TY Camping Trip

Camping Trip to Lough Dan

                                          On Wednesday 9^th of September, we arrived into school at 8.50 and waited nervously for our long awaited Junior Cert results which we received at 9.30. After many smiles and high fives with teachers we headed off to Lough Dan to go camping for just under 3 days. The buses were overflowing with bags especially the girl’s bags as we drove through Roundwood into the countryside. Once we got to the camp site we were set the challenging task of pitching our tents and I think we all felt very accomplished when our tents were finally up! I was in a tent with Mia, Jen, Lara and Iona. Soon after we all sat down and made lunch, relieved that we could relax now that we had got our results. Then, at about 2.30 we set off on a 5 km walk. We chatted throughout the walk and took many photos together. The walk was very enjoyable as the views were stunning and rather than taking in the peaceful countryside we walked to the beat of the speakers as the music blared out.

 We arrived back to the campsite and started cooking dinner (some had more success than others) and after that we started to make a huge bonfire as it was getting colder and slightly darker. After much deliberating on how to set the bonfire up we soon had a blazing fire going. We sat around the fire, roasted marshmallows, made delicious s’mores and chatted. Later on in the evening when it was darker, the guitar was brought out and we all sat in a circle singing together. The singsong with the guitar was probably the highlight of the trip for me as I feel that it helped us become closer as a year. We went to bed at 11 that night, enthusiastic about sleeping in the tent with our friends. We settled down quickly enough and slept well that night.

That morning we woke up at about 7.30 to the sound of the birds chirping around our tents, the content snores coming from surrounding tents and groaning as people stood barefoot on the damp, dewy grass.  We made breakfast and sat around talking for a while. Soon after, we set off on the daunting 22km hike. Thrilled but apprehensive we set off on the hike and soon got into our stride. We stopped off for lunch halfway through at a beautiful little beach. Glad to rest our tired feet we sat and devoured our packed lunches. After our lunch we headed back to the camp-site meeting some timid sheep on the way. 

When we got back we all rested for a while as we were worn out. We later made dinner and sat around the bonfire once again. The next day we packed away our many items and set off home. Looking back on the Camping Trip I found it very entertaining and I now feel that our year has become much closer as a result.