown throughout the week and we almost certainly weren’t short of these moments tonight! From Ghassan the camp joker to the kind Beatrice, we had plenty to cheer about. The deserving Moin had the honour of being the recipient of the first ever L&E South camp Star Camper award which is fully deserved and he goes home with some super exciting L&E merchandise to wear!
As the first week of L&E South comes to an end we can look back at some fantastic memories and some wonderful friendships created. We say goodbye to a few campers and hello to a few more on Sunday! But first the campers have a very exciting trip to London tomorrow so are tucked up in bed getting some rest ready for an incredibly busy day!
For more photos from Friday click here
Saturday, 5th August
The campers from L&E South Camp ventured to the big smoke today to explore London and all its glories! They managed to fit a huge amount into the day visiting the Queen at Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden for some shopping and spent some of their pennies in many of the wondrous shops. Campers visited Harrods to window shop, for many international designers, and then spent some time roaming the food hall to see all the wonderful pastries. They had a great time in Hamley’s checking out all the new and top toys for 2017! They also enjoyed the delights of China Town and many Old English Sweet Shops along the way! They picnicked in Hyde Park, enjoying the beautiful flowers blooming and one of the groups managed to get to the Science Museum and were blown away by the natural disasters exhibit. With tired legs, bellies full of ice cream and sweets and smiles on their faces, we left the big city to head back to camp. It was a wonderful day, with lots of new experiences, laughter and most importantly great friends to share it with.
For more photos from Saturday click here
Sunday, 6th August
It has been a busy day here at L&E with a group of campers off to Oxford for the day and the other ventured to the delights of Fordingbridge where they paddled in the river, explored the village and saw the sweet shops! The weather was very kind to us and there was lots of smiles and excitement over the visiting ducks.
This evening, the many happy South campers welcomed lots of new faces to another fantastic week of L&E! Lots of seasoned campers helped the new children to their dorms and then we enjoyed a glorious BBQ on the terrace. Then the fun began! Many games were played on the field including a very heavily contested game of capture the flag. There were some very impressive manoeuvres from both tutors and pupils to avoid detection in enemy territory.
With hot chocolate warming their bellies they went off to bed and although took a while to quieten down, they are now asleep unaware of the incredible plan the tutors have devised for the week ahead.
For more photos from Sunday click here
Monday, 7th August
Day one, and what a ‘rippa’ of a day it was. From surviving the waters of Fordingbridge, to making sure impacts from heights were going to make crucial members of our team not crack…as the wise Mr Dumpty once said “Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.” Time to get serious though, all the kids were safe throughout the whole day. The morning began with our usual breakfast but a victory was foreseen in the future but what was it to be? Some kids to finally shower? Sammy to keep her clothes dry while swimming? Or none one to trip up the stairs? However, low and behold, the Tutors finally won dodge ball against the kids, not once but twice!
After the great celebrations by the Tutors, the kids then chose to either build mini rafts to race down the river in Fordingbridge, lifesaving skills in the pool or create a dance video. At one point, Will thought he could walk on water during the lifesaving skills session but, needless to say, he ended up quite wet. We are yet to see this dance video but after hearing the stories and hearing the laughter, one can only imagine how great the video will be. Mini raft building was a great success, not one raft sunk and all managed to finish the race.
The day seemed to race away and the ice breaking evening was soon upon us. Get to know bingo was lots of laughs with Amelia taking home the bragging rights with the win. Teams were then formed and eggs needed protecting from falling from great heights. Surprisingly 4 out of the 6 teams managed to protect their egg from the world champion egg thrower Sarah and weren’t they proud of it. By the end of the night, many laughs were shared and new friendships made.
For more photos from Monday click here
Tuesday, 8th August
Today the heavens opened but with ham and cheese croissants for breakfast, and 3 out of 4 wins for the kids in dodgeball, L&E wasn’t rained off.
The day began with many exciting activities. In sport, a moist game of tag rugby. Our young adventurers set off on a Bear Grylls hike to the forest to build a log den and out mega-huge creative group of magnet makers, sculpting treasures to stick on the fridge. The English group learned about hobbies with a classic game of pictionary with big man, Will.
Lunch was beef or mushroom and broccoli pie with lots of lovely jelly to get us wobbling onto the next activities. The adventurers bounced off the inflatables, at The New Forest aqua park with a particular shout out to Mr Oliver who fearlessly climbed the iceberg and leaped off without a crumb of fear! Others laughed their way through a benchball session, showing off their mad skills with the tunes booming. Another group of campers headed to the stables to ride some elephants/horses. There was notable improvement from everyone, particularly the beginners doing rising trots on their second day, yeeeehaaaaah!!
