Experiences

Hope Residential: My PGL Experience 

September 30, 2025

Over the summer holidays, we took 13 young people to PGL in Swindon for a jam-packed, three-day residential. Not only do these trips give young people the chance to meet others going through a similar experience, but they also provide some much deserved fun – here’s Poppy-Valentine’s story about her time away:

Who am I?

My name is Poppy-Valentine and I am 13 years old. I have been with Hope Support Services for over one and a half years. This was not my first Hope residential but my first time at PGL. I was excited to hear about going to PGL and looked forward to the activities such as the Zip Wire.  

What did we do?

I took part in multiple activities including the Zip Wire, Laser Tag, Disc Golf and Archery. The Zip Wire was my favourite because I really like how fast it goes. It was my first time doing Disc Golf, it was very fun and I got a good score. I enjoyed Archery and Laser Tag.  

What was good about it?

At PGL I learned a few things about some young people I already knew from Hope and I met a couple of new young people with Hope. The accommodation at PGL was very good and I shared a room with my sisters and another young person from Hope. The choices of food was very good there was something for everyone.  

The staff at PGL were really fun especially our Group Leader. He taught a few of us a game named 007 and I play it at home sometimes with my sisters. The PGL site was very big. It had a gift shop in which I got sweets and a pencil. It also has a bonfire put, we did that one the first evening and we played Werewolf which was very fun but I got voted out in the first round and in the second round I survived.  

Overall I had a really fun time and made lots of good memories. Thank you Hope for providing this opportunity.