PGL, Barton Hall, Devon Review

Overall Rating

All meals were included; you could have as much as you liked.
Extremely organized.
Swap Shop; allowed you to swap activities you didn't want with other families.

N/A

I have arrived home today from a long weekend at Barton Hall with my family. I am so tired after just two full days of activities but there were many families there for a week. However, no matter how tired I am, I would still have loved to stay even longer and I did not want to leave.
The activities I took part in were:
Canoeing, Raft Building, Aeroball, Dry Slope Skiing, Archery, Abseiling, Climbing (indoors) and Quad Biking. This is just a small number of the fantastic activities available. The others include:
Ball Sports, Beach Games, Camp Craft, Challenge Course, Coastal Walk, Family Challenge, Fencing, Giant Swing, High Ropes, Jacob's Ladder, Mountain Biking, Orienteering, Low Ropes, Swimming, Sensory Trail, Shore Safari, Snorkelling and Zip Wire.
Out of all the activities I participated in, I was the most scared of abseiling. In fact I was terrified. The staff were excellent though and helped you do whatever you were scared of and overcome your fears. Then they give you so much praise and encouragement you feel really proud of yourself. As well as being really supportive, they were also downright crazy. They were always around making you smile and laugh and you could tell they were enjoying themselves too. Also, all of your activities are done in the same groups, so you make some really good friends. The only time you venture away from your group is if you choose to swap your activities. They have something called Swap Shop, where you fill in the time and date of any activities you don't want to do, as well as your dinner table number and pin it up on the notice board. You can also fill in the activity you would like to swap for. If anybody is interested and has an activity you want, they will come and find you at dinner and simply ask. We swapped the Giant Swing for Skiing in this way.
Everything is included when you book a PGL holiday and the only extra things you have to pay for are any items from the shop and drinks from the bar. You also have to pay a deposit if you hire tennis rackets from the shop or darts or pool cues from the bar.
Meals are free of charge and there is a wide variety of food and also a salad bar and soup is available all the while. There is usually something you like. If you have an allergy or special dietary needs, you simply pick up a different coloured tray and they will tell you everything you can and cannot have.
The rooms are very basic. We stayed in a 'chalet' with one room with 2 single beds and 1 bunk bed, as well as an en-suite bathroom. It did not matter that they were basic, as you literally only had to be in there to change, wash and sleep.
There was also a wide variety of night time activities, so you were not bored at any time. The few hours of spare time you did get could easily be filled with swimming or tennis or you could go out to Torquay.
Finally, the whole thing was surrounded by fences with security devices on them, so you could only get in and out with a code that they gave you at the beginning of the stay. This gave my parents peace of mind, meaning they were happy for me to wander around alone.
I highly recommend a PGL holiday. It is great value for money and a lot of fun for everyone.