Our Scouts took part in an exciting camp in Dorset over the May Bank Holiday!
Aged from 10 ½ to 14 years old, the Scouts camped in their Patrols under canvas, cooked their own meals on wood fires and put into practice all the Scout-craft skills they have been learning in their weekly programme. The camp took place at an ‘off grid’ site in Eaststoke, on the edge of the tank training area – close enough that one afternoon they even heard machine gunfire!
The results of the Scouts’ cooking, camping and Scout-craft skills were judged over the five days, leading to the Merlins Patrol winning the highly coveted Spadger Trophy for their efforts.
One of the many badges gained over the camp was Survival Skills badge for which the Scouts slept deep in the woods, utilising the skills they’ve learnt over previous months, including making shelters, water filters, fish traps, ground to air signals and cooking their food without utensils on a fire – including Rainbow Trout! This badge was combined with a Bushcraft Challenge where the Scouts tried out some further skills, with most achieving the Bronze level and three making it to the Silver level certificate.
Other activities included a joint ‘Top Gear Challenge’ with the 15th Freshford Scouts that involved the Patrols working out their final destination from an obscure picture and travelling there the cheapest way possible, while answering questions and finding some random items as part of a treasure hunt. All the Patrols reached Boscombe Pier via foot, bus, train or a combination of all three, under their allocated budget.
A highlight for two of the Scouts; Amber and Ethan, was the awarding of their Chief Scouts Gold Award which is the highest award a Scout can gain in the Scout Troop. It involves completing all of the Challenge Badges and an overnight expedition. This was made extra special by being presented to them on Brownsea Island at the site of the first ever Scout Camp held in 1907!
If you or your child would like to get involved with further Scout adventures get in touch with us to find out more!