Dunfield House

Over 130 young people and youth leaders met at Dunfield over the weekend, the theme was ‘don’t stop believin’ - the young people joined in worship, dance, pool, tri-golf, parachute games, hook a duck twister, master chef, football, ultimate frisbee, team games, dodge ball, rounders, T-ball, scavenger hunt and arts and crafts.

We have a dedicated staff team at Dunfield who worked on a really hot day to clean the house and stables ready for Beechwood school to arrive for their residential trip. Our cooks have already served nearly 400 meals since yesterday and are now preparing jacket potatoes, tuna, cheese & beans and salads and chocolate pudding and chocolate sauce for tonight.

Well, the last vehicles left Rally at 3pm and Beechwood school arrived at 3:50pm. The children are now unpacking and making their beds ready for tea and play in the grounds, they are so excited.

Recent comments from the Open House weekend in May, a Rally weekend led by Hannah James and Community of Christ Young Adults include:

very good weekend, thoroughly enjoyed it - Barrie Lewis

open house was brilliant, it was great to see new people and the leadership was fantastically brilliant! – Daniel Fox

Dunfield provides a secure and safe environment for all the family. It is clean and I felt at home. Jenny Goodier

it was great! Food was nice and I had a great time - Rory Vickers

It has been a busy 2 weeks with over 350 guests visiting and 130 young people and staff members arriving for a Christian youth rally tomorrow.

Today we have parents arriving to attend a performance their children have been working on over the past 4 days. Children from 4 schools in Solihull have worked hard together learning lines and chorus’s, making scenery, learning new peices to play on instruments along with treasure hunts, campfires and lots of free time to enjoy the grounds.

Previous group programmes have been varied including an infant course with music awareness, music & drama workshops, a celebration day and one group visiting the Elan Valley, boat building and sailing, nature studies and walks.

On the 12th June the Trustees of Dunfield House, Paul and myself met to discuss the ongoing opprotunities we have to share the facilities primarily with young people but increasingly with church and family groups of all ages who appreciate the service we offer.

The Trustee’s give of their time in a voluntary capacity which enables us to remain committed to providing an affordable residential experience primarily for young people.

It’s June, we have a youth camp at Dunfield who are traveling around the world in their classwork – looking at beliefs, customs, lifestyle and opportunities. Today they are in Australasia and the weather is perfect. A barbeque at the the campfire site will round off the day nicely.

We have been away, it was our daughters graduation in the States so we had time to be the proud parents along with being with Jack and Sal for a family holiday afterwards…………………..Barbara and Stewart stepped beautifully into our shoes and looked after Dunfield in our absence.

A card received today sums it all up.

we both appreciate the success of retreat was in part, thanks for your watch care over us. Dunfield looked beautiful, as is usual now. Barbara and Stewart and the staff were very kind and helpful, a true reflection of all Dunfield stands for. much love to you both, all is well, may God continue to bless you and your visions. Jean

Dear Sue & Paul, I am writing this letter to tell you how much I enjoyed Dunfield. Firstly I would like to tell you how much I loved playing in your forest, it was really adventurous and playing in the stream was great, seeing all the fish swirling round in the water.

we look forward to coming to Dunfield, it is such a treat form adults and children alike Nigel and Catherine, Northhamptonshire

Thank you to all the staff for another enjoyable bank holiday weekend. We look forward to a bumper attendance next Easter…………..Tony

Although the wind was cool we had really good weather over the bank holiday – the rain came at night and those guests on site were able to make the most of the grounds and facilities at Dunfield

feedback from our evaluation form reads:

…..Fantastic place for our annual reunion, everything you need on site. Paul and Sue very welcoming and so helpful. We will definitely be back………. Fiona Woods and the Brunel Crowd