Pathfinder Weekend
Our largest camp for sometime… 15 Scouts headed up to Lees Wood for a walking weekend. When I arrived, the site was already buzzing with Scouts from all over the District pitching tents on the difficult soil of Lees Wood, but all in very good spirits. Shortly the tents were up and the Scouts were being scouts. Hot dogs were cooked and with hot chocolate the evening passed quickly (for the leaders, the 17th Harrow had cooked a really nice stew!)
It was a slightly cold night, but Saturday morning came quick enough and the Scouts cooked their breakfasts. Each camp patrol had decided their own menus for the weekend and had gone shopping for it, making this quite interesting to watch as they endeavoured to cook for themselves, with the leaders just offering guidance rather than taking over.
After breakfast – and washing up – the Scouts made their lunches and prepared to leave. Ash’s group of older Scouts were walking from the campsite to Chalfont & Latimer, Ivor’s group were walking from Heronsgate to Lees Wood and David’s group were walking the reverse of Ash’s route – Chalfont & Latimer to Lees Wood. Alan (the driver for the day) walked with David until we met up with Ash then walked back to the bus.
The walk was quite pleasant and interesting. In David’s group, James “Dragons breath” Zoel manage to trip over his shoelaces (twice!) quite early on in the walk; this gave him quite a sore, grazed knee to deal with. As David’s group was walking along the Chess Valley Walk they heard a loud splashing sound – a small herd of longhorn cows were running alongside them along the River! David and Ash’s group met up and decided it was a suitable occasion for lunch. After lunch, we carried on with a short pause at Sarratt for a Coke and a comfort break.
Ivor’s group took a little longer to return to site – their navigation had led them to walk a large circle early on rather than following the route!
Once all were back on site, the evening meal was cooked. Later James “Dragon Breath” Zoel demonstrated his ability to keep a fire going; Oskar entertained us with imitations of many of Doctor Who’s cyber enemies; and Jamie demonstrated what happens if you put too much pine leaves on an open fire (slow burn, then whoomf!)
Sunday morning was at a much slower pace. The Scouts cooked their breakfasts, washed up and the leaders took the vehicles up to Phasels Wood. Today we would walk as a single group with 3 map readers to confirm directions, turns etc. Unfortunately the previous day’s efforts had depleted any energy and map reading skills – and as Leaders we found ourselves walking quite slowly (average speed of 2km/h!) and waiting near footpath junctions as the Scouts wandered off in the wrong direction. Luckily the weather was really nice for the time of year, so it wasn’t too bad. At Phasels we got in the bus and car and headed back.
On return to Lees Wood we found that Bruce had already dropped the Scouts tents for them, so there wasn’t much else to do (the other Troops had also long gone, so it was just the leaders tents to sort out. We loaded the Scout trailer (I loaded my bicycle trailer!) and we all headed for home.
It had been a weekend of two long, challenging hikes but the scouts had completed it. It had been a walk with a purpose – all those attended had planned the menu and the walks; they had then successfully shopped and cooked and completed the routes without any major hitches. It was an achievement that they should be proud of.
The Cycle weekend – As you Like It!!
We all met at the 8th/12th church and loaded the 8 Scout bicycles into the trailer and put two Leader’s bikes onto the roof (the third bike was already in Bruce’s car). Kit was loaded in, mobile phones handed over and we all set off.
This had been a challenge for Alan to organise; he’d had to move the date of the weekend, then find a new suitable cycling location and then a new Youth Hostel – but he’d managed it and we were heading to Alveston, just outside Stratford-upon-Avon.
We were given three dorm rooms – the boys were given 2B and not 2B (if you pardon the pun as it was actually 2A). The centre also had a large school party from Scotland staying overnight. We all settled down reasonably quickly, ready for the next morning.
