CHILDREN across the South Lakes area took advantage of the warm, sunny half-term weather to participate in a range of holiday activities.

Staff from Ulverston Leisure Centre worked with youngsters aged between five and 11 at their home base and at rural sporting workshops in Coniston and Broughton.

They took part in a range of sports, including tennis, rounders and cricket, with most of the sessions held outside to make the most of the conditions.

In Broughton, this meant children who would normally stay inside the Victory Hall were able to use the village park for their sporting activities, while Coniston Village School’s playing fields and the outdoor areas at the leisure centre were the perfect venues for outdoor action.

North Country Leisure’s Hannah Paling, who helped run the sessions across the area, was pleased with how they went.

“All the children were able to enjoy a couple of hours in the sun,” she said.

“It’s nice to go up to Coniston and be outside and it’s also nice in Broughton to use the park, which we haven’t done before.

“The children were able to do a variety of sports – they never want to do the same things as each other – and they can do stuff together or go and do things in pairs or threes.

“With the good weather, it’s so much nicer to go out and do these things. It makes the kids want to do things like tennis, cricket and rounders, because they are the summer sports.”

There were around 45 children taking part in Ulverston, while smaller groups took part in the one-off rural sessions.

Paling added about those two days: “It was a nice number of children to have and the weather was nice, so it was so much better to let them outside and run riot!

“We had plenty of younger children, who had a lot of fun. We had some of the same children back and they’re already asking if we are doing it in the summer as well.

“It was a really good two days and it was very successful.”