Water polo in the pool, fajitas and chocolate brownies for tea then off to the bonfire for some games, songs and marshmallows. A huge variation of performers and languages, learning campfire songs that we will always remember. Everyone’s confidence is building, friendships are becoming stronger, brains are boggling and fun is bellowing throughout our beautiful L&E South camp.
Bring on tomorrow!
For more photos from Tuesday click here
Wednesday, 9th August
After a scrummy breakfast, mid-week of camp commenced with the usual lively game of dodgeball, which never fails to get everyone up and ready for the day (even with the dollop of British rain).
After the warm-up, the English class started a show-stopping morning of screen-play and story-writing. Sequined masks, pink feather boas, flamboyant hats and giant glasses aided the prodigy actors and writers.
The new L&E sport activity of Acro-Yoga proved to be a great hit with the campers. All sorts of shapes and balancing acts were performed by the budding acrobats/yogis with mind-blowing flexibility and strength! Meanwhile, the creative among us had a tie-dye session, where white t-shirts were transformed into multi-coloured spiralled art-work.
Over in the woods, the adventurous were ‘cameoed up’ and preparing for survival. ‘The Island with Shane and Wilson’ (release date Feb 2018) involved the campers using natural tools to make dams, fires and dens; in order to overcome the natural elements.
After a feast of meatballs and pasta for lunch, the afternoon kicked off with a badminton and table tennis extravaganza tournament. The winners were Yu and Shizuku in badminton and Daniel and Adam in table tennis.
In the art room, vibrant paper-mache dragon egg making and face painting captivated the young Picassos.
The adventurous horse riders had another fantastic day where there was great progress with all the riders. The last of the campers went to the water-park for a whirl-wind adventure of kayaking and paddle-boarding.
After an exhausting day, the campers had a relaxing evening curling up in their pyjamas and duvets to the classic movie, “School of Rock”.
For more photos from Wednesday click here
Thursday, 10th August
The midnight oil is burning and another day is done,
The campers awoke to sunshine and another day of fun.
A breakfast of waffles, sausages and spaghetti hoops,
Set the day up although everyone was pooped.
In the dodgeball hall, there was quite the commotion,
Everyone enjoyed the rapid motion.
The climbing wall returned and the monkeys ascended,
While in water polo, the players defended.
Pottery making in the sunshine yielded some wonderful pieces,
And the adventurers took on photo orienteering without their fleeces.
Post-scrummy lunch and off to the beach we went,
A wonderful afternoon in the sunshine we spent.
Sandcastles and swimming, ice cream and grinning,
Heading back to the bus, queue the cliff-top singing.
Back at camp, young padawans got in their stride,
Trying to bring Darth Vader back to the good side.
The evening ended with an aquatic battle on the moor,
Hot chocolate followed, we all hit the floor.
For more photos from Thursday click here
Friday, 11th August
On the penultimate day of camp, it was a very weary start as the campers made their way down the stairs to breakfast. With the breakfast bell ringing, a few more times than normal, campers finally followed the smell of Belgium waffles which wafted from the kitchen. With camper’s bellies full, it was time to dodge, duck and weave in the grand final of the tutors vs campers dodgeball rivalry. The soft ball whizzed around the hall, flying millimetres from campers as they dove out of the way of the tutor’s wrath…well that is how we saw it. The tutors were cowering from the onslaught of dodgeballs being hurled their way. They managed to pick it up in the final game, but in the end, it was another devastating loss.
After our morning warm up the campers went off to their morning activities. The sport group tried their hand at some tennis and hockey, pushing a pulling the hockey ball across the artificial surface whilst a mini Wimbledon game was going on. The creative students painted their clay sculptures in the sunshine appreciating the natural beauty around them. The adventurers tried their hand at some campfire cooking, with some very damp logs! Lunch was a feast of a truly English classic of: sausages, mash and beans!
This afternoon a group of campers went for their last horse riding lesson and had a lovely time galloping around the stables and managed to do some little jumps on their ponies. The rest of the camp participated in the weekly sporting competition. This week it was a mega triathlon, seeing all campers giving it there all in either their individual events or team efforts!
