We have been leading up to this for almost a year so the weekend will be in your diary in permanent pen by now.
The expedition will take place Saturday 20th July – Sunday 21st July
This is an essential challenge to complete if you are looking to complete your Chief Scout’s Gold award.
There is still an element of planning to be done by the scouts so costs and timings are not final yet but we hope there is enough information here to make a decision on whether you want to take part this year.
We talked to all the scouts at the start of term to get ideas of what they would like to do and they came up with 3 viable options:
- Cycle the Swale: 12 miles of mainly off-road cycling from Reeth to Keld and then back the other way the next day. We will probably meet around lunchtime on the Saturday and return by lunchtime on the Sunday. Essential kit: A bike with gears, suitable for off-road riding. The bike must fit, be familiar to the scout riding it and be in good condition. We are happy to meet with anyone in advance of the expedition to look over bikes; A helmet; A (VERY!) small rucksack to carry drink, waterproof, snacks etc. Estimated price, £10-15
- Expedition to Redmire: 8-10 miles (route TBC by scouts) walk from Swaledale to Wensleydale, overnight camping in Redmire and then a walk back the next day. Anticipate starting at 9am on Saturday and finishing at 4pm on Sunday. No special gear above and beyond that which we would expect a scout to have on any other hike. It is strongly recommended not to turn up with brand new, untested kit for the expedition, especially boots. Estimated price, £10-15
- Train expedition to York: Meet at Darlington station and take a train to York, complete a challenge set by the leaders to explore the city then meet in the afternoon to take a bus to our campsite. In the morning we will pack up and head off in the opposite direction. No special kit at all needed for this one. Estimated price, £25-30
All the expedition options have some things in common:
- Scouts do not need to carry all their overnight gear. This will be collected at the start and the scouts will be reunited with it at the overnight camping location.
- The group will provide all tents and camping equipment and this will be on site when scouts arrive.
- Scouts will be responsible for pitching their own tents and preparing their own food.
- The expedition party will need to agree in advance what their menu choices are for Saturday dinner, Sunday breakfast and Sunday packed lunch. Food will be on site when scouts arrive.
- The scouts will have adult supervision at all times. This is not a Duke of Edinburgh expedition, however it should prove to be excellent preparation for anyone who wants to do that in the future.
- For most of these options we will only be able to provide adult supervision if we have parental help. This will be a big factor in whether we are able to run the expedition.
- Those who express an intention to join the expedition will meet during scout time to plan the various parts of the expedition.
In order to book campsites and plan all the leader-specific bits of the expedition we need scouts to commit to the expedition if they want to take part. Obviously we are unable to run three expeditions at the same time, so there will need to be an amount of compromise if we choose an option you don’t particularly fancy.
With this in mind can you please complete the very quick online survey so that we can begin our various planning activities in good time. Please tick all the possible expeditions you would be happy to take part in. This will help us to choose the most popular option. If you don’t vote for an option but the majority do, and this ends up being the chosen expedition, you can change your mind at a later date and take part.
Final permission slips will be issued once we have settled on an option.
If you are a parent who is willing to help out for a weekend, be it walking, cycling, driving kit or some other useful service, please get in touch by text or email so we can make sure this is a viable weekend.
So here it is…your online survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/HJDZBLH
Please get in touch my email or text if you have any questions.
Gavin
