What an amazing summer the Young Carers have had!
Having not seen the young carers in person for a while, the Young Carer Workers were delighted to be given the green light to plan and arrange trips again. We started the summer off with the first of the trips to Carlton Lodge Outdoor Centre where we explored the low ropes and archery. The smiles and laughter were wonderful to see, and the young carers were much better at archery than the support workers! They showed real determination and a passion to keep trying.
This was followed by a lovely picnic and walk in Northallerton, with games and a very welcome walk to the ice-cream shop! It was not long before friendships were made and laughter was all around.
The next trip to Carlton lodge was to experience the low ropes again and participate in raft building. Both of these activities involved a lot of teamwork, communicating with each other and getting very muddy and wet. And did they get wet?... Yes! Because they all jumped in the water at the end - there was not one dry sock amongst them! They had a brilliant day where new friendships were made and telephone numbers exchanged.
The high ropes were the next adventure – We were so proud of how all the young carers pushed themselves to go beyond their comfort zones; climbing high up into the sky and trusting the instructors as they scrambled along ropes, skipped over wooden bridges and rolled over on poles suspended 10m above the ground.
Another picnic and walk to Easby Abbey in Richmond was enjoyed by a group from as far afield as Reeth and Linton-Upon-Ouse. Sunshine, a scavenger hunt, hide and seek and abbey scrambling were amongst the activities we enjoyed that day. Oh, and ice-cream of course!
We had a relaxing Art session on Zoom halfway through the holidays where we sketched and shaded images of owls. It was good to do something quiet and contemplative after all our outdoor excursions
Our last trip to Carlton Lodge involved problem solving and kayaking – again the young carers were not dry by the end of the session but had built up confidence, worked as a team and most importantly had some well-deserved respite.
It has been a fabulous summer with our young carers in Hambleton & Richmondshire and we wish them all the very best in the new academic term ahead!