29th October 2018 by Claire Shadbolt
16 Scouts from both troops went to Scarefest at Gilwell Park for the last weekend of October. It was a bitterly cold weekend, but we wrapped up warm and enjoyed ourselves. There was lots to do. During the day they went on activities such as climbing, tomahawks, bumper cars and the Cage. In the evening they went in mazes. The highlight for most Scouts was the fireworks and laser show.
Do we do it again next year?
6th August 2018 by Claire Shadbolt
Scouts from Snowdon and Scafell camped together at our 2018 summer camp.
On Saturday we drove up (took around five hours). We arrived with a nasty wind. It was a big challenge to get our event tent up. We had Scouts and adults weighing it down to prevent it taking off and other leaders storm lashing it as we went. We got it up with no incidents, just a dent in the time plan and our adrenaline.
Icelandics (patrol tents) were also a challenge to put up. Four scouts could not hold it against the wind. But with a bit of perseverance, up they went. It started raining just as we were finishing, but we kept our kit dry. After the resent scorching weather the rain was welcome. By the time we had pitched and unpacked it was dinner time. We had a wide game. Then cocoa, cake and bed.
Sunday we had a day of kayaking on the Derwent. That was good fun. Most Scouts did a capsize drill. The beauty of camp is that we have time to spend encouraging the Scouts to try new things and to develop their skills – we needed this time to persuade some of the Scouts to tip themselves in! The canoe slide was also proved a big hit for some of the Scouts. It was also a chance if a shower – for some the only shower if the week. They did have lots of opportunity to use the showers on our camp site, they just chose not to use them.
Monday we did a hike to Mam Tor and Cave Vale. It was a bit of a late start. There was no real reason for it, just getting into the swing of doing all the tasks needed to successfully and comfortably camp. The hike went well, slightly slower than planned. The views at the top were amazing. And we managed to get one leader to his train on time as he was back to work the next day (so now there were three leaders). But we were eating our fish and chips a bit later than predicted.
Tuesday was our big ticket day. We went ghyll scrambling from Snake Road towards Kinder Scout with Lost Earth Adventures. The scouts loved it. There were lots of smiles. Whilst waiting for others to climb a waterfall at the base of Kinder Scout, in order to make sure the Scouts did not get cold, Claire was leading a rendition of “Hamburger, cheese burger, lettuce and tomato” camp fire song, with all the actions, minus the half jump. The bizarre things you do as a leader.
Tuesday evening we had a patrol cooking competition. They got to plan their meal, buy the food and cook it on a double gas burner in specially constructed field kitchens. We must allow space for more of this in the future. The Scouts got so much out of this. Not only learning how to feed themselves in conditions more challenging than your average kitchen, but they were also having a lot of fun with it. For at least one scout this was the highlight of the week. Both patrols produced some interesting food.
Wednesday we stayed on site and did pioneering. One scout said it was his favourite thing of the week. We built a tower using ropes and poles and hauled it up using a pulley.
On Thursday we went kayaking on the river Trent. All the Scouts improved their paddling technique with the majority actually understanding what they were doing. We also had the incident that will be regaled in stories for a long time – Swangate.
