Our Outdoor Adventure Experiences at St Barnabas Trust

Beach Adventure

The Beach adventure will be based at Downderry Beach near to St Nicolas. A fun packed day exploring all the coastal environment has to offer. Pupils will be able to try their hand at rock pooling, identifying different species of marine dwellers and foraging for seaweed. They will learn about the tides and how our solar system affects them throughout the day. We will allow time for some creative play during the day involving beach art sessions, a scavenger hunt and a sand castle building competition.

Bear Hunt

The Bear hunt takes place at Cardinham Woods. It is based on the popluar children’s book “were going on a bear hunt” by Micheal Rosen. The children will adventure through the woods following the storyline, “ Oh no we can go over it, we can’t go, under it, we’ve got to go through it. They will wade across streams, tackle steep banks via knotted ropes, walk through dense woodland and thickett and through bogs all whilst on the hunt for the elsusive Bear.

Canoeing at Kit Hill

Canoeing at Kit Hill Quarry in rafted 16ft canoes. This is a short introductory session for the children to understand key aspects of water safety and learn some basic paddle techniques.

Woodland Adventure

The Woodland adventure takes place in Cotehle Woods, The children wil learn all there is to know about the woodsland enviroment. They will learn how to make a fire, filter dirty water and be rewarded with hot chocolate and marshmellows. They will build dens and learn about the different types of trees in the wood.

Mountain Bike Development

The Mountain bike development day will be an fun, action packed day looking to build and improve riders knowledge and skills of all things mountain biking. This introductory session will cover practical bike skills such as handling and balance, effective braking and cornering techniques, body position in relation to trail features and some minor bike maintenance including a puncture repair challenge.

Coast Path Walk

The coast path adventure will see our Year 3’s and 4’s take on a 5 mile stretch of the Cornish coast path starting at the coastal village of Cawsand, which is located on the Rame peninsula, an area steeped in Military history. After a short walk out of the village and on to the cliff tops, we’ll discover the history of the area through careful map reading and keep our eyes peeled for marine life in the Plymouth sound. They will explore the geology of the area and learn about how humans defend our coastlines from the impact of erosion.

Canoeing – Siblyback Lake

The children will launch on siblyback lake in rafted 16ft canoes. They will explore the lake and participate in various games and exercises designed to improve their paddling skills and confidence on the water. Working together as a team is key during this activity.

Archery Adventure

The children will have the opportunity to learn the ancient art of archery which has been practised for over 10000 years. Pupils will learn all aspects of Archery from learning range safety and how to load and loose safely. The morning’s session will include range safety and coaching from qualified staff and in the afternoon, we will play some archery games on the range. Children will be keeping track of their own scores using their maths skills. They will work out their totals and averages during the activity. There will be an Inter School competition round during the day where the school with the best average will win the coveted Yr 3/4 Archery Trophy.

Rock Climbing and Orienteering Adventure

The rock climbing adventure will take place at Kit Hill Quarry, the day will be split into two sessions. Session 1 – Rock Climbing. The pupils will learn how to fit a harness and helmet correctly, tie knots and have a go at scaling the walls of the quarry on easy grade rock climbs whilst being belayed by the instructors. They can even have a go themselves, under close supervision of course. Session 2 – Orienteering and Team building – The children will have the opportunity to learn some basic map and compass skills on a short session exploring the quarry and its history. They will then participate in some teamwork activities which will look to improve their problem solving and communication.

Dartmoor Adventure

The Dartmoor adventure will take the children on a journey back in time to the bronze age as they explore the area which boasts the largest concentrations of bronze age remains in the UK.

Along with the bronze age, we will look at how human activity has affected the landscape of Dartmoor through quarrying and agriculture.
Afterwards they will ascend Kings tor which is 400 metres above sea level where they will partake in the age old tradition of Weaseling. It will involve exploring the tor and its many caves, nooks and crannies. Learning how the elements have affected the tor over the years.

Brown Willy Adventure

On Brown Willy adventure, pupils will navigate their way across rugged moorland terrain using maps and compasses to the top of Brown Willy, which is the highest point in Cornwall at 420m. Its Cornish name is contested but it’s often referred to as “Bron ughella” from the Cornish term meaning highest hill or “Bronn Wennili” meaning hill of swallows. They will explore some of the history and geology of the area on their way to the top and back again. The walk is approximately 4 miles long.

Mountain Bike Adventure

The Mountain bike adventure takes place at the Tamar Trails in Devon. We will ride a 5 mile section of the tamar trails starting from the trail centre. The children will be taught effective braking and cornering techniques and trail etiquette. We hit the trails and pedal through the forest exploring the rich mining history of the tamar valley along the route.

Gorge walking

The children will construct shelters using tarps, poles and rope for changing in. They will then participate in a Gorge Walk. We use the River Plym which is a slow moving cascading river with lots of deep pools and waterfalls which can be scrambled up. Children will wear full wetsuits, helmets and buoyancy aids. Children are not required to swim at any point. There is good bank access along the river for access and egress. We will look at the geomorphology of the river and its features during the session. Teamwork will play a big part on this day.

Scrambling

The Scrambling adventure will take place in the Dewertone Valley, nestled high about the river Meavy. The children will take part in 2 sessions throughout the day.

Session 1 – Roped Scrambling – The pupils will learn how to fit a harness and helmet correctly, tie knots and scramble up an easy grade rock climb whilst being belayed by the instructor.

Session 2 – Un roped scrambling The children will start down at river level and scramble up the rocks on the dewerstone ridge. This is a very easy scramble and any difficulties can be avoided and walked around.

River Adventure

Our river adventure takes place on the Tamar or the Fowey estuary. The children will paddle 16ft rafted canoes and journey through some historic stretches of east Cornwall’s biggest rivers learning all about the history and wildlife of the river. We will paddle with the tide learning all about the movements of the river throughout the day.