Haines House with a breathtaking trip to Scotland
Three young people, two parents, and staff from one of our specialist homes, Haines House, strapped on their hiking boots and embarked on an exciting residential trip to Whithaugh Park. Whithaugh Park is an activity centre nestled away in the unspoilt landscape of the Scottish Borders countryside. It shares its surroundings with forests, hills, and rivers, which makes it a great outdoor environment for autistic children.
Apart from enjoying the epic sceneries and lungfuls of fresh air, the young people had a wide range of adventurous activities to have a go at including sailing, zip lining, kayaking, canoeing, climbing and many more. Kevin Clarke, who is the Residential Manager at Haines House and has been taking our residents to Whithaugh Park for over 20 years, shares:
The initial idea of the trip was to give Liam the opportunity to go and stay somewhere else overnight as a part of the work around his attachment difficulties. However, on the day staff had a change of shift, they arranged for *Oliver’s dad and Liam’s mum to come along and spend the day together.
“It was something we’d never done with parents before, but it worked out really well", explains Kevin. “They were very keen to come and we had a fantastic day. They’d never done anything like zip-lining or canoeing either, so it was fun for them to spend the day with the children and us."
And even though such an experience brings a lot of joyful memories, it comes with great responsibility:
“Everybody really enjoyed it. It’s a big commitment for staff to go away for five days. It’s good fun, but it’s hard work as well,” concludes Kevin.
The Haines House team are already planning to enjoy the breathtaking landscapes around Whithaugh Park again in Easter while giving the children we support the opportunity to live happy and fulfilled lives.