We had passed many, many swans on the river. Some were getting huffy and we made sure we gave them a wide berth. Those swans were happy with that. But Mr Swan was the Gandalf of the swan world, “Thou shall not pass”. Tony was the first to encounter him as he came round a bend. He and the scout that was near to him had to paddle back up stream to get out of the way and we all huddled in an eddy working out a plan. Mr Swan would sit in the middle of the river with his wings half up and giving us the evil eye, then he would glide over into the big reed bed at one side of the river, as Mrs Swan and two cygnets appeared from behind the bend on the other side of the river and glided over to her mate, Mr Swan crossed the river again, glaring and being assertive. This happened a number of times – we just had a pattern of criss-crossing of swans. Tony waited for an opportune moment then paddled through, but Mr Swan was not happy. He chased him down the river, including taking off from the water, which always looks and sounds dramatic, heading straight for Tony. However once he got past the territory, Mr Swan was happy for Tony to wait there so long as he did not venture in again. But Tony’s card was marked. He was now most hated human. The rest of us (eight scouts, Graham and Claire) were stuck. We had a few attempts at passing but were seen off. We could not get out the river where we were, it was a long way for the Scouts to paddle against the flow to safely egress from the river, we had to go forward, but…Thou shall not pass! Eventually we decided to attempt two at a time. We waited until all swans were out of sight and Claire paddled forward with one scout. Mr Swan was not best pleased and kept a close eye on them, all Claire could hear was “Just keep paddling!” and they got through. Now Graham had to do the planning on his own. We could shout but we did not wish to disturb the Swan family any further and the two at a time plan was abandoned. In the end Graham led a quick attempt to keep the bank and paddle down swiftly. The scouts were a bit like rubber ducks in a bath bumping into each other and Mr Swan didn’t know what to do as the Scouts passed his territory. But we did get passed and Mr Swan’s family were all safe, much to Mr Swan’s relief. It did mean a late end to another day.
Then Friday was all about packing up and going home. We were on the road within 40 minutes of the time we aimed for. But the drive back took 6:30 hours in the blazing heat.
We ate well. We had curry, pork chops with ratatouille, fish and chips, patrol cooking (mainly pasta), risotto and stir fry. We were also overwhelmed with cakes. It is a lovely problem to work out how to eat them all.
The Scouts were a pleasure to take away. They enjoyed the activities, the camping and the friendships. They also learnt loads. We are already looking forward to the next camp.
4th August 2016 by Claire Shadbolt
Day one – SaturdayThe day started early at 6:30 meeting in Elmers End. 17 people are in the mini bus, the remaining six are in two cars and all our kit is in the trailer. Then for the long journey to Bude in Cornwall.
We arrive in good spirits and set up camp. That takes the rest of the afternoon. We have a quick wide game then supper and bed.
Day two – Sunday, our busy day.By 9:00 we are off in the mini bus to Church in Launceston. I was very proud of our 16 scouts and young leaders looking smart in their uniform, well behaved and attentive.
Then it was a dash back to Bude, a quick change and onto Swim Safe. It was a shame it was in horrible weather. But if you are in a wetsuit and in the sea pool then you are not really going to feel the rain.
Swim Safe was held in Bude Sea Pool. This pool is naturally refreshed twice a day by the incoming tide. Our scouts learnt beach safety and in-water tuition.
After the Swim Safe we had a quick change and a bite to eat. We sheltered from the last of the rain before setting out on our hike.
It was a challenging hike, up and down clifts along the scenic South West Coast Path, from Bude to Duckpool, then around Coombe Valley. We cut the hike short at the end of Coombe Valley. Our late start (due to rain) meant we were running late at that point.
We wrapped the day up with wide game on the beach.
Day three – Monday, kayaking and surfingMonday saw us dividing into two groups to do kayaking and surfing. The waves were “huge”, so we changed from sea kayaking to kayaking along the canal. It also meant that the surfing was challenging and our scouts rose the challenge.
In the afternoon we went to Summerleaze beach for body boarding and beach fun. The waves were the biggest I have seen in years. The body boarding was exhilarating.
We welcome our last participant, Gary, who joined us for the rest of the week. We wrapped the day up with yet another wide game on the beach.
Day four – Tuesday, cycling and adventure courseOn Tuesday we divided into four groups and went cycling. We did more of the South West Coast Path, this time heading south and then along Bude Canal. That burnt off some energy.
After lunch we did a trip into town for the scouts to spend all their pocket money. Sainsburys and the Co-op were the most popular shops, as the scouts had worked out they could get cheap sweets and pop. Our scouts were demonstrating budgeting.
In the afternoon we did an adventure course – space hoppers, custard tunnels, custard in wellies then sliding down the water slide trying to avoid the attentions of the rest of the scouts armed with water pistols and soaking sponges.
