Calvert Trust, Kielder, trial activity weekend for Strongbones

Recently, I went on a trial residential visit at Calvert Trust, Kielder for Strongbones Children’s Charitable Trust. The location is beautiful, surrounded by natural views of long grass, swaying in the breeze and wild rabbits hopping around and bees busy collecting pollen in the natural, wild flowers. I stayed in Straker Lodge, this is a wheelchair accessible lodge with built-in hoist in the bedroom, stored away in a cupboard when not in use. The lodge also has two other bedrooms, a large open kitchen-diner, going into a large living area with floor to ceiling windows onto the patio where there is a hot tub, a barbeque pit and garden furniture for outdoor eating and relaxing. The accommodation is perfect for families, there are three luxury lodges and then several more lodges closer to the main facilities. During my trial visit I arranged to participate in as many activities as Calvert Trust, Kielder, could offer. When we arrived on Friday, we checked in at 4pm, dropped off our luggage and collected the rest of our team from the local train station at Hexham, which is approximately 50 minutes drive away. We then headed back to our lodge to unpack, have something to eat and play a few games before bed. I didn’t go in the hot tub as it wasn’t up to temperature as it had been cleaned prior to our arrival.

On Saturday, we had an early start, we had to get to the activities reception for 9.45 to get ready to do the ZipCoaster, KingSwing and Clay Pigeon shooting. First my Mum and Dad put my sling underneath me, then leaned me forwards to put the harness on; once I was all ready I was taken up in the lift to the platform and hoisted onto the ZipCoaster line, once I was all padded out and safe a lady gave me a good push and off I went! It was really fun, it was fast and bumpy, going up and down and round the bends, it was quite fast. My least favourite part of the ZipCoaster was the end, when I came down I hit the stopped which flings you upwards a bit and then the man caught my legs and hoisted me down again. I enjoyed the ride, but I would not do it again.

We then went to the KingSwing, this is a very large swing that hoists you up slowly, then you pull the red line and it releases you; you drop a little bit then swing in a pendulum motion. The activity leader told me what would happen, then I was positioned infront of the bar and my sling was attached to make me secure, the activity leaders placed padding under my legs to make sure I was comfortable then the hoisting began. Dad went on the swing with me to ensure I was safe at all times. Once we were high enough, the man told my dad to pull the red line, when Dad pulled that, we dropped really quickly then started swinging really high. The KingSwing made me go dizzy when I was going up and down and forwards and backwards, it was a thrilling feeling. Once the KingSwing had slowed down, they hoisted me and Dad back up and we went again. I didn’t really want to do it again, but I did.

After the KingSwing, we went to clay pigeon shooting. This was a wooden hut with five seperate gates, two lowered for wheelchair users and three at standard height. We were given a safety briefing then the man went and got the guns from a special cabinet and gave them out. My Dad was in the bay with me, supporting me to hold the gun. The man explained how it worked and then gave us all the opportunity to shoot the clay pigeons. The man counted down; 3, 2, 1 then pressed the button and the clay pigeons flew up into the air. My Dad pulled the reload switch then when the man did the countdown, I pulled the trigger and it released three shots. I managed to shoot one clay pigeon which I think was pretty good.

After clay pigeon shooting, we went back to our lodge for lunch, we sat inside a there were lots of midges flying around. I really like the table in the lodge, it is large circular table with a glass circle in the middle that rotates like a lazy susan. It was fantastic for buffet style meals, where everyone can pick the food they want. After we chilled out for a little while, we hopped in the car and headed to Matthews Lin, which part of Kielder Water where they do the water activities from. Before I could go onto the jetty, I had to have my sling put under me, my life jacket put on and my seatbelt undone, it is very important to have all seatbelts on wheelchairs unfastened when going down onto the jetty due to safety. I had to be wheeled down backwards as the slope was extremely steep. Once I was on the jetty it was a very quick process to get me into the boat. I was attached to the hoist and lowered onto a beanbag that was already in position waiting for me. Mum and Dad got in my boat and the man undid the safety ropes and off we went. My instructor was in a separate safety boat, it was more like a dingy with an engine and he kept an eye on us from a distance. I loved sailing, it was my favourite activity from the whole weekend, I was able to pull the ropes and participate in moving the sails to make us go. We were on the water for about two hours, it was so peaceful. Due to the hot weather we are experiencing, I was under my sun umbrella to keep my sheltered, my parents managed to secure it so it was fully covering me and I could fully enjoy the experience. When our time was up, we sailed back towards the jetty then gradually drifted back to meet the instructor who hoisted me back out and into my chair. We got back in the car then went back to the lodge.

On Sunday, we had to get up early and get ready to go canoeing, it was raining when we got up, but by the time we got to the water, it was dry again. There were three canoes attached to each other, so our whole group could participate together which was really nice. Three adults went in one canoe, then I was hoisted into the closest canoe to the jetty and Mum and Dad got in too. The instructor sat in the canoe slightly behind us and was very good. He told us all about the wildlife and local facts, about how Kielder Water was flooded to make to lake we were on. We had about an hour out on the water, we all had oars, but I put mine in the water and didn’t tell anyone, so when we were heading back in we had to turn around and go back out to find the oar I had dropped. My Dad spotted it in the distance and we collected it then went back to shore. I was hoisted back into my chair really quickly and efficiently, then we went back to the lodge again to get packed up and load the car ready to go home. Once we were all finished at Calvert Trust, we put the keys into a locked box and all got in the car and went for something to eat. I highly recommend The Pheasant Inn at Kielder Water, we all had beautiful meals, Mum even said ‘it’s the best Sunday Roast she’s had in a long time!’.

After we had finished our lunch and pudding, we dropped some of our group off at Hexham train station before driving home.

I had a great experience at Calvert Trust, Kielder; the activities and activity leaders were fantastic, really good at their jobs! I would highly recommend it for –

• The onsite activities

• Kielder Water activities

• It’s very natural surroundings, relatively flat for wheelchair users

• The wheelchair accessible / adapted golf buggies (we didn’t get access to these on our visit), they can be used to go on the nature trails around Calvert Trust.

In conclusion, I love Calvert Trust, Kielder, the activities are very different to anything I’ve done before, the luxury lodges are beautiful and really accessible and the whole area is so natural, you can see wild rabbits zig-zagging across the road and bees busy buzzing around in the long grass and wild flowers.

If you would like to see my experience at Calvert Trust, Kielder, here is a link to my blog, you can see me having a go on the all the activities and my reactions to them!