Well my Youngun, still in Junior School, is off to France tonight.

We got fantastic days out at Osmotherly, Teesmouth Field Centre , a week at Dukes House Wood & Carlton Camp, a visit to Durham Cathedral Oh we knew how to party.

Carlton Camp Circa 1993, at the time, it felt like being in the army, i was only bloody 9, yet if we talked on the night, we had to be up at 6am to run around the field, in our walking boots.

Looking back i felt that was a bit harsh, after all we'd paid, well our parents had, to go on a flippin holiday, not a work camp!

I remember going to Hexham for a week with Henry's too about circa 1997, was a bit nexer than Carlton Palmer camp that one.

Sacred heart went to Edinburgh on a trip with St Teresa's for 3 days the first time i have ever been away the castle. the forth bridge. loch lomond and the best of all the zoo that was and still is one of my best memories apart from carlton camp NOT went on the Friday and was back home Sunday banned.

went to beamish with jezzie road juniors.... When we got back i went to play footy with me mates instead of waiting for me mam. A couple hours later i went home and me mam went wild asking where i had been..... I was shitting myself so i said a man had tried to grab me so i ran away....there was an investigation, the police came to the school and everything......didnt get in trouble though, result!

me and mampi went with manor to Austria on a bus trip with school. Was a right laugh apart from when we were about to cross over Belgium we stopped at the services, when we got on the bus the teacher did a head count and we set off. About 10 minutes later someone shouted "oh were's David Care". We realised then he had been left at the services so drove back only to find out he had got on another bus with a load of Italians to take him to the border and wait there, anyway we managed to get him back after about and hour and the teacher bought him a cow bell that he had to wear all holiday.

Carlton Camp loads of time, Hamsterley Forest, Edinburgh and a great trip to London where one of the 'events' was to go to the BBC Radio Theatre to watch a recording of a Comedy show with Larry Grayson......CLAP !!!!!!!!

Junior School.... Lambton Lion Park.... Redcar... Flamingo Land.

Senior School.... York.... And Wembley Arena to see Russian Gymnasts.. waheyyy Nellie Kim and Olga Korbut

Easington CIU trips were also a treat... Whitley Bay and South Shields

Like Mister B I went to Beamish with Jesie Road, some daft farm where I stood in horse shit about ten times. Also Carlton Camp a few times and went walking up Scarfel mountain or somewhere. All shite. Oh and London a few times to see some shows and just spent the time nicking the binoculars.

One of my mates went to France at school, and stayed with a family in a wooden house and ate horse meat every night. He also couldnt understand a word they said.

All my lad's school ever seems to do for school trips is go to Flamingo Land.

Yep, Carlton Camp was the only one I got - albeit with a diversion to Whitby on the trip home.
I did have a few Sunday School trips mind. To places like Esh Winning.

As for the school French trips, we didn't have enough money to send me. Nowadays they'd have probably given me a thousand knicker to go as an underprivileged child.
But it doesn't matter; I reckon I've more than made up for it since.

I went to Carlton Camp and hexham for free, parents on the benfits n tha...

Lil Pierre is also on the bus sounds as though they're having a ball. Its the big quiz tonight!..... Furthest I ever got was Haworth,York or Flamingo bloody land!

See what I mean.

Got to play the system

1966 Phil and meet my first love a lovely young girl from St Teresa's her second name was Fleetham.

Memories of my school trips:

Carlton Camp x 2

Some lad from Brambles Farm School in the bed opposite me was talking after lights out whilst I was stealthily trying to scran a bag of Butterkist popcorn. Our teacher came and bollocked him and sat in the chair next to my bed. I woke up in the morning with popcorn all over my jim-jams!

The old geezer Mr. Chapman. After saying prayers he held the 'a' in 'Amen' like a Brazilian football commentator - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMEN! Everyone getting told off at school the next week for continuing this japery in assembly.

Rydal Hall in Cumbria

Really sweaty and minging lass from my form coming without a t-shirt and nobody would lend her one, so the bloke from the camp had to. I saw him slinging it in the bin after our particularly warm bike riding day.

Dukeshouse Wood near Hexham

Everyones mam getting George Michael - Jesus to a Child as their present cos it was in Woolies for 10p a copy. Freezing my then undescended bollocks off in the open air swimming pool in March.

