Archers… Fencers… Assemble! Day Two at the Castle

There were a few sleepy faces at breakfast this morning as we kicked off day two of our St Briavels adventure. Yesterday's excitement had clearly caught up with everyone but one look at the breakfast spread soon brought everyone back to life. Cereals, juices, toast with every spread imaginable and a full English were all on offer. Safe to say nobody went hungry. A few children even stayed behind afterwards for the hottest new breakfast club in town… ‘Tea with Tom’. Membership is already soaring.

Fuelled and ready for adventure, we laced up our walking boots and headed into the beautiful Forest of Dean. Along the way we discovered babbling brooks, stunning woodland, the border of Wales and approximately one million sheep. We didn't count them all but we're pretty confident we got close.

Back at the castle, everyone tucked into sandwiches, crisps, biscuits and fresh fruit before it was time to become fearless warriors. First up was archery. Sadly, nobody managed to split an arrow in half like Robin Hood or hit an apple from a hundred paces but the improvement was incredible. Every arrow that found the target was met with cheers loud enough to wake the sheep we'd just walked past.

Then came fencing and things became very competitive very quickly. We're not saying Mrs Walkinshaw and Mrs Murray took it seriously… but we're also not saying they didn't. The children swished, lunged and parried with style, flair and plenty of dramatic sword poses. It was brilliant fun to watch and nobody lost an ear, which always counts as a successful session.

As the sunshine turned up the heat, it was time to cool off with water games. Teams had to rescue little ducks from floating tubes by plugging holes with their fingers, balance jugs of water on giant shields while attempting all sorts of tricks and then, just when everyone thought it was safe… the epic water fight began. There were no winners. There were no losers. There were only very, very wet children and adults. Afterwards, everyone stretched out on the lawn to dry off naturally in the sunshine.

Dinner was another big hit with a choice of jacket potatoes or spaghetti and meatballs, complete with garlic bread because everything is better with garlic bread. Dessert featured doughnuts with chocolate sauce and whipped cream or a refreshing choc ice. There may have been a few very happy faces.

The evening finished in perfect style with games on the lawn before gathering around the campfire. The legendary Jon returned to entertain everyone with his hilarious stories and campfire songs.

One piece of advice for parents… whatever you do, don't mention strawberries when the children get home. Trust us.

Hot chocolates, toasted marshmallows and gooey s'mores rounded off what has genuinely been one of the best days ever. After showers it was off to bed a little earlier tonight, ready for another adventure.

Tomorrow… we canoe! Wish us luck!