VICTA Spring Family Weekend 2022

This is a very long overdue post that I keep putting aside to write. Last year, we went to our first Spring family weekend with VICTA at Kingswood, Dearne Valley with our buddy dog, Mabel.

Since Ms C was diagnosed with rod-cone dystrophy, we were given information on a number of charities that help visually impaired people. One of those charities is VICTA. Before I go into details about our weekend, let me tell you more about VICTA. They are a national charity for children and young adults from 0 to 29 who are visually impaired or partially sighted and their families. They give advice, provide support and grants and organise activities designed to build skills, develop confidence and help each other towards a more positive future.

Since it was the Jubilee weekend, the theme was the ‘Kings and Queens’. We are not into dressing up and didn’t put in much effort! Needless to say, many have made such a great effort to dress up. Do pop over to see the photos.

Kingswood is an outdoor activity centre located at Dearne Valley, Doncaster, South Yorkshire. It is a contemporary blend of nature, adventure activity, and accommodation spread across 50 acres. We all slept in purpose-built dormitory-style accommodation, with bathroom and shower facilities. Each family were provided one room, but there were no keys to lock the room. They did provide sheets, duvets and pillows but we had to make the beds ourselves. Personally, I would bring my own pillows next time if I am going again. The pillows were so so flat. Also, the beds were really squeaky!

There were ropes courses, an indoor climbing wall, zip wires, an indoor sports hall, an outdoor sports complex and watersport activities. Children and parents were divided into separate groups and each group had their own activities. The children were looked after by volunteers, VICTA staff and activity centre staff. As for parents, we were invited to attend talks and have some children-free time, unless you have children under 5.

On Saturday, parents were invited to participate in a few of the activities, like making a raft, jumping off the pole, problem-solving, zip wires and others. Luckily, we didn’t have to swim back to shore as we didn’t bring extra clothing and shoes. Next time, we will have to remember to pack extra for everything. The activities were great fun and challenging.

As for food, they have a good range including salads and drinks. They were not the tastiest food as on most occasions the food was tough, bland and soggy. It just takes you back to school days of canteen food. Also, sitting in a row that is packed full of tables and benches was not great for moving freely, especially with our dog waiting for someone to offer their food to her!

Both my children really enjoyed the activities and we were able to connect with families in the same situations. We were able to chat, learn from each other’s experiences and support one another. We are looking forward to our next activity with VICTA!