Spirit of adventure at Doors Open Day

Nine children, six locations, two days, 21 tantalising questions and almost 200 miles – it all adds up to the first ever Youth Challenge, held as part of this year’s Doors Open Days weekend.

The adventurous group of 12 to 14 year olds from Teen Spirit, the youth club that meets at The CatStrand, New Galloway on Tuesday evenings, took to the road on Saturday 25th and Sunday 24th September. Their whistle stop tour of six of the 36 local sites taking part in Doors Open Days ranged from 21st century Oasis Youth Centre in Dumfries, which has its own recording studio, to a 17th century cell in Wigtown, with time off for good behaviour and an overnight stay at the YMCA Drop-In Centre in Gatehouse of Fleet.

Accompanying the children on the trip were Teen Spirit’s youth leader Catherine Phillips and Aaron Edgar, Doors Open Days’ temporary intern. The Challenge’s top scoring team were Aaron Ferguson, 12, and Arron Clydesdale, 13, and are the lucky winners of a £50 Segway tour donated by Laggan Outdoor, the multi-activity outdoor centre located just outside Gatehouse.

Celebrating 21 years in Scotland this year, Doors Open Days is the national weekend event that opens up all manners of places to the public free of charge. Early indications from the venues taking part in Dumfries and Galloway indicate it was another successful weekend, with thousands of site visits taking place throughout the region.

The inaugural Youth Challenge and internship were new Doors Open Days initiatives for this year, and were made possible by funding from the Holywood Trust, the Dumfries-based charity, which supports opportunities for young people in Dumfries and Galloway. Doors Open Days is managed by Glenkens Community & Arts Trust (GCAT), with support from Dumfries and Galloway Council.

Doors Open Days is part of the European Heritage Days network, which sees similar events take place every September in all 49 European member states, coordinated by the Council of Europe. Information about Doors Open Days in Scotland can be found at www.doorsopendays.org.uk