Shepway Young Carers rewarded with a trip to Leeds Castle

Together with 5 Rotarians and staff from Kent Young Carers, 22 young carers from Shepway had the wonderful opportunity to visit Leeds Castle for the day in the May half term break thanks to the generosity of Shepway’s four Rotary clubs.  See the attached photograph.

The day began with an up close and magical falconry experience where our young carers listened to a fascinating talk given by the Head Falconer at Leeds Castle.  Some of the birds our young carers met were Owlfie, a spotted Eagle owl, who cleverly showed off his talents, Keye, a very impressive Harris Hawk, not forgetting Stella, a Siberian Eagle Owl only 8 weeks old, who resembled a huge ball of cotton wool.  Although she didn’t mind the company she was incredibly timid but so beautiful.  

After the Falconry experience the young carers had some free time to explore the gigantic play area which resembled a medieval castle, with slides and climbing frames galore!

In the afternoon the group split into 3 smaller groups heading off to complete the Leeds Castle Trail which took us into the fantastic maze, covering all the grounds and of course inside the magical castle. On the way the tour guides told stories of Kings and Queens and how the castle changed over the years.  This was very interesting and we had lots of questions to ask.

Each group received a Leeds Castle medal for completing the trail and a card to remember the day.

We were absolutely blessed with a beautiful sunny day and I received lots of messages from parents and families to say thank you so much for a memorable day out.

From all of us at Kent young carers we would like to say thank you to the Rotary clubs for your unwavering support and providing yet again another wonderful experience for our young carers in Shepway