An amateur promotional film produced by Ronald Lax Miller that highlight some of the activities available to pupils of Gateshead Local Education Authority at the Dukehouse Wood Camp School near Hexham in Northumberland. The film features pupils from a number of Gateshead schools camping, hiking around Hexhamshire, canoeing on the River Tyne and rock climbing at Crag Lough. Title: Fingle Films Present Title: The Easter Adventure Title: With boys from Title: Greenwell Secondary Modern...

An amateur promotional film produced by Ronald Lax Miller that highlight some of the activities available to pupils of Gateshead Local Education Authority at the Dukehouse Wood Camp School near Hexham in Northumberland. The film features pupils from a number of Gateshead schools camping, hiking around Hexhamshire, canoeing on the River Tyne and rock climbing at Crag Lough. Title: Fingle Films Present Title: The Easter Adventure Title: With boys from Title: Greenwell Secondary Modern School, Hillhead Secondary Modern School, St Wilfrid’s Roman Catholic School Title: Staff in charge Title: R. Miller, Organiser. A. Nixon, Camping. B. Scaum, Climbing. J Brabban & B. Heggity, Walking. B Chapple, P. Ellis, K. Snowball, Camping. Title: We wish to express our thanks to Gateshead Local Education Authority, the Headmaster and staff of Dukehouse Wood Camp School and local land owners. Credit: Camera and Editing R. Miller In a classroom a group of boys of various ages sit around chatting. A pair of hands lay our sheets of paper onto a table. Outside a wooden sign reads ‘Gateshead Education Committee. Dukeshouse Wood Camp School’. A Land Rover parked on the edge of a road, two canoes are secured on the roof, it pulls a small trailer. Title: Camping at Hindley Hall (our thanks to Mr Thornton) Six boys stand at the rear of a minibus, a sports car drives past. Inside the bus packed with tents, equipment and supplies one boy ties up a rucksack. Several older boys or young men stand beside the bus chatting. A phantom bus ride along country roads and the bus pulling into a field. The boys work together to erect several tents and set out their gear. With the camp now set up two boys lay in the entrance of their tent writing in their journals. Another boy attempts to light a small gas-powered camping stove. He squeezes lighter fluid into the tin adjusting a knob on the side before lighting it with a match. The stove lights and he put a kettle on to boil some water. The group stands around a man who uses a spade to dig up a section of turf, the sun sets over trees. Title: Walking in Hexhamshire The boys stand beside a Land Rover, one boy puts on a pair of walking socks. An older boy comes over with a map and the group gather round him as he opens it on the hood of the Land Rover. The older boy points out the route of their hike, the boys begin to get into the back of the Land Rover. In a field several boys look out from the rear of the Land Rover, a man comes over and opens the rear window allowing the boys to jump out. The boys begin their hike walking beside a bridge toward a river which flows over a wear. They walk back to the Land Rover and sandwiches are handed out and eaten and tea drunk from plastic cups. Title: Canoeing on the Tyne (no thanks to the flood) A trailer containing several canoes is attached to the minibus, inside the bus boys sit chatting. The bus is now parked along the banks of the River Tyne with the Hexham Bridge in the distance, in a field the boys begin to unload and put up a tent. A phantom car ride along a country road following a slow-moving vehicle in front. Back at the camp the boys enjoy cups of tea from the back of a Land Rover, in the background a number of tents have been erected. Tea is scooped out of a large vat in the back of the vehicle and poured into individual cups. The boys sit on the group practicing tying knots and tying ropes around themselves. A boys places a canoe into the water and carefully gets into it before paddling away. The group of the shore watches as he paddles backward and then in circles before returning to shore and getting out. Another boy pushes his canoe onto the river before also paddling around. He then flips the canoe over and swims back to shore pulling it with him. A third boy gets into his canoe, paddles on the water and again flips it. The trailer at the rear of the minibus is now loaded again with the canoes, in a nearby field the boys play a game of football. Title: Climbing at Crag Lough Carrying ropes and other climbing equipment a ground of boys uses a stile to cross a stone wall. They sit at the base of the Crag as two instructors looks up at the rockface. The film ends with the group gather around a man in a yellow waterproof hat as he begins to climb carefully towards the top. End title: The Beginning