On the banks of Coniston Water, in the heart of the Lake District, lies a little piece of Wigan. Low Bank Ground lies an hour's dive up the M6, followed by a half hour jaunt through winding country lanes.
The outdoor pursuits centre gives children and adults the chance to experience the scenic expanse
From the car park the connnection to Wigan becomes more obvious - with the borough’s coat of arms sitting proudly on the Rough Close building.
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Coniston Water is an iconic tourist destination for its stunning views of the waves at the foot of the Old Man fell, which towers over the small village for which the lake named.
More recently it has become synonymous with records week, where daredevils meet up annually to break different water speed records over a series of high adrenaline days.
Since purchasing the property in 1983, Wigan Council has used this site to help young people from the borough experience outdoor activities offered by the Cumbrian landscape.
Wiganers now in adulthood have nostalgic memories about the times spent kayaking, canoeing, ghyll scrambling, orienteering and fell walking during their week's residential back in primary school.
To this day Year 6 groups from the borough take the coach with their teachers and chaperones 70 miles north from their homes to enjoy what is often their first taste of independence. Learning to tidy up after themselves, make the bed and even setting the table for meals is something of a new phenomenon for many.
Aoife Freeney, Bobby Davies, Orla Morrissy from Our Lady's RC Primary School’s Year 6 group visited the site in May - with Bobby lauding their experience as a 'brilliant team building experience'.
They all listed kayaking and ghyll scrambling as their favourite activities, but what they took away from their trip was a new-found sense of independence.
“I’ve just taken my head away from it (being away from home),” said Bobby. “Obviously I’ve tried not to think about mum as I didn’t want to get sad.”
“At the start you wanted to see your parents,” Aoife chipped in. “As the week went on you almost thought nothing about them."
Orla added: “My brother wrote me a letter and that made me feel so nice, but as soon as it got to Wednesday I completely forgot about the family. I am in a room with all my friends and get so much freedom and independence. My brother is 18 and he still remembers everything he did here when he was in Year 6.”
The trio, except Bobby, had never experienced scenery like it before and believed they would be more inclined to spend less time on their phones and more time outdoors in nature from now on.
From sharing bunk beds in the Highfield block to running down the fields towards the boathouse on the water's edge to kayak, they all agreed that they would remember their experiences forever.
Teacher Jessica Wallace, who grew up in Standish, still recalls her time at Low Bank Ground with fondness and now sees her pupils go through the same rite of passage.
“It’s my first time coming here with the Year 6s and I came here as a child as well,” Ms Wallace said. “It is something we’ve done every year and it is just fantastic, we’ve even booked again for next near.
“Being away from home allows them to learn more about themselves and not having everything done for them. We had a few that got homesick on the first couple of nights but that has passed.
“So many of the activities have involved teamwork such as raft building, kayaking, canoeing, mountain walking. It’s all about teamwork and resilience, so many of them on the first few nights were tired and they’ve just powered through.
“You see them come out of their shells so much, on the first nights they were missing mums and dads and by the end of the week they are absolutely fine. So many had never been to the Lake District, even though it is practically on our doorstep.
“We sat around a campfire and I asked how many of them had roasted a marshmallow on a stick before and very few had. It is just nice for them to come and do things like this, being next to a lake, being on the water, it’s something not a lot of them have the opportunity to do.
“It has been brilliant for them to explore and use their skills. From so many tasks on this trip is that sense of achievement.
“It’s lovely for us because you get to see a different side to them. It’s important that Wigan has this because if they didn’t, this trip would be far too expensive.
“Obviously I came when I was younger and you do things you never forget. I am 25 now and I still remember coming here as a child - it’s something that really sticks with you.
“I think it is really important that children do get those opportunities. They can’t do this in the classroom.”
The centre was run by Brathay Trust for years until the council brought the service back in-house last year. It is now headed up by manager Adam Heathcote and his experienced team of instructors who design tailored programmes of activity to meet the requirements of customers, individuals and groups.
“The majority of our work is with schools, either primary or secondary but we do have a big push towards going towards the private market," Adam said.
"We really can adapt for any of these and make it so we can challenge each area in a different way. For the corporate we can include communication and team building skills and different areas depending on what they want to focus on. In climbing and ghyll scrambling, for example, it is all about communicating and trusting in each other and building on those skills.
“For Wigan the big benefit is having the location away from the town and city to be able to facilitate groups coming out here for a reasonable price and give discounted and funded positions available for those who otherwise couldn’t come to the Lake District. That benefit cannot be measured really.
“Groups come out here and say things like ‘we have never seen a view like this’ and are awestruck. Children will ask what the dark patches on the ground are and it is because they’ve never seen the shadow of a cloud before.
“The benefits for the local area here are really long-term, as now you get lots of people from Wigan coming to Coniston because they remember it from their childhood and want to come back here.
“Without tourism the village wouldn’t really survive. For private groups, they are staying here and they are going to go out into the village and use their pubs.”
The team offers a wide variety of equipment to support a varied activity programme of water sports, climbing, archery, bushcraft and problem-solving activities. Schools in the borough can use the facility at a discounted rate but now the site is offering corporate and private packages for businesses and families to take advantage of.
Since the council brought Low Bank Ground under the bracket of their Be Well team, it has attracted more than 20,000 participants to enjoy the outdoor experiences.
Earlier this year, the Confident Council Scrutiny Committee heard the site had £300,000 in place for further enhancements to diversify the offer for self-catering hire and larger groups.
It is hoped that once this funding is secure they can replace the jetty which has now been removed due to it coming to the end of its lifespan. Wigan Council also have high ambitions for the site, with plans to enhance the site further in the future.
To get more information or to book Low Bank Ground, visit the Wigan Council website here.
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