One pupil said, “I always thought the countryside was boring, but this is the best thing I’ve ever seen in my whole entire life (looking at the view from the top of the Greygarth monument)”. The pupil went onto say, ‘This is the best trip I’ve ever been on in my life at school”.

It was a place where our pupils got to relax their minds, be inspired by nature and deep dive onto the world of imagination – this resulted in amazing clay sculptures after our walk.

It was a fantastic experience for our children, who absolutely thrived at Dallowgill.

S. Qayyum, Southmere Primary (September 2023)

The Dallowgill experience we delivered to Year 4 pupils at Southmere was transformative and enriching in ways we did not anticipate.

Many of our pupils attend school with impoverished life experiences, some rarely venture further away from inner city Bradford, and therefore the opportunity for them to visit River Laver and the surrounding forest at Dallowgill was an unmissable experience. Pupils applied their learning from classroom to this real-life setting and had plentiful hands-on experiences with geographical fieldwork and investigation.

It more than just enhanced our curriculum, it provided pupils with a chance to dip their wellied feet in a river, pick up scattered pine cones and have pooh stick races; things that were ‘firsts’ for the majority of these young people.

S. Merrick, Southmere Primary (January 2023)

Our Year 3 children have had a fantastic time exploring the forests, enjoying the walk to Greygarth monument, visiting the old church, story time with Miles as well as gaining confidence and independence while doing everyday tasks.

N. Oglesby, Crookesbroom Primary (May 2022)

The Geography department at Ingleby Manor brought 15 Year 11 GCSE students to Dallowgill for a weekend revision session. The centre is magnificent. It had everything we needed and the classroom was outstanding. Brilliant facilities and a wonderful view of the woods and gardens. We all sat around the firepit in the evening despite the cold!!! This was an excellent way for the pupils to revise before their exams and relax with friends at the same time.
Thank you so much!

D. Dunning – Associate Assistant Principal
T. Gow – Joint Head of Geography
Ingleby Manor Free School (April 2022)

The trip of a lifetime!
On our first day it felt like we had been set free. We rambled down the muddy hill into the dripping wet forest. The wildlife and the water sang to us as we built amazing dens and shelters. After that, we worked as a team to build our confidence in each other by taking part in a blindfold adventure. Our group sang all the way back to the top of the hill whilst sheltering under a tarpaulin. On the evening, Miles (the brilliant storyteller) entertained us with lots of funny songs and stories.
On day two we woke up to a lovely bacon butty which was cooked by our magnificent Mrs Rouse. We kick started the day with a JLT meeting and then prepared for our photography competition. This was so much fun! After dinner, we set off on our journey to Greygarth Monument. This walk was fabulous, tiring and mesmerising. After tea (which was savoury and sweet pancakes because it was Shrove Tuesday) we sat around the campfire and sang some beautiful songs. We also toasted massive marshmallows over the dazzling dancing flames.
On our final morning, we enjoyed a lie in until Mr Ballantyne unexpectedly turned on the lights and shouted MORNING! After that, we sadly packed up our belongings and got ready to go home. We spent some of the morning reflecting on our incredible journey by looking through our photos and talking about our favourite memories. Before we headed home, we had one final visit to the church and sketched the vibrant stain glass windows.
Our trip to Dallowgill was incredible, unforgettable and helped us work effectively as a team.

Junior Leadership Team, Wybers Wood Primary (March 2022)

Children in Year 4 did some amazing den building. We had a very long walk to Greygarth Monument, exploring the beautiful area on the way. Then decorated some memory stones and hid them in the forest for others to find. What an amazing time we all had, and can’t wait to go again.

N. Oglesby, Crookesbroom Primary (January 2022)