WITH uncertainty about Covid and travel still on the people’s minds, many families may be looking to holiday closer to home this summer — and there’s still time to book a staycation at PGL.

The company is well-known for providing activity holidays for school groups, but also offers family activity breaks and has centres around the UK.

Scroll through our gallery of pictures above to see more of the activities on offer...

My ten-year-old son, Matthew, and I recently ventured to the Isle of Wight's own PGL centre, Little Canada in Wootton, for a family weekend activity break.

In Matthew’s words, it was awesome from the start. Arriving late on Friday afternoon, we were treated to a good dinner, followed by campfire stories and an evening quiz.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Matthew thought the zip-wire was great fun!

A big breakfast on Saturday and then out to the zip-wire, which Matthew loved. He’s a bit nervous with heights, but the PGL instructors were encouraging and inspiring and he was soon flying down the zip-wire like a pro.

The next activity was the trapeze, which involves climbing up a telegraph pole-type structure to a platform high in the sky, then posing like the Angel of the North and jumping across to the trapeze. If you miss, you end up dangling in mid-air by your safety rope.

Matthew didn’t like the look of this one, but I astounded myself by managing to get all the way up the telegraph pole and successfully catching the trapeze twice.

Isle of Wight County Press:

High-flying fun for all ages on the giant swing at PGL.

Next came the giant swing — I have done a lot of adventure sports in my time, but I had never seen a structure like this. It was fortunate the instructor picked Matthew and I to go first, because it meant we didn’t know what to expect.

We were strapped into the bar-like structure and pulled high into the sky, then the instructor told me to reach back and release the white rope…WHOOSH! I don’t think I have ever been as fast in my whole life and we were screaming and then laughing as we flew through the air at what seemed like treetop height! Two goes at that was totally exhilarating.

Then we went abseiling and Matthew didn’t fancy it. Full marks to instructor Cameron, who suggested Matt could come to the top of the tower with me and enjoy the views over the treetops.

The moment Matthew arrived on top of the abseiling tower, Cameron popped a safety rope on him and gently explained to him about all the things which were going on as I went over the top – my instincts told me Matt wouldn’t abseil, but Cameron made it such a positive experience that my little boy still felt a massive sense of achievement and I think he will go down next time.

Every evening there were fun activities put on by the PGL reps and instructors, including problem-solving activities and a challenge based on the television show, Taskmaster.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Matthew giving the vertical challenge at PGL Little Canada a go.

On Sunday morning, we had the vertical challenge to test our climbing skills — again I surprised myself and Matthew had a go too.

Our final activity of the weekend was archery, which was very enjoyable and involved some clever games. Here Matthew scored considerably better than his mum!

Everything was very well organised: on arrival we were greeted by our family rep, Ellie, who was always happy to answer any queries, and I was thoroughly impressed by the high level of attention to safety - both in terms of Covid precautions and level of safety equipment and instructions on how to use it.

PGL holidays are great as everything is included — all activities, accommodation, food and evening entertainment — and it’s all pre-arranged for you, so you don’t have the stress of booking time slots!

  • Family breaks range from one to seven nights, or there are Activity Days if you’re short on time, and children under five go free on all PGL holidays.

THE INFO:
PGL Little Canada, New Road, Wootton Bridge, Isle of Wight, is one of a number of PGL centres across the UK, in counties including Dorset, Sussex, Surrey, Wiltshire, Devon and further afield.

See: www.pgl.co.uk for more information and to book.