News

Pictures

St. Clare's Home

The Vercors is a region of France famed for its adventure sports and spectacular scenery. For many of the students on the trip it was an ideal opportunity to not only visit France for the first time, but to also try out many different outdoor activities.

The group of 11 students and 3 staff drove through the night eventually arriving at their home for the week - Maison de l' aventure - almost 20 hours later. Having settled into their new surroundings, the plan for the week was finalised and everyone very much enjoyed, what can only be described as a gastronomic feast of home cooked food, that would become the norm at every meal time.

The next morning set the scene for the remainder of the week. A typical and leisurely breakfast followed by a hive of activity preparing for the day's events. The first activity was a fairly gentle 10km walk through breathtaking scenery. The sun shone throughout the day and they had a picnic lunch with views that needed no topic of conversation to pass the time.

Having had a fairly leisurely start to the activity programme (depending on whom you speak to) the activities quickly became more intense, diverse and 'different'. The day we went caving initially started off with one of the students being asked to inflate a rubber dingy. The need for this piece of equipment only became apparent when they arrived at the entrance to find a 30m lake inside the cave that had to be negotiated. Other activity days involved rock climbing and an unforgettable mountain bike trip. Probably the most unusual day was when the group went dog-trekking. This consisted of first of all meeting their chosen dog. Having made friends and exchanged names the group was then individually harnessed to the dog. Why? To make walking, especially up hill, much easier. The day was spent, while still harnessed to the dog, walking through forests and over hills and through beautiful valleys. By the end of the day both dog and companion were inseparable.

Soon their stay in the Vercors came to an end and the long drive back home was made more bearable with an overnight stopover in Paris. The week was such a success that it is now intended for it to be an annual trip offered to all the students at St. Clare's. It is hoped on the forthcoming trip as many as 25 students can take part.

(October 2001)