Sun. Sea. Sunshine. ahh Holywell Bay I miss You (Holywell Bay Fun Park)

Member Name: angiebabyqueen

Product:	Holywell Bay Fun Park
Date:	15/10/05 (806 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: New friends, Lush new views and New things to do

Disadvantages: being worn out and tired when i came back

I know this is in the wrong catogory, but seeing as there isn't a category for Holywell bay training camp, i thought about putting it under here.

Summer holidays, the sun is shining, school is out and what do I choose to do…..army cadet camp in Cornwall - not exactly the best place to go and chill out and just relax - but it will do. Twelve whole days away from my mum, and my younger siblings - yay! Now before any of you lovely people say anything, this review is about Penhale camp, which is near Newquay - but because there is no Penhale section, I will put it in the Newquay section.

From Wiltshire, it took us three hours to get to Exeter which was our lunch break. We stopped at Exeter service station - which can I add, is a lovely place to stop, with up to date toilet facilities, a restaurant, a burger king and a shop. There is also an outside play park for the children, and arcade games dotted about the place. From the service station, it took us another hour and a half to get there, so we got to Penhale camp at 3.30 in the afternoon. Driving through the little town of Penhale though, I realized what a lovely little town it would be to visit. It had the tourist shops, the beaches with people sunbathing and surfing on, and steep sandy hills. As soon as I got there, I thought 'oh wow, I hope we get to go there!' so we got to the training camp which was on top of a hill, and I thought, 'so this is my home for the next two weeks then it looks pretty nice actually.' Once we had got there, unpacked our things off of the coach, we were then told that we had to go to our accommodation. I was expecting two billets for the girls again - like last year, but instead we got one billet to share between 27 girls. Double bunk beds and a cramped space, but still it was great to see the girls again and be able to catch up. I haven't seen most of these people since the may weekend.

We were told that tea would be at 5.00pm in the evening and so to get into our uniforms. We got into our uniforms and held a parade. We had to have a long waiting time as the other companies buses were caught up in traffic and so wouldn't be here for a little longer. After tea and the parade, we were told we then had free time….so I hooked up with my girly pals, got changed, and shot over to the boy's billets - even though we're not really allowed to be there. We met up with a few of our lad friends and decided to explore the camp. The first thing we wanted to see is the views. We climbed up the small road hill, and got to the top of the fenced gates. Wow, I thought as I looked through the gate. This is so calming looking out to the sea. Penhale beach one side of me, and another beach (which I am told that it is a nudist beach!) the other side of me. I thought wow, I'm going to love this, but before I realized, it was 10.00 and time to be in our billets. I decided that as we have one hour to be in to bed, that I would try out the showers… Christ I thought as I stepped in, this is absolutely freezing! Turns out that I was meant to turn the dial the other way! Whops…..what a blonde as I found out afterwards. After the shower, I decided to get into my billet and make my bed, with all the right hospital corners and such like. 10.45 as I looked at my watch and all the girls traipsing in a little too late. But oh well - it isn't my problem tonight, so I will just lay down and …zzz

The rest of the camp was pretty exciting, but tiring and unorganized. We did paintballing and go karting, courtesy of the army based in Yeovilton, survival skills, and the such like on the moors that are owned by the army on the first two days. After that, we went to Milbourne ranges and I shot a GP rifle which scared me a little, as it had a HUGE kick back, but it was pretty fun though.
The next three days, we did an exercise on a training/camping area of the camp. We had to run around and play war for a few days. The countryside was gorgeous out there. We could see a small town all lit up in the distance and it was just amazing. If there's one thing I remember most about the camp, it got to be the views. Anyway, we met a few officers that visited the camp, and during the exercise, I was interviewed by some army photographers and interviewers. Apparently my picture and interview will be in the paper, although I haven't seen it yet. It might even go to soldier magazine. Can't wait to see that! That's got to be a photo to laugh out loud at, as I was applying cam cream at the time. So two nights sleep in a tent was pretty fun, but on the Saturday morning, the day of which we were meant to be going to the beach, it was chucking it down. Christ, I suddenly decided - I hate Cornwall now. It was perfect yesterday, but today it's just plain nasty! Oh well, I'll get over it! So we stayed in camp that day. Well at least it gave me a chance to unwind and relax.

Sunday, we went to the lakes near by and although it wasn't the best of days, it was pretty cold; I still managed to have a smile on my face by the end of the day. We did boating, canoeing, archery, and raft building…all of which I have enjoyed. We were also meant to do windsurfing, but because the wind pressure was too high, we just did some surfing with the boards. I still found it fun though!

