Young Carers Magdalen Farm Residential
10 November 2025
Thanks to Somerset Community Foundation and Friends of Somerset Young Carers, we were able to bring 26 young carers on a two-night residential trip to Magdalen Farm last month.
These young people, ranging from 11 to 18 years old, are the primary carer of a close family member. Due to their caring responsibilities, they often miss out on key childhood experiences and opportunities.
The aim of the trip was to give the young carers some time away from their daily responsibilities and provide them with the chance to just be children. The visit allowed them to develop important skills, from socialising to physical resilience. The young people spent quality time outdoors engaging with activities around the farm, trying new foods and building relationships with fellow young carers.
Activities at the farm
Magdalen Farm offered the staff and young people no shortage of activities to get up to during their visit.
Some of the activities included:
- Nature art sessions
- Pizza making
- Smoothie making
- Exploring the woods
- Treasure hunting around the farm
- Feeding the animals
- Fire lighting
- Team building challenges
Young people’s reactions
When asked what they enjoyed most about the trip, young people responded with:
“I most enjoyed the forest activities. It was our first activity and a good group ice breaker. I also liked structure / having a set time schedule so we knew what we were doing”
“I really like that I made new friends and when we go to go and explore and collect points in teams.”
“I made some new friends”
“I loved the animals and I loved feeding them!”
“Sleeping, meeting new people and more sleep!”
“Pigs!”
A trip to remember
The trip will be remembered for a long time – it was such a highlight for the young people and will continue to be a talking point over the next few weeks as they reminisce over shared memories, new friendships and cute animals!
