Spring Family Weekend 2026 – Gone Prehistoric!

Stomp this way, our 2026 Spring Family Weekend is open for applications!

Join VICTA on a Jurassic journey to Mount Cook, an old mining quarry which promises great adventure and much to discover.

The VICTA Spring Family Weekend will be at a roar-some new venue this year. We are heading to Mount Cook Adventure Centre, Middleton, Derbyshire. The area is rich with fossils, minerals and a wide variety of activity spaces for us to enjoy. Mount Cook prides itself on being environmentally sustainable, and we will have exclusive use of the venue. The centre is specially designed for school and youth groups, offering comfy dorm-style rooms – and great news: every room has its own ensuite bathroom. With amazing indoor and outdoor activity facilities all around us, we’re in for an unforgettable time!

Our Family Weekends are the perfect chance to try something new, make great memories, and connect with others. We’ve got a fantastic mix of fun activities for you and your children, plus inspiring workshops and talks to enjoy with information from sector professionals and VI young adults who will share their journey with you. And of course, we’ll be making (pre) history with our legendary themed party night, complete with fun competitions and exciting prizes to be won!

Activities on offer at the centre include High and Low Ropes, Rock Climbing & Scrambling, Abseiling, Bushcraft, Archery, Tag & Maze Cube, Zipwire & Traverse Cube, The Via Ferrata (traverse across a quarry and a variety of obstacles using handholds, footholds and limestone rock), Indoor Climbing & Land Karts, Team Building Activities, Raft Building and Canoeing. The activities will be run by the Mount Cook activity staff who ensure everyone has an amazing time. Children take part in the activities in groups arranged by age with the support of VICTA staff, volunteers, and the centre’s staff.

This is a fantastic chance for your children to connect and make friends with others their own age who have similar life experiences. While the children are off exploring and having fun, parents can dive into workshops and even take on some of the exciting activities themselves, keeping up with their adventurous youngsters! Then, everyone comes back together to share the day’s highlights, enjoy tasty meals, and take part in some fun family activities.

The minimum age for the activity groups is 6 years old. Younger siblings are welcome and there will be a play room available for you to amuse your little ones.

If you would like to apply for your family to attend, please complete the online application form below.

If you are offered a place on this family weekend, you will need to pay 50% non-refundable deposit of your family’s place. The remaining balance will be due no later than six weeks before the activity. The contribution required is £95 per person, 0 to 5 years are free (if this is your first family weekend, you will receive a £25 ‘credit note’ after the weekend to be used towards the cost of your VI child’s place on another VICTA activity). Your contribution covers your family’s accommodation, all organised activities and three hot meals per day.

The actual cost to VICTA per person to attend a family weekend is approximately £260, so if you can pay more than the minimum required that would be greatly appreciated. More importantly, given the costs, it is important that you inform us if you are unable to accept your place so that it can be offered to another family on the waiting list.

We are expected to be over-subscribed so please make sure you get your applications in before the closing date.

Note for applicants completing this form

After completion, if you have successfully submitted the form, you should receive a successful submission message. If you do not it may be because you have not completed a required field.

If you are having difficulty with the form, please contact the office on 01908 240 831.

Please note, we can only accept a maximum group size of 6 of immediate family members, with a ratio of no more than 3 adults per 1 child.

Who can apply?

Your child/ren with a vision impairment must be:

• Registered or registrable blind or partially sighted
• At least 6 on 22 May 2026
• Aged 17 or under on 25 May 2026
• Physically, socially and emotionally able to take part independently in a group setting with peers of a similar age
• Able to communicate their needs independently
• Able to maintain their own personal hygiene
• Able to take medication independently (if applicable)

Siblings

The above applies to all siblings attending, apart from the following:

• Siblings of any age are welcome to join us, but those under 6 cannot take part in the centre’s activities. Children aged 0 to 5 therefore go free.
• Siblings do not need to be registered or registerable blind or partially sighted.

Please note: VICTA staff and volunteers are trained to support children with a vision impairment to access activities independently. Unfortunately, we can’t accept applications where the child is reliant on constant additional support e.g. from a parent or other trained professional.

Apply for our Spring Family Weekend 2026

Note for applicants completing this form

After completion, if you have successfully submitted the form, you should receive a successful submission message. If you do not it may be because you have not completed a required field. After your form has successfully gone through you will also receive notification via email. If you do not receive an email please contact the office on 01908 240 831 as there may have been a problem with your application.

Applicant details

Please fill out the details for each member of your family attending the activity. Please name Applicant one as your VI child

Applicant one (VI child)

First name *

Last name *

Gender *

• Male
• Female
• Other

If you have selected 'other', please outline below how you describe your child

Date of birth *

Is the applicant *

• Blind
• Partially Sighted

Is the applicant registered for their vision impairment? (We may ask for supporting evidence – see bottom of this form) *

• Yes
• No

Name of eye condition *

(1) Medical information (including allergies), other disabilities and/or additional information we may need to be aware of for the weekend *

(1) Dietary information, including allergies *

Applicant two

2. First name *

2. Last name *

2. Gender *

• Male
• Female
• Other

2. If you have selected 'other', please outline below how you describe yourself

2. Date of birth *

2. Is the applicant *

• Blind
• Partially Sighted
• Not Vision Impaired

Is the applicant registered for their vision impairment? (If applicable) (We may ask for supporting evidence – see bottom of this form)

• Yes
• No

Name of eye condition (if applicable)

2. Medical information (including allergies), other disabilities and/or additional information we may need to be aware of for the weekend *

2. Dietary information, including allergies *

Applicant three

3. First name

3. Last name

3. Gender

• Male
• Female
• Other

3. If you have selected 'other', please outline below how you describe yourself

3. Date of birth

3. Is the applicant

• Blind
• Partially Sighted
• Not Vision Impaired

Name of eye condition (if applicable)