Saturday’s breakfast was supplied by the Hostel, so once dispatched we could make our lunches and head off. We had hoped to cycle through a park, but the route was blocked by a very complex footpath gate, with quite high walls to stop the deer from jumping over – too high to lift the bicycles over. However, we could see the deer in the distance. The route itself was very picturesque as we cycled through very sleepy hamlets… Larkrise to Candleford could be easily filmed in these locations.
We had lunch by a village hall – all very peaceful. We had made good time in the morning, but we knew that some of the hills had posed a challenge for the younger scouts so we set off ready for the afternoon’s cycle. In the afternoon, we found a bridleway that was very muddy… nobody got away without getting mud on them, or their bikes.
We finished the cycle about 4pm – and surprisingly no punctures or bicycle repair problems! This gave the Scouts a couple of hours free before we started on making dinner. After dinner, the boys plotted the Sunday route and we asked them for ideas for the next term’s programme. We then let them make their own use for the evening… although the lack of sleep Friday night and a long day’s cycle had clearly worn most of them out.
Sunday was a shorter cycle. Before we could pack the minibus properly, we found that Anand’s bike had suffered a puncture. Because he had smaller wheels we didn’t have any spare inner tubes, so we had to hurriedly effect a repair (luckily it lasted the day) Soon we were ready to leave, and drove to the start of the cycle route – an old railway line that had been converted to a cycle route. This was a pleasant start to the day. We cycled past more open areas, and up and down one or two hills. We stopped to allow the scouts to catch up… Devash unfortunately forgot to break until it was too late and fell off – luckily, a big patch of nettles cushioned his landing! His arm (being bare) was thoroughly covered in nettle rash and it took several dock leaves to settle the itching!
The rest of the route was similar to Saturday – a few hills, but with some lovely views and past very sleepy hamlets. We finally got back to the bus and drove home. It had been a good weekend, and the boys had cycled well – with 27 miles on the Saturday and about 14 on the Sunday they’d certainly explored some of Stratford!
My thanks to Anand, Calum, Devash, Jamie, Matthew, Oskar, Rory and Sam for joining Alan, Bruce and myself on the cycle weekend.
Pictures will be found on www.magpieshchest.co.uk when I upload them (need to review them first) – including a small movie review of the cycle!
Yarr! Tharr be Pirates at the Campsite then!
Well, what a fun weekend that was! The motley crew of Oliver, Lewis, Matthew, Oskar, Sam, Aaron, Shane, Jamie, Anand, Jordy, Bradley, Thomas and Rory joined Ivor, Ash, Alan, Bruce, Simon and myself for a weekend of high jinks and fun!
We landed at Paccar Scout site and the crew’s first challenge was to get their patrol tents up. Mutiny seemed to be the order of the day, and it seemed to take ages to get the tents up. Anyway, the moon cast a clear light to work from…
Saturday morning saw a parade of Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Leaders in a variety of outfits and costumes. I had raided my wardrobe for stuff, but looked more like a highwayman (or Van Helsing according to some) than a pirate (whether the pirate of the roads would count… hey ho!)
It was really good to see so many had made the effort (well done Jamie for winning the Scout entry!) – and the leaders really had gone for it! Once the parade was complete, we set off into the woods to run the cycle cross course. A tricky circuit, causing a few to attempt to fly rather than pedal, but no major injuries (although a couple of very nasty-looking bruises). Out on the main field, the sun beat down giving everyone chance to bask in the rare heat. It was also good to see so many Beavers and Cubs that had come out for the day.
On the cycle cross, Shane managed to work hard to get the fastest Scout time… also beating the fastest Explorer Scout!
In the evening there was a brilliant campfire circle that everyone could join in with.
The evening (although still clear) seemed much warmer than Friday night.
On Sunday the Scouts took part in a scavenger hunt challenge – and whilst the sun rose steadily, the leaders marked from inside a large marquee. Not much chance of a sun tan in there! Well done to some from our team (especially Jamie again) for putting the effort in and coming third! After the hunt had finished, we saw a very interesting dog agility display, before lunch and then packing to head home.
Whilst the Scouts did need a little prompting, generally they knuckled down and did well.