Monday and Tuesday, we did our expedition on Bodmin moor which although, I came back exhausted and tired, with many blisters and a bad back, I loved every minute of it. The tors weren't that hard to climb up, but they were hard to climb down, as every time we thought that we were safe, we would find another rock and slip onto our bums. When we overcame the tors though, we came across the bogs! So so funny. We had a choice; go through the fifty yards of bog, or go around 500 metres or so round it, yet not get muddy. Well, we choose to try the bogs and because I had sink to my knees, and one of the guys in my group was up to his waist, we decided to turn back. I almost killed myself laughing at how stupid we looked, all muddy and still going around the bog! The other people in my group thought that I was mad! Oh well. They had already nicknamed me tomb raider which I thought was cool! I wore my ankle supported black boots, and green shorts like tomb raider does. All the girls were like oh my god, what are you wearing, because all the guys were like wow are you okay tomb raider and paying me a little bit more attention to me now, than some of the other girls. I think that doing my silver practice Duke of Edinburgh on annual, has made me learn a little more, and has let me get to know a few people that I usually wouldn't talk to, a little better. But the views were once again just amazing. Standing on top of a tor, you feel on top of the world. Being able to walk 15miles in two days with a heavy rucksack on, gives you freedom, independency, and a chance to clear your head. Yet again, another night in a tent, But I had a pretty good nights sleep. When we got to our destination on the Tuesday morning, we got onto the coach and just slept. Well everyone else did. I have a phobia of sleeping on transport that moves, so I just put my feet up.

Wednesday, and I thought, yes only two days left to go until I can sleep until midday. If there's one thing that I hate most about camp, it's got to be the fact that we have to get up at 6 without fail every morning. Anyway, Wednesday came and we went to Flambards theme park which turned out to be more fun than I had expected. The theme park is designed for 7-11 year olds, but I managed to have fun. They had a mini rollercoaster, a mini log flume, and two other rides, one of which reminds me of the meteorite fairground ride that is in a lot of fairs. There's a hands on experience, a wildlife walk inside, a play park, a death slide, and because it was so hot, me and my friends just decided to stand in the sprinklers. I loved this day out and thought that it was pretty fun. I even have a ride photograph to prove how much I enjoyed it. I recommend this theme park for anyone out there with young children to entertain during the holidays. If I found this fun, and I'm 14, then I'm sure that your children will enjoy it. They have a restaurant and various picnic areas and gift shops dotted around the park. They have pretty good toilet facilities as well.

Thursday came, and I was just like, yes tomorrow I'm going home! I can sleep! But I thought well this should be an easy day. I got roped into the first aid competition, and picked to be the team leader. Unfortunately, the guy in our group had decided to move an unconscious spinal injury in our scenario, and so scored us minus points. But apparently, my leadership and first aid skills pulled us through to second place. I was then told later that day, that I am now put on the national first aid team, and so I have to train at Westbury now. I'm only a reserve at the moment, but it only takes one person to drop out, and I'm there. We were also meant to be doing tug of war, but because the weather had turned for the worse once again, it was canceled. Our company was declared second overall in all the competitions. Which I thought was pretty good. Last year we were third, and the year before that, we were last place, fourth. Hopefully next year in Kent, we'll be number one.

We had our disco that night which I found fun although it wasn't really a proper disco. It was a great chance to say goodbye to all the friends that I had made over the two weeks. The best part was the fact that I could just do what I wanted really because it was our last day.

Conclusion
Although that this camp wasn't as good as last years, and it was more unorganized, tiring and exhausting, I found this camp pretty much fun. I met new people, tried new things, and spent two weeks away, for only £45 as well. I recommend this camp if cadets groups are going, and if you are a leader of any brownies, rainbows, guides, scouts, cub's, beavers or schools, go to the Penhale adventure website. This isn't just a military camp either; it's a training camp for anyone. There are even special dates for when the next lot of camps are, but you need to contact them for that. Each camp will be similar activities to what I will have done. The minimum age requirements are 12 or a supervised adult with under 12's. For anyone who has children, I advise this if they are up for adventure, trying new things, and becoming independent or for a little bit of fun. Each camp does vary on the activities that happen, but your child will come back appreciating the tiniest things, I promise! I remember coming back and just appreciating the sofa, my mum and even my annoying little siblings, I was that tired and worn out. Happy adventuring!

Details of the camp:
Penhale Adventure Centre Ltd
Building 75
Penhale Training Camp
Holywell Bay
Newquay
Cornwall
TR8 5PF
Phone: UK FREEPHONE: 0800 781 6861
International: +44 (0)1326 280775
info@penhaleadventure.com or go to http://www.penhaleadventure.com

Thanks for reading! Have a great summer! :-)

Angiexx

NB also under my name angiebabyqueen on ciao

Summary: It was tiring and a little unorganised, but i enjoyed it a lot