3rd April 2023 by Claire Shadbolt
The weekend of 1-2 April 2023 saw eight keen Scouts and two leaders heading for Rye for hiking and camping for the Scouts Expedition Challenge Award.
First stop – Pett Emergency Coast Defense Battery then off they went, in two separate patrols along the Royal Military Canal towards Camber Castle and Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. The morale was good, they worked well together and their navigation was pretty good. Even in dealing with obstacles such as an incredibly muddy field full of cows – and deciding to make a detour away from that!
An overnight camp at Guestwell Scout Campsite where they cooked a good meal of stirfry followed by cake and custard on meth burners. We even had time for a fun game of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John, before sleeping the night in their tents.
The next morning after breakfast and a lot of washing up, the Scouts set off again. This time through Guestling Woods, and less common paths that made navigation a bit more tricky. Their navigation was still good. Some of the path was familiar as they saw it the day before, then past the second Martello tower and onto the last stop – Ypres tower. They had a good explore in the tower, seeing the old jail – none of us fancied a night in there, seeing a large map of the area they walked – and which bits would have been under the sea 1000 years ago, plus a look at the view from the top.
One last stop – by popular request of our tired expeditioners – the sweet shop.
I am looking forward to receiving their reports and awarding them their expedition challenge awards.
