This year we opted for a 2 day adventure weekend camp departing Friday evening and returning home on Sunday evening. The weekend was residential, staying in the centre, with all meals provided. The Bigfoot centre at Boultenstone is a former 17th Century drovers inn. Accommodation comprises 2,3,4 & 6 person rooms with pine bunk beds (some rooms with en suit showers). The Green room is an open plan lounge and dining area, a place to relax in. There is also a games room for quiet games.
Food was homemade, very tasty and plentiful. Hot drinks were always available in the Green room. There was a tuck shop selling sweets, drinks, pens, mugs, T-shirts & is open to suit. There is an outdoor football pitch for those with plenty of energy left after the activities.
You can check things out for yourself by visiting the Bigfoot Adventures website.
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 | Friday
We travelled out to Strathdon, about an hour from Aberdeen by minibus. When we arrived we were greeted by 2 of Bigfoot's instructors, Andy & Matt. Then it was straight down to the football field for so getting to know you style games which were a lot of fun. The rest of the evening was indoors playing giant Jenga and would you believe Monopoly!
Saturday
The main part of the morning was spent on the climbing wall, getting familiar with the equipment and the techniques involved in belaying. Everyone got a chance to climb both with a belay and with a 'buddy'. After this we split up into 2 groups for a mixture of activities. |
 | The first of these was on the climbing pole. It was high pole in the centre of the 40ft abseil tower. There were safety ropes and a belay team supporting you but still it was very scary when you were standing on the beam cross at the top of the pole with the breeze blowing in your face. The next activity also involved the abseil tower. A vertical ladder climb into the cage at the top the once the abseil ropes were attached off you went on a 7 or 8 second drop to the ground. |  |
 | The other activity going on was archery. This was done in pairs at 2 targets. There was some practise shooting and instruction and then some competition between the two lanes. First it was the maximum score with a given number of arrows, then it was trying to burst the balloons pinned to the target.
After lunch we all got kitted out for an afternoon away from the centre on a 10 mile mountain bike run. We started off along the road towards Strathdon itself, then turned off in the forest and through some fast and exciting downhill sections. We stopped for a break and those who were up for it could 'crawl' through a pipe under the forest track . Eventually we ended up in Strathdon village and started back homeward again but since there had been a lot of downhill we had to make a long ascent back up the hill to the Bigfoot Centre where the bikes were cleaned and returned. |
| After the bike run we were all tired and ready for tea. The evening session was spent on the ropes course. We learned the various techniques needed to safely traverse the course. By far the worst and most difficult was the rope 'X' where you had to get along an 'X' shaped rope swing without falling off. The incentive of a free chocolate bar didn't help and only 3 out of 12 of us managed it on the first try. The best fun on the ropes course was barrel rolling down the cargo nets from half way up the last section. Timed races ensured everyone was exhausted, but not enought it seems for the boys to get in a game of footall before it became dark. |  |
 | Sunday
Sunday saw us up and off in the minibus on our way to Braemar. On the way we stopped off at a disused power station to run along the 250m water supply tunnel. Now mainly dry those small enough could stand up inside. The rest of us had to amble along like monkeys with the echoing monkey noises to go with it. Arriving in Braemar we set of on a hill climb up Creg Conniech. It was a short but steep, at times, climb. We had the goal of having lunch at the top and this spurred everyone to the summit.
Then it was back doen and on to the gorge ! |
| The gorge walk was the hightlight of the weekend. It was a warm day and we couldn't wait to get into the water. Being in the sun with all the necessary safety and waterproof gear you became very hot. We started off with easy pools getting the hang of moving around with all the kit on. As we ventured further up the river so the pools became bigger and deeper and there were water slides and plunge pools. Each one we came to we thought was best but there was the promise from our instructors of a better one round the corner. Eventually we came to the ultimate pool. A huge waterfall at one end and a selection of high ledges on one side. There was a gap behind and it was possible for the Bigfoot staff to guide small groups of us inside the waterfall. The rest of us enjoyed jumping from the ledges into the water until you could jump no more. After nearly 2 hours in the water we headed back down the gorge and out to the minibus. |  |
That was neary the end of our weekend. We headed back towards Aberdeen, stopping off for a chipper supper and another game of football on the way. Everyone was exhausted, we'd had a brillaint time, packed so much into just 2 days all thanks to the skill, enthusiasm, organisation and facilities of the Bigfoot staff and their centre.
A big thank you from us all at the 44th Boys' Brigade to Mahri, Andy, Alison, Andy & Matt at Bigfoot.
You can see more photo's from our Bigfoot weekend in the Gallery
And don't forget to check out the Bigfoot Adventures site too. |
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Bigfoot Camp 2000
