Primary 5/6 had a great time with lots of new experiences and learning lots of new skills with watersports at Carlingwark, Castle Douglas. The group went for 2 days and were blessed with wonderful weather (so much so there was very little wind for sailing in!).
On Monday the 19th of September, Primary 5-6 from Portpatrick Primary School went to Carlingwark in Castle Douglas.
When we got there, we were greeted by a man called Alex. He took us inside and showed us our rooms. After that, we went down the stairs to get a wetsuit so that our clothes wouldn’t get wet when we were doing our watersports. After we got kitted out we got a splash proof jacket for on top of our wetsuits. Then we got a buoyancy aid so that if we fell out of a boat we would float on to our back.
The P5’s went canoeing and the P6’s went kayaking. When we got to our kayak Ian told us to sit in the kayak and shake about to see if anybody fell out (luckily none of us did). After that, we carried our kayaks into the loch. Once we got used to the water we navigated over to a huge water fountain to play tig. Next , we went over to an island called Skull Island. When we got there we rafted up and stood up and jumped up and down in the kayak. It was wobbly but exciting.
Soon it was time for lunch and we had hot juice to warm us up. After that, Alex and Ian came in and told us to get ready for canoeing. The P6’s then did canoeing whilst the P5’s did kayaking. We went out and put our canoes in the loch. Alex tied up his canoe and the other two canoes together so it would be easier to move. First of all, we went under the water fountain and got soaked. Then, as we weren’t tied up any more, we headed to another island. However, my group were just turning round and round and round. Next, Alex told us to head to somewhere different and my group headed straight for an island, but I held onto a branch and Alex came and got us. Then, we rafted up and headed for a river tunnel. When we got to the tunnel we got out of the canoes and went for a little walk in the water. It was very funny because Lachlan was lying down in the water. It was freezing.
When we came out of the tunnel we headed for Under Water Island. It was great fun because we could stand on it and get wet in the middle of Carlingwark Loch. What was also very funny was that Olivia.S and I couldn’t get in the canoe. Finally, we went in and had a shower. When we were finished we went out for dinner at the Scot’s Pantry. I had sausage and mash. It was very nice.
When we finished our dinner we went to play at the local park. When we went back to the lodge got our jammies on and had hot chocolate. After we were finished our hot chocolate we went up to our rooms. It was a late night!
The next morning we got up at 7:30 and went and got breakfast.. When we came back we put our wetsuits on and went outside. Ed and Robbie showed us how to put the kayaks together. When the sailing boats were ready we put them in the water. Then Ed told us to go to the pink buoy and then the white buoy. When we finished we rafted up and Ed threw ducks in the loch and we were to rescue them.
After that, we went in for lunch . Then, we went back in the sailing boat. Robbie had his own sailing boat so Innes, Lee and I went in his boat. When we came out of Robbie’s boat I went in a boat with Ms Whorlow and Lachlan. Finally, we got out and went for a shower. When we finished our shower we had hot chocolate. Then the bus came to take us home. I had a great experience in Carlingwark and I hope to go again.
By Mia-p5
On Monday 19th of September p5/7 from Portpatrick Primary went on a residential trip to Carlingwark Outdoor Activity Centre for one night.
When we got to Carlingwark it was about 9.30 am. We got introduced to an instructor called Alex. We got told what we were going to do when we were there. P5’s were going to do canoeing and the p6s were going to do kayaking. Later on in the day we swapped activities.
When we started canoeing I couldn’t wait! Our instructor for canoeing was Alex. We pulled out three canoes and tied them together to make one big boat.
After Alex had showed us how to steer and everything else we needed to know, we split into little groups and Alex set a certain destination. In my group there were: Myself, Rhian and Lee. We had to steer to an island in the middle of the loch. We thought it was floating at first but when we got closer we found out that it wasn’t. After we did that we learned how to tie up a canoe to a mooring to allow us to disembark.
Once we had finished canoeing we had some lunch and started kayaking. We had Ian as our instructor and he showed us how to steer and how to sit in a kayak. We paddled further in to the loch and we played a good game of tag. It was one of my best memories for me at Carlingwark. We had to control our kayak to seek each other out. When we were paddling back Myles capsized! Luckily, he was okay. When we had finished kayaking we got to deliberately capsize. It was fun.
Once we had got changed we got ready to go out for dinner. When we got back to the lodge (after a play at the fun park) we went up to our rooms and got ready for bed (after 8 ‘o’clock). It was a long night before everyone settled down as we were all excited.
In the morning we got ready for sailing. We sailed on boats called ‘Fun Boats’. We played a game were you had to sail to rescue an overboard rubber duck, a tennis ball or a toy with a random name. It was quite fun. Sometimes our instructor Ed would drive his speed boat right in front of us and it would make huge waves! We got randomly chosen by Ed to go on to Robbie’s “tilting where you turn yacht”. Robbie is also an outdoor instructor. Robbie’s yacht was quite fast and we could sometimes touch the water with our hands.
Sailing was really fun and so was canoeing and kayaking. I really loved going to Carlingwark.
By Rowan Harbottle P5