Stainsacre near Whitby.

10 of us (including teachers) trying to watch the England 4-1 Holland game from Euro '96 on someones Game Gear! Shoplifting Corinthians football figures from the Woolworths in Whitby, who'd have thought we were a school from Hartlepool!

Austria x 2

Moaning all week about the food, which gave me bizarre egg smelling burps, then having 3 Happy Meals one day, only for the hotel to kindly have made us burger and chips for tea. BORK!

A lass in my form getting bucked in the broom cupboard of this bar we all got into by some Turk wearing a Kangol cap, which was the height of fashion at the time. Kangol caps that is, not bucking a Turk in a cupboard.

Prefect Camp

Playing a trust game where you had to get a partner and direct each other round a wood, the directee being blindfolded. One of my fellow prefects falling about 7 foot from a bridge into a stream because his partner obviously couldn't tell left from right.

Happy times!

Brilliant mate that brought loads of memories back especially the footy watching on the game gear, also them kebabs at Austria

the worst thing about school trips was writing about them afterwards, teacher "what did you do on the school trip?"you should know you were with us

Worst school trip ever, my youngest ones to Catcote Road shops to do a survey ........... I kid you not.

vaguely remember a trip to the Lakes in the 70's for 5 days

Went to Stainsacre aged 11 And Carlton Camp in my last year at 'prefect camp'. In between those 2 camping disasters was a 6 day trip to North Spain, almost 3 of those days were spent in a coach for the rest of the time we spent on a log cabin campsite shared with a scottish school. Out of the 3 days on holiday a day was spent on 'la ramblas' in Barcelona followed by a tour of the Nou Camp, next day was spent at a water Park and the last day(the reason we went) we travelled into Southern France - Montpellier to watch Colombia V Tunisia at the world cup, which was the other teams that made up our group. Remeber listenenig or trying to listen to the England Romania commentary on a European radio on the way back to camp, couldnt understand a word but we bloody understood when Petrescu scored a 90th minute winner. Went back to get mocked by the Scots, we laughed last though as the following day they were mauled by the morrocans and sent packing and as the stupid scots in their ginger wigs and kilts cried their eyes out the lads took it upon themselves to go to their cabin and get the b-b guns bought at la ramblas and shoot the scots all over the campsite. Was hilarious until the teachers got hold of us all, tried to make our journey home a nightmare. Was worth it though !!

Rossmere - Flamingo Land, seen Alan 'sniffer' Clark there, Carlton Camp, Dalbeattie in Scotland camping, catching and cooking our own shrimps!

Brierton - London, Imperial War museum Hendon and Drury lane theatre to see Billy Liar with Michael Crawford stayed at the Cordoba House Hotel nr Marble Arch. Huckelhoven with the town footy team (i wasn't in the team but had put someione up from there the year before so got to go back)
thats it I think

At primary school we also did the usual Carlton Camp, Flamingoland, Lightwater Valley trips

At secondary school we went to London, Eden Camp, Stratford to watch Macbeth, Austria for a week of skiiing

I remember once going on a school trip to Holy Island with a class two years above us and we were stuck for a while on the island due to the tide so it meant we had a little longer than planned.

On the way back the bus got stopped by the blue flashing lights of plod and we all had to get off and a blanket was placed on the floor and we were told to empty our pockets and rucksacks as a search of the bus was carried out.

It turned out the older naghty boys had nearly stripped bare the local shop on the island and judging by the amount of swag on the blanket his till must have been a bit short.

We never did go on another trip,wonder why.

When i was at Rossmere the kids in 3rd n 4th year with parents who had a bit of Coin went to Belgium every Easter, unfortunately my Mam & Dad could'nt afford it so me and my Sister had to make do with week at Carlton Camp. I also went to Carlton Camp with Brierton as well it was Mayhem we got into all sorts of scrapes.
I remember going to a Test Match at Headingley with Brierton when we got back to School on the Monday the Headmaster gave us all a Bollocking the Teachers had been watching it on Tele in the Staffroom and we had interrupted play by moving behind the bowlers arm a few times and when the Camera's zoomed it was us Brierton lads causing the trouble.
I also recall going on trips to Richmond & Whitby etc where a lot of Shoplifting etc. went on.