Monday 15th September 2025

We all arrived at school, this morning, very excited for our residential trip. Our journey to Plas Gwynant soon began, with us then stopping at Chester for lunch.

As we entered Wales, we were amazed at the views; we passed fast flowing rivers, waterfalls and we even had a glimpse of the sea.

At 14:30, we arrived at Plas Gwynant and were looking forward to meeting our instructors. 

After a site tour and then being provided with all the kit for the week, our first task was to make our beds. We all supported each other and worked together to ensure our beds were made and our bags were unpacked. 

For dinner, we had a choice of either fish or pizza, accompanied by chips, sweetcorn and salad. For pudding, we were offered arctic roll with peaches. 

We were then all told our jobs for the week. Some of us have responsibilities in the dinner hall, some outside on the site and some of us are becoming experienced with a vacuum. We are all working hard to ensure Plas Gwynant remains tidy and clean. 

This evening, we all went on a night walk. We walked up a nearby mountain, stopping halfway to experience the sounds of nature. We were encouraged to stop and think of the sounds we could hear and how these sounds might be different to that at home. 

After a long walk, hot chocolate awaited us upon our return. We all then went to bed to get some rest for our first full day tomorrow. 

Unfortunately, there haven't been any opportunities to take photos today due to the inclement weather and the light fading very quickly after our initial set up with site responsibilities, unpacking and making beds. There will be many photos uploaded tomorrow. 

 

Tuesday 16th September 2025

We were all woken up early as we had a full day ahead of us with most of us dressed for 7.30 am.  First, we all went to the classroom to find out about the morning jobs we needed to complete and how breakfast was organised.  

We all completed our jobs and had breakfast.  There was a choice of cereal and hash browns and beans. Next, we all made our own sandwiches to take out for the day; some of us made interesting sandwich choices! 

After that, we met up with our instructors and were told about the activity we would be doing. Everybody would be going on a mountain hike as the weather looked more promising in the afternoon and it was.  Each group was equipped with waterproofs and our lunch set off in the minibuses and each group was dropped off at the foot of the mountain.   

We set off and steadily climbed the mountain towards the top, stopping for a snack and then our lunch, which we ate on the mountain looking out at amazing views.  The weather was kind to us and it didn't rain at all.  Some of the groups even had a chance to explore some copper mines with our touches.

By the afternoon, we were all starting to feel tired and started to make our way down the mountain  back towards the centre and we all arrived back around 4pm.  There was just time for us to get cleaned up before it was time for dinner, which was a choice of pork or vegetarian meatballs with sauce and pasta. 

After our dinner, our evening activity was photo orienteering. This was followed by hot chocolate, a biscuit and filling in our dairies.

 

Wednesday 17th September 2025

After a good night's sleep, we were awake and ready to complete our morning jobs by 07:45. Our teachers were very proud of how well we slept. 

After our morning duties, we had our well-deserved breakfast. Cereals, fruit, yoghurt, beans, toast and scrambled egg were all gratefully received. We then made our packed lunches ready for the day ahead. 

Our morning was spent at the centre, exploring the grounds. While doing this, we completed many of the activities from our '50 things to do at Plas Gwynant' challenge. This included walking outside barefoot, building a den, making a crown, rolling down a hill, team building and playing Pooh sticks. 

After eating our lunch, we then got ourselves ready for the afternoon. 

Some groups headed to the beach, followed by a delicious ice cream. Other groups challenged themselves to abseiling. 

After arriving back at the centre, we were relieved to find out it was lunch time. We had all built up an appetite! Sausages (pork and vegetarian), mashed potato, carrots, Yorkshire pudding and gravy – it was delicious. For pudding, it was chocolate brownie and cream. 

This evening, we all took part in a group game. Our teachers all hid around the site, with items we needed from them to win the challenge. Our mission was to find our teachers, in a specific order, to retrieve the items and return to the classroom. Our teachers hid well!

We all then relaxed in our pyjamas with hot chocolate and cookies, while completing our diary for the day. 

 

Thursday 18th September 2025
After another good night's sleep, we woke at 07:30 ready for the day ahead. We began our morning duties, followed by a well-deserved breakfast. We filled our bowls with cereal and piled our plates high with hash browns, beans and toast. All of this was washed down with a nice warm cup of tea. During breakfast, we took the time to celebrate a birthday. Having a birthday at Plas Gwynant is a truly special experience. 

Shortly after breakfast, we made our packed lunch ready for our full day of activities. 

All groups have been very busy today, with bouldering, gorge walking and visiting the beach. We used a range of skills acquired throughout the week to work together and support each other throughout each challenge. Today's challenges were 'challenge by choice', which meant that we were all pushed out of our comfort zone. Although the challenges were tricky at times, we all felt very proud of what we had achieved. 

We returned to the centre at 16:30 and began the task of packing our cases ready for tomorrow's departure. This led us to free time around the centre. 

Dinner soon arrived and we were eager to enjoy the delicious meal on offer. Today's meal was beef burger, or vegetarian burger, with wedges and salad. For pudding, we enjoyed sticky toffee pudding. 

After dinner, we enjoyed a disco and time at the Plas Gwynant shop. 

We ended the evening with a slice of birthday cake and stories about our day. 

We are looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow. 

Please be aware that gorge walking is a water-based activity which was not suitable for Temple Meadow teacher iPads. This means that staff were unable to take photos at this time. 

Plas Gwynant staff have taken photos using suitable waterproof cameras. These photos will be shared when we return to school.