One of the things we have prided ourselves on is creating trips that are fun, safe, challenging and don’t require much in the way of specialist equipment, apart from what we provide of course! This has meant that we have been able to offer activity trips that are as accessible to as many people as possible since we don’t require our youngsters to proved much more than enthusiasm, energy and clothes they don’t mind getting wet and probably a bit mucky! Having said all that there are probably a number of, relatively, inexpensive items that make participating in our trips that much more comfortable and dare we say it, even more enjoyable.
As many of our activities are based around watersports, a wetsuit either with long legs and arms if using in the UK or short arms and legs if using at one of our centres in France, is a real no brainer. Understandably, this might be a major purchase but it will be worth it as it means this can form the basis for participating in all our watersports activities negating the need for lots of changes of clothes and the hassle of trying to get these dried for the next day (not something most youngsters are adept at doing!).
Decathlon
A great place to look for all your gear is Decathlon - www.decathlon.co.uk. Having just collaborated with the highly reputable chain, Decathlon has set up an exclusive web page detailing all the items we recommend for a residential trip with us. They have a range of great value, quality clothing to suit all budgets, so there is plenty to choose from. Click below for details.
Packing for the water
If your youngster is simply doing a week of activities then I would strongly recommend just a basic wetsuit. The other really useful item to pack is a pair of wetsuit shoes or boots, again this type of ‘wetshoe’ is now widely available from the same retailers as the wetsuit itself. If you are on a tight budget wetsuits are widely available and I have seen perfectly serviceable ones in supermarkets for not much more than the cost of two or three dvds or try your luck on Ebay or Gumtree.
Less is more
Your child’s Group Leader or our Final joining instructions will have lots of hints and tips on what is sensible to bring and what to pack for one of our residential activity trips. There is also lots of useful information on our website. The adage “less is more" is a good thing to have in mind and try to discourage your youngster from taking anything that is valuable or clothes that are ‘smart’. Our trips are active and likely to involve lots of running around outside so suitable clothing should be comfortable, sporty, stretchy, quick drying and inexpensive!