Published

A Brownie Adventure in a Weekend!

Brownie Exclusive Weekend at PGL Tregoyd - 11-13 September 2015.

I took 17 girls to Tregoyd to take part in a Brownie weekend; my girls were aged between 7 and 10 and absolutely loved it!

Action-packed days

Each day was jam-packed full of fun - a typical day involved a fabulous breakfast, two activities in the morning, a lovely lunch, two activities in the afternoon, a delicious dinner and then evening entertainment (which was campfire for us and the PGL staff even led that!).

Superstar staff

The staff were brilliant at motivating the girls, even with sleepless nights and busy days! Our PGL Group Leader was allocated on arrival and was with us throughout the weekend; only really leaving us to sort out bedtime and getting up routines - with her energy levels never wavering! She led the girls in games if there was any quiet time.

Teamwork, fun and friends

The girls took part in abseiling, aeroball, trapeze, raft building, muddy challenge course and problem solving. The girls particularly enjoyed the raft building exercise! It was great to see our girls working together as a whole pack rather than just with their friends. One parent even commented to us a week later about the change she had seen in her daughter from the weekend - 'appearing more grown up'!

A rewarding weekend away

As leaders we were able to chat to the other leaders, share ideas and just get to know each other. I would highly recommend any Brownie pack to go; the girls loved it, as did the leaders - it's non-stop fun with minimal input required from the leaders themselves!

by Linda Mason - Party Leader, 7th & 14th Penarth Brownies.


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We have just returned from our third PGL trip with the Brownies - the centre was full of Brownies and we enjoyed mixing with the other groups.

Fun and games

We had an action-packed weekend. 'Wacky Races' followed dinner on Friday night and involved fun games on the field followed by an enthusiastic game of 'Splash' where our Groupie, Ebony got very wet!

Challenges and chocolate

Saturday morning started with a blindfolded sensory trail - an excellent team building exercise, and fencing, which the girls also thoroughly enjoyed. The afternoon programme was trapeze, which really challenged the girls (and Brown Owl!) - having to stand on top of a telegraph pole and jump for the trapeze bar! This was followed by abseiling. On Saturday night the PGL staff did a tremendous job, keeping the girls singing non-stop around the campfire and finishing off with hot chocolate and biscuits!

Helping hands

On Sunday morning we awoke to a beautiful sunny day! Our first activity was zip wire - Martin, the instructor, was absolutely amazing with my girls, as we had a few that were very nervous. He even managed to persuade me to climb up (but not quite jump off!). Climbing was next, and again, the two instructors were so good at motivating the girls (and me!) to stretch themselves and get to the top.

Our last activity, archery, was nice and relaxing, and well thought-out to calm the girls down ready for the drive home.

Fab food

Over the weekend, the food was always age-appropriate, there was plenty of choice and plenty of it!

I cannot convey enough how much we enjoyed our experience and I want to take this opportunity to say a massive thanks to all the staff at Tregoyd.

by Hayley Gibbons - Party Leader, 1st Bryncoch Brownies.


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We had an amazing weekend. The girls and the leaders thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We were actually two packs joined together for the weekend as our villages are linked. We had the chance to try the climbing wall, archery, problem solving, chums challenge, orienteering and raft building. We also had the chance to meet other Brownies from across the country. It was a great opportunity to get to know the other members of our pack and our local pack and develop those friendships more.

Fun-filled days

We were there from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. On both mornings we were up and ready for breakfast by 8am. So excited to see what the new day brought. We had activities, lunch, more activities, dinner and then a chance to go into the shop before our evening entertainment. Then it was bedtime! Or as we liked to call it 'stay up as long as possible' time! The food was really great too.

Campfire songs

We absolutely loved the campfire on Saturday night. We sat on log benches, sang songs, and drank hot chocolate!! The atmosphere was great and the PGL staff were so enthusiastic about their songs! We loved Dan's rendition of the 'poop' the worm song, we like to sing that in Brownies now! We also loved Emily's version of Crazy Grandma!

Challenging ourselves

Some of us were really shy and nervous before the trip but it has really helped our self-esteem and confidence. We have tried things we never thought we would and pushed ourselves to conquer our fears. Especially on the climbing wall! We have definitely bonded more as a pack.

Bullseye for Brown Owl

Brown Owl tried EVERYTHING! You should have seen her, especially on the Chums Challenge! We rolled her in the mud, she was covered in it! She got to the top of the climbing wall and got a bullseye in the archery session! AND we pushed her into the water when we did the raft building!

We were all exhausted when we got home but it was worth it! We want to go back next year!

by Steph Horsley - Party Leader, 1st Llanharan Brownies.
 

Find out more about the Brownie Exclusive weekends available in 2016.

Brownies rafting across the lake
Brownies on the climbing wall
Brownies having fun at PGL