Year 5's Peak District Adventures

After a smooth journey, Year 5 arrived safe and sound at Hartington Hall, where everyone enjoyed their lunch and a much-needed run around in the fresh air.

Each day of the trip brought a different exciting activity: hiking, caving, gorge walking, canoeing, raft building, rough track cycling, climbing, and abseiling. These adventures stretched the children in all sorts of ways—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

We kicked off our adventure with an 8km hike in glorious sunshine (sun cream at the ready!), followed by team-building activities. The caving experience saw remarkable bravery—every child entered the cave, even those who felt nervous at first, and came out beaming with pride.

We learnt all about how the Peak District’s limestone formed over 350 million years ago. Several budding geologists showed great curiosity during the lesson! Gorge walking was another highlight, with teachers joining children in leaping down waterfalls into chilly pools. Meanwhile, another group took to the water near Buxton for canoeing and raft building. Battling a stiff breeze, they showed fantastic teamwork, finishing with fun races. The homemade rafts brought lots of laughs—even the sinkers!

Over on the stunning Tissington Trail, the other half of the group showed incredible resilience during a 35km cycle. They dug deep and cycled further than they believed possible. A lovely surprise came when we met a former Stephen Perse student who praised our children’s “exemplary” behaviour—echoed by another member of the public who said they were a credit to the school.

Climbing and abseiling took place on the impressive rocks at Upper Burbage. For many children, harnessing up and learning to let themselves go over the edge of a rock face was a brand-new and thrilling experience. Some were able to draw on their time at Clip and Climb, but quickly discovered that being outdoors in a real environment was a much tougher challenge—and one they met with determination and courage.

Evenings were filled with energetic games in the Hartington Hall grounds, followed by some very tired children drifting off to sleep. This super trip has seen the children show kindness, resilience, curiosity, collaboration, and a wonderful sense of fun.