Everything was leading to one of the main events of the week, the Oscars! Supper was filled with chicken nuggets, chips and lots of excitement for the impending awards ceremony. The evening was filled with acro-yoga presentations and an extraordinary music video from the creative crew! Many of our campers were awarded for their talents and kindness, with Novella being awarded out Star Camper of the week!
It has been a fantastic two weeks of South camp and with a slightly heavy heart we say goodbye to the 2017 summer of L&E, which has been filled with many smiles, new friends, experiences and most of all a summer of fun! As the final song ‘Grease lightning’ brought the disco to the end, there were many tears and hugs as the campers said goodnight to the final time. It has been a blast L&E! We can’t wait till next Summer!
For more photos from Friday click here
UK Tour Diary: 9th – 23rd July
13 July 2017
DAY 1 & 2
We are the first group of Teen Travel 2017. We are a group of five including the travel mentor, Julie. We all have different nationalities, Luzia is Portuguese, Annalisa is Italian, Rose is French, Josephine is German and Julie (travel mentor) is Scottish.
We have the goal of going to London, Cardiff and Edinburgh but we also want to go to Belfast and Brighton. To achieve this goal we have a budget and we have to book and find everything by ourselves.
Planning our trip!
After arriving at Aysgarth School on Sunday we met the other Teen Travellers and spent one night at the school. The next day Julie gave us some information and then left us alone to decide what we would do. We all agreed that we would go to London that afternoon. We asked the Camp manager Sarah to give us a lift to Northallerton train station around 1pm so we could catch our train. We jumped on the train and after some naps we arrived in London at Kingscross Station. We had to get to our London accommodation so we bought oyster cards so we could go on the underground. We reached our accommodation we looked for somewhere to eat and found an Italian restaurant nearby. We were all very tired and after trying to watch a movie we all fell asleep.
On Tuesday we all woke up at half past eight and we got a very good breakfast made by Josephine and Annalisa. After that we all worked a little bit to find places to go and a bike tour for Wednesday afternoon. At 12pm we arrived at The London Dungeon which we all enjoyed a lot, after this amazing experience we had lunch and we went to the London Eye.
The London Eye
In the evening we went shopping and we finished our day with a really nice dinner in Chinatown with one of the tutors from two years ago. Izzy.
We spent some more time back at the accommodation researching things to do for the rest of our trip then we all went to bed as we were tired from the day!
Luzia (15 years old, Portugal)
For more photos click here
Days 3 & 4
On Wednesday morning after another lovely breakfast, we went to 221b Baker Street (Sherlock Holmes’s house) then we went to go to Madame Tussauds where we waited 2h30 to get in! We only stayed 20 minutes because we needed to get to Queensway’s tube station by 3.15pm to do a bike tour. The bike tour lasted 4 hours and we visited the Royal gardens of London. In the evening, we wanted a traditional meal so we went into a pub to get fish & chips where Mike (who also works for L&E) joined us.
Meeting the Royal family
4 Sherlocks!
Buckingham Palace
Today was our last day in London, the hostel was booked until 10am but the train for Brighton was at 12:20 so during that time, we went to Poundland and visited the neighbourhood before leaving for the train station. Once we got there, we caught our train for Brighton which lasted an hour. Our accommodation is situated nearby the train station so it took us only five minutes to get there.
Teen Travellers
Once we were settled, we left to get lunch in a noodle place that was really good. All those journeys were really tiring so we rested for an hour before heading to the beach where rented a paddle board, we all swam and had a shot on the board. We all then went to Brighton Pier where Luzia and I went on roller coasters! Tonight, we might go to the beach for dinner and seeing the sunset.
Rose (15 years old, France).
For more photos click here
Paddle Boarding
Brighton Pier
Days 5 & 6
Friday morning we had a real English breakfast with scrambled eggs and toast. After this good start we got the train to our next stop: Cardiff. After a good journey we arrived at Cardiff and went to our accommodation where we would sleep one night. After a short phase of planning we explored Cardiff. In the evening we went to a music and drink festival at Cardiff bay. There were many countries represented which offered their food. In addition to the food was there a live band and almost everyone danced. Before we went back to our accommodation we enjoyed the good weather and evening to took some pictures and had a great view at the bay. We went all quickly in our bed because we were all very tired.
Cardiff Station
Cardiff!
