Lat time I went back was just before it was closed for the big renovation.
I've taken plenty of pictures, click here
just been looking through the pics.. I remember staying in Cefn Mawr dorm.. but I'm sure we had bunk beds.. one of my vivid memories is the girl in the top bunk drawing a nose and mouth on her forehead .. and her head appearing over the side above me.. her hair like a beard and upside down eyes!!! yuck.. nearly died of fright!!
also remember the tuck shop and midnight feasts in the dorm.
We had bunk beds too but they were removed I think a few years ago. Probably 'unsafe'. Midnight feats were legendary - your mam would pack secret stashes of sweets in your suit case plus touch that always was confiscated, u would wait till as late as u can, scoff on what seemed like mountains of food and fall alseep!
Garston C of E is going again in May Kev. Its costing me £120 for five days cos we don't get free school dinners.
...or when I went in the 70s!!! bunk beds and crawlies in the outdoor pool - we were hardy!
Last edited by sweetpatooti; 02-03-2007 at 01:06 PM.
I've been trawling through my Colomendy.net site for content and managed to save this info:
Little is known of Colomendy before 1700 - not even where the dovecote stood, which gave Colomendy its name.
Richard Wilson, Wales' first and greatest landscape painter, visited Colomendy many times in the eighteenth century where his cousin, Catherine Jones lived. Wilson himself lived at Colomendy in 1782, the year he died. Wilson's painting of the Pen y Garreg Wen and Loggerheads', now in the Tate Gallery, was almost certainly sketched during his time at Colomendy.
In 1922, the hall, gardens and parkland as well as five hundred acres of the estate, were owned by James Taylor, a retired business man with a passion for Dexter cattle, and a wife keenly interested in gardening. The part of the estate now known as the Loggerheads Country Park was sold to the Crosville Motor Company in 1926.
After Mrs Taylor's death in 1936, Colomendy was sold again, and in 1939 was obtained by compulsory purchase for the National Camps Corporation, who built the wooden huts in the parkland as a camp for evacuees and leased the estate to Liverpool City Council. Liverpool bought it in 1957 and in the 1960's built Glan Alyn School, designed by Colwyn Foulks and Partners. Liverpool still owns Colomendy today and the 106 acre Colomendy estate is now run as a Centre for Outdoor Education.
Today, many people walk along the public footpath through the Colomendy estate, or some just drive past the entrance glancing at its splendour. All must wonder about its past; why it is there, who lived there, why this particular piece of land has been used in this way, why in places the horizon is dominated by school buildings, why there are wooden huts in the parkland. A lot simply say 'It belongs to Liverpool, you know', as if that explained everything, and go on their way. Little do they know that this peaceful and beautiful part of Wales is a very popular Centre for Outdoor Education and is visited by approximately 10,000 Liverpool children each year. The existing Centre has a capacity for accommodating over 500 children. There is no doubt that Colomendy has proved to be a valuable resource over the years for Liverpool City Council. Charges are low, hence allowing access to all of Liverpool's children and others who wish to stay there.
The Colomendy experience is unique and is an important aspect of any Liverpool's child education.
Following a visit to Colomendy, Prince Charles referred to it as 'a very special place that has inspired many thousands of young people.'
Records show that over 350,000 children have visited Colomendy over the last 60 year period, and most have indeed been inspired. Memories are dear to them all.
Not having been to Colomendy in about 20 years, I have this memory of something -bear with me as you may be able to explain that I once was there
From what I can remember, exit the main camp from the road and you could either reach it by crossing the road - or it was a small journey. Basically you could reach a very high cliff with a serious drop on the left hand side and caves that you could enter on the right hand side. I've no name for this or any location except you were very high up and a stream right at the bottom of this cliff face - which was more earth than actual rock.
Anyone else remember??
Were You eating the mushrooms Jona76?
You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else.
Winston Churchill
A 30-YEAR deal to hand control of the Colomendy outdoor centre to a private firm was rubber-stamped today. more
I don't know how true/facual this is :-
A friend of mine who taught in a primary school in Liverpool, took a class of 7 year olds and 6 Staff to Colomendy.
The first morning, they visited the farms and then took a walk to the River Allen.
After dinner that evening, while the kids were calming down, and drawing etc.
He walked amongst them to ask what they had seen.
One little feller said, " We seen two pigs being born and then we went to see all the lambing.
Then Miss took us to see a field full of F**kers !"
"What ?" said my friend !!!!
The little feller replied,,, "Miss said that they was Effers but we know what she meant. "
Out of the mouthes of babes and sucklings.
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