Kendal volunteers help Ukrainian refugees settle into their new Cumbrian life

A group of volunteers in Kendal has been helping Ukrainian families relocate to the area.

There are now around 40 Ukrainian refugees, mainly mothers and children, settling into their new Cumbrian life.They have been raising money to take them on some adventures to get to know the area, including a trip to the Brathay Trust, near Ambleside.Most of the Ukrainian mothers and children are from the city and said they had never experienced anything like the ghyll scramble up Stickle Ghyll before.It could not be further from the terror they have fled.

Yuiia Sinelnyk, a 42-year-old mum-of-three and former account manager in Ukraine, told ITV News Border: "One minute you have to leave everything you had: your life; your apartment.

"We just had one luggage for six of us because we didn't have a lot of space in our car. But we are ok. We will be ok."Ms Sinelnyk daughter Yelyvetta told ITV News Border she still wakes up thinking she is back in Ukraine.

"I didn't understand where I am because we have the white walls and the same bed and I thought I'm at home," she said.Mariia Titarchuk, a 16-year-old A-level student from Kyiv said most of the group were terrified every time a plane flew overhead.

She also said she had flashbacks to life in Ukraine as the war began, adding: "It is really scary because we all heard those sounds in Ukraine and my heart stops a bit."The Mail Force Refugee Appeal funded their three-day trip to the Brathay Trust.

The outdoor activities get them out of their comfort zone.

The group describes it as being a tonic for mental health.Outdoor instructor Chris Nicholls said: "Some of them you got a sense straight away that this was a real break and a real piece of respite and then others, I think perhaps living in Kendal is OK and for different people it means different things".

He added that there had been some big smiles and the group were all "getting stuck in".

"For me, it's made everything that you see on the news about Ukraine and the conflict a lot more human: people who've been displaced and people who don't have their partners here and their families here because of what's happened," he continued.

Ms Sinelnyk said: "I'm sure we will remember it for all our life because most of them it's a first experience for us so we love it."

Mariia added: "It is good to still have some fun here because it's life and you have to live it."The Brathay trip is just one of the activities organised by a group of volunteers in Kendal, in conjunction with the charity New Beginnings.

They have also been to Everton Football club, have been learning English and have been to a poetry reading.

They have even been to the circus and joined local sports groups like dance schools.It is all helping them get into the Lakeland way of life, but of everything it is the people they love most about living here.

Ms Sinelnyk said Kendal, where she is living, feels like a "small, cosy town".

She said: "We love England; we love British people. And it's so emotional how many people want to help. It's amazing.

"Everyone with an open heart; everyone trying to help in their own way as much as they can."Mariia said her "amazing hosts" want to show them the country and the countryside.

She said: "I do like the fact that the air is pretty clear here. I want to sleep because of too much oxygen."

It is fresh air and a fresh start, that has saved their lives. They have been through so much but they are up for rebuilding their lives here in Cumbria with all its new experiences.