Last weekend cadets from 163 (Coventry Phoenix) and 8F (1 st City of Coventry ) Squadrons left Coventry in the middle of extremely heavy rain for an adventurous activities weekend. We were all relieved that we were welcomed to Tallington Lakes Leisure Park by a blue sky.

Initial impressions of the park facilities were great, with excellent camping facilities, clean amenities, a cafe and a bar. There were also plenty of caravans enjoying fantastic lakeside views.

On Saturday morning the cadets' activities commenced on the lake, as they enjoyed windsurfing and sailing. There was certainly plenty of wind and the cadets were wet within minutes! Some took to the water with ease whilst other found things a little more frustrating.

After lunch, it was back to the lake for a raft building competition. As the cadets divided into four teams, it was the female team who were victorious as some of the structures descended into carnage. A brave Flt Lt Rayner also took part and got away very lightly – despite a separate cadet briefing by the Wing Warrant Officer! It was then off to the kayaks and the instructors took the cadets out of sight as they explored a larger area of the lake.

Following a welcomed shower and some dry clothes, the dry slope entertained the cadets and staff in the early evening sunshine. An hour's tobogganing flew by as we were challenged by the instructors to travel down forwards, backwards, in snakes and to attempt 360 degree turns on the slopes. In the dying minutes the cadets were finally successful at a 16 cadet snake that remained intact to the bottom of the slope.

The remainder of the evening was very sociable as the staff treated the cadets to a BBQ.

The sky was bright again on Sunday as the cadets, (and WO Sinfield), realised that snow-boarding is not as easy as it looks and the climbing wall was much more challenging than they had anticipated, with only a handful of cadets managing to reach the top.

The whole weekend was very successful and Tallington Lakes proved to be an excellent venue for an activities weekend. It was a pleasure to be in the company of a group of cadets who all embraced each activity with such enthusiasm and a great sense of fun.

More Images of our Weekend at Tallington Lakes