Video playing on the adventure course
Video – more playing on the adventure course
And guess how we rounded the day off – yep a wide game on the beach.
Day five – Wednesday, Coasteering and BBQ on the beachWednesday saw us travelling to Tintagle and into the bay for Coasteering.
Before we started leaping off rocks and clifts, we had a special occasion to mark. We invested Bobby as an Assistant Scout Leader. We all swam out to Central Rock to witness Bobby saying his promise and receive his woggle. That poor scarf was wet on its first outing.
The afternoon saw us back on the beach. Unfortunately the wave conditions were too rough, so body boarding was stopped quite quickly. We still had fun having games of badminton, cricket, burying scouts and chilling. We stayed on the beach for the rest of the evening having a BBQ. It was very beautiful watching the sun setting whilst eating a burger.
And we still had a wide game before bed.
Day six – Thursday, surfing and kayaking take twoThursday again saw us dividing into two groups to do kayaking and surfing. The waves were still challenging, so again we changed from sea kayaking to kayaking along the canal.
The afternoon saw us having activities at the campsite. Sober beer pong was a firm favourite. This involved two benches placed 10 metres apart with a bucket of water placed on each bench. The players need to stay behind the bench and trow tennis balls into the opposite bucket. The first team to get three balls in the bucket wins. You can imagine the excitement when B and J lost to Claire and Gary. Claire and Gary really enjoyed throwing a bucket of water over their sons!
Day seven – Friday, pack up and epic journey homeAll good camps have to come to an end. Friday saw us striking camp and leaving on time (amazing). But the journey home did not go to plan. Unfortunately the mini bus was stuck in countless traffic jams, including one where we went two miles in one hour and the M3 being closed. Fortunately all the scouts were in good spirits and in was good fun in the bus.
Thank you to:
29th April 2016 by Claire Shadbolt
“Shall I tell you the name of the Bridleway? I am walking over to to read it. It says, “Permissive Bridleway.”
On a cold April morning, five brave scouts embark on an expedition to walk to Biggin Hill and back.
We started off by walking 5 minutes to Addiscombe to buy food supplies for the weekend. We will overlook that they blew the budget by 50%. We can return to keeping in budget for another event.
Next step – they are off, walking, by themselves for 13.5 miles. Photographic evidence seems to suggest that actually they went to the closest sweet shop and bought another load of supplies – energy drinks and sweets. It kept them all in good spirit.
They were running a bit late for their first checkpoint, so the leaders checked in on them using mobile phones. They had strayed off course. It was a challenge to work out where they were when they did not know and the mobile coverage was poor. That is the time of the famous quote, “Shall I tell you the name of the Bridleway? I am walking over to to read it. It says, “Permissive Bridleway”. He now knows that a permissive bridleway is a bridle way (which could be for walkers, riders, cyclists, or any combination) whose use is allowed by the landowner.
We collected them from outskirts of New Addington and put them back on the right path. Only for them to stray again an hour later. So they were collected again and put back on the path again. This time they made it. They walk all the way to Waylands Campsite which is to the east of Biggin Hill.
Once they arrive at camp they put up their hike tents – thank you Jack Petchey Foundation for funding them. Then they started cooking their evening meal. They soon discovered that cooking on Triangias was hard work. They still managed to produce a lovely meal of chicken stirfry with noodles and wash up. By which stage is was quite late, so they elected to skip dessert (cake) and supper (they had only just finished eating) and went to find the other group camping to enjoy a bit of their campfire.
Sunday morning started very cold with ice on all the tents. The scouts managed to take around two hours to cook some bacon and then they were off again. This time they did pretty well with navigation, but they were very much behind time. At one stage they were walking 2km per hour. So we did have to cut it short and drive them home.
At the time of writing the scouts have still to draft their reports and conclude their task on comparing the litter in a rural or urban area.
They had a great time and we are looking forward to their reports.
7th June 2013 by g_baker
More pictures from Pinewood camp, courtesy of Lisa from 9th Addiscombe Brownies.