This morning we had our free breakfast and after Julie got the car which we booked to come from Cardiff to Edinburgh we started our long journey (± 7h). During this Julie noticed that we had made a mistake: Edinburgh is not Edinburg. The mistake we made was booking a hostel in Edinburg which is in Texas and not in Scotland were we actually wanted to go. So we called booking.com and talked to a customer service adviser – the woman cancelled our booking and we didn’t need to pay anything! We then had to find somewhere to stay for tonight and we found it in Glasgow. After we arrived in Glasgow we decided to cook this evening. Annalisa cooked for us very good spaghetti carbonara, which we all enjoyed.
Josephine (16 years old, Germany)
For more photos click here
Jumping Teen Travellers
Glasgow!
Day 7 & 8
We left our accommodation in Glasgow by 12:00, then we visited George square to listen to a Scottish live band. Then we took the car and drove to Tesco to buy sleeping bags and roll mats for our Scottish camping adventure. We then drove to Edinburgh. Once we got to our hostel, we left our bags and we went to Arthur’s seat and walked along the Royal Mile before having dinner. Then we went back to the hostel and we did laundry (finally!).
Royal Mile – Edinburgh
In the morning we had free time, so we went shopping on Princes Street, then we had a picnic in Princes Street Garden’s where we chilled for about 3 hours in the Scottish sun. Once we were all really relaxed after that, we went to Edinburgh castle and had a little more of free time before going to Calton Hill and getting back to Prince’s garden to end our last night in this wonderful city.
Annalisa (aged 16, Italy)
For more photos click here
Scottish Dancing?
Edinburgh
Days 9 & 10
Every member of the team takes a turn to write the blog….including the Travel Mentor! After another good night sleep in Edinburgh we woke up very excited about the next part of our adventure. This adventure started with a train ride to a small town called Alloa where my father picked us up and took us all back to my house in Dollar. We then ate some lunch and started to plan our journey. After Annalisa saw a picture of the Isle of Skye last week she, and all the other travellers, have been very keen to make the journey up north to travel around the island. I dug out my old tent and left the Teen Travellers to it! It’s always good to practice putting up a tent before you reach a campsite, it is very embarrassing if you realise you don’t have everything you need with an audience of campers watching you. The Teen Travellers struck a great deal with my parents to rent the family car and kindly asked me if I would drive them, I agreed, but only on the understanding they would buy me coffee whenever I wanted! We packed the (large) car and hit the road with the sun still shining. We headed straight for the Isle of Skye and the 5-hour drive was simply stunning. We stopped occasionally to take some pictures of the beautiful lochs and to stretch our legs. It was getting near dinner-time so we got some supplies in Fort William and found a lovely spot to eat next to some grazing horses with the amazing Ben Nevis as our backdrop, it was very picturesque. We hit the road again after calling a campsite to book in for that night, it wasn’t quite on the Isle of Skye but it was soon to get dark and although the Teen’s had practiced putting up the tent, it is somewhat more tricky in the dark. We arrived just before sunset and the tent was up in a matter of minutes’ – this left us with just enough time to climb a small hill to watch the sun go down.
After a dry, yet windy night the Teens were excited to get to The Isle of Skye. We had breakfast and took down the tent before it blew away and hit the road again. The girls wanted to visit the famous Fairy Pools, which are in the west of Skye so we headed straight there. The Fairy Pools did not disappoint – they comprise of a natural waterfall where the water flows down creating pools in which the water is crystal clear. The girls ate lunch perched on a rock and then explored the pools. The pools are a popular place to go swimming and although it was a warm day, ‘Scottish’ warm isn’t the same as normal warm! We hit the road again, this time to Dunvegan where we would camp for the last time. The girls were very tired after all the driving so they set up camp and rested for a while before dinner. We then headed to the local supermarket where we bought a very random, yet lovely selection of food for a picnic. Our campsite is right on the Dunvegan Loch so we sat outside and filled our bellies next to the water. The girls played Uno in their tent not worrying about the rain that was moving in…it’s going to be a very wet night!
Julie (Travel Mentor, Scotland)
L&E on the Road
27 January 2017
Julie, Sarah, Michael and Sam will be on the road quite a bit over the next few weeks spreading the word of L&E! We’re delighted to be visiting Paris, Milan and London for some Travel/Camp Fairs plus quite a few schools. We hope to see you there…
- Saturday, 28th January: Franco American Community Centre Paris 2pm-7pm
- Thursday, 2nd February: Instituto Europeo Leopardi Milan 4pm-7pm
- Saturday, 4th February: Haberdashers’ Aske’s School London 9am-4pm
Ready for Camp Fairs