3. Medical information (including allergies), other disabilities and/or additional information we may need to be aware of for the weekend

3. Dietary information, including allergies

Applicant four

4. First name

4. Last name

4. Gender

• Male
• Female
• Other

4. If you have selected 'other', please outline below how you describe yourself

4. Date of birth

4. Is the applicant

• Blind
• Partially Sighted
• Not Vision Impaired

Name of eye condition (if applicable)

4. Medical information (including allergies), other disabilities and/or additional information we may need to be aware of for the weekend

4. Dietary information, including allergies

Applicant five

5. First name

5. Last name

5. Gender

• Male
• Female
• Other

5. If you have selected 'other', please outline below how you describe yourself

5. Date of birth

5. Is the applicant

• Blind
• Partially Sighted
• Not Vision Impaired

Name of eye condition (if applicable)

5. Medical information (including allergies), other disabilities and/or additional information we may need to be aware of for the weekend

5. Dietary information, including allergies

Applicant six

6. First name

6. Last name

6. Gender

• Male
• Female
• Other

6. If you have selected 'other', please outline below how you describe yourself

6. Date of birth

6. Is the applicant

• Blind
• Partially Sighted
• Not Vision Impaired

Name of eye condition (if applicable)

6. Medical information (including allergies), other disabilities and/or additional information we may need to be aware of for the weekend

6. Dietary information, including allergies

Contact details

Name of parent/carer *

Email *

Home phone *

Mobile number *

Address 1 *

Address 2

City *

Post code *

Eye condition documentation

If this is the first VICTA activity that you are applying for, please note that applicants must be registered sight impaired or severely sight impaired, or be able to provide proof that they are registerable. Any information or documents supplied must include the applicant’s name, date of birth and visual acuity. *

• I confirm the applicant is registered or registerable Sight Impaired or Severely Sight Impaired

Supporting documentation If the applicant is registered, please include a copy of one of the following registration documents: - Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) - Blind Registration Card issued by local authority If the applicant is not registered, please provide: - a letter from an ophthalmologist confirming visual acuity. Please note, applications cannot be processed without these documents.

Uploading documents

If you would like to upload any supporting documents such as a copy of your registration document, you can do so here. If supplying a CVI, please include Parts 1 & 2. If you are including a copy of a Blind Registration Card, please remember to include both sides. Only files saved as a jpeg or pdf formats will be accepted by the upload. Alternatively, you can email them to activities@victa.org.uk

Click or drag files to this area to upload. You can upload up to 5 files.

Photographs and filming

Photographs and video footage may be taken during our activities. These will be used to create photo albums both on our website and on social media after the activity to share with family and friends and to celebrate the event, this may include your child’s name and age. VICTA may also use any photographs and/or video material taken during an event for marketing purposes, including being displayed on the VICTA website, on our social media channels, on charity emails and by connected third parties working in partnership with VICTA on this event/activity. Do we have your permission? *

• Yes
• No

Declaration, privacy and consent

To be signed by the applicant or a responsible person. This form has been completed accurately and I undertake to update VICTA should any of the information in this form change.
a. I agree to/for my child to take part in VICTA's activity and have read all the information sent to me.
b. I acknowledge the need to/for my child to behave responsibly at all times during the activity.
c. I confirm that this form has been completed accurately and I undertake to update VICTA's organisers should any information contained on the form or personal circumstances change.
d. In the event of an emergency/accident, I consent to emergency medical treatment, which may include the use of anaesthetics.
e. In order to ensure that activities are adequately staffed we need full and accurate information about all participants. Please note we reserve the right to refuse admission to the activity or ask a participant to leave the activity if the information given proves inaccurate or the conduct of the participant reaches an unacceptable level.
f. We understand that some young people will use Whatsapp at home and each home has their own rules on technology. It is likely that your child will meet others on a VICTA activity that they’d like to stay in touch with. While we do not encourage the use of Whatsapp before the age of 16, we do encourage connections and friendships. We ask that if your child is coming on a VICTA activity and they use Whatsapp regularly to remind them their behaviour and language follows the expectations that we have when meeting in person – polite, courteous, and inclusive at all times. If you have any questions surrounding this, please contact the Activities Team on activities@victa.org.uk
g. By signing this form you consent to VICTA using the information supplied for the purpose of administering the named event. All the information will be treated in the strictest of confidence and made available only to those staff working with the participant. We may need to share your details with third party suppliers in relation to this activity. Contact information will be retained and used for marketing of other relevant services.
h. I give consent for VICTA to carry out the following in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulations as supplemented by the Data Protection Act 2018 and related laws and to store my personal information on VICTA's database and/or any other suitable system.

Agreement to declaration *

• I agree
• I do not agree

Do you give us consent to use your information for marketing purposes such informing you of future VICTA activities? *

• Yes
• No

Signed (insert name) *

Date *

My relationship to the applicant (if applicable)

• Parent
• Legal guardian
• Other

If 'other' please state

Agree to payment and T&C's

By checking this box you agree to pay £95 per person to attend this activity. If you are offered a place on this activity you will then be required to pay a deposit of 50% of the full amount by 06/03/26 to secure your place. The remaining balance is due on 10/04/26. By checking this box you also agree to our terms and understand that this payment is non refundable in the event of you withdrawing from the activity. *

• I agree

How did you hear about this activity? *

• Web search
• VICTA email
• Referral from a professional
• Referral from another charity
• Word of mouth
• Social media
• At an exhibition or conference
• Other
• Referral from another family

If you have been referred to this Family Weekend by another family, please give their details below

Would you like to sign up for email updates from VICTA to hear about future activities? *

• Yes please
• No Thank you
• I'm already signed up

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