This years week camp took us to the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park in Sterling, Scotland for a week at the amazing Auchengillan Scout Campsite. The journey up was a bit of a trek, but once we had got there, we knew we'd made the right choice of venue, the views from our site were stunning and just whetted the appetite to get out and go play in the stunning mountains of Scotland.
Sunday
Sunday we had an easy going morning, just putting the finishing touches to our site and then exploring the rest of Auchengillan, but in the afternoon the activities started in earnest. The main aim was to get the Explorers working together as a team to set us up for the rest of the week - as well as having a bit of fun. So, first up, a bit of crate staking!
Swiftly followed by a bit of Raft building - two teams, two rafts - same outcome. Have a watch of the time lapse below to see how they did it!
Monday
Bit of a change of plan for Monday. Our initial intentions were to get straight out in the mountains, however the weather wasn't looking kind, and we always make sure our plan is flexible enough to cope with any weather situations that might arise, years of experience living in the UK have taught us that! Instead we went off for a day in Edinburgh. A great city to visit at any time of year, especially the historical areas like the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle, however, in August there is also the Festival going on. It might have been a damp and soggy sort of a day, but that didn't deter the street performers, or the Explorers.
Tuesday
A relaxing morning followed by a few site activities, that were planned just for fun. Pole climbing had the Explorer working together and getting a head for heights, something they would need later on in the week.
This was followed by the Water Walkers. I'm not sure whose idea this was, or why they ever thought it was a good one, but it was the activity that brought more howls of laughter than any other (although Sumo-Suits came a close second - see below for those!).
Wednesday
The highlight of the week for many (including me), a fantastic day in the Highlands. We did discuss with the Explorers which mountains they would like to do given the travelling time to some of the biggest. Ben Nevis was discussed and dismissed as too far for a mountain that may be big, but not that interesting via routes we would have been able to do - the mountains of Glencoe however - yes a bit of a drive, but worth every minute. We settled on a couple of the peaks on the Buchallie Etive Mor ridge. Both groups summitted Stob Dearg and the quicker group also 'ran' up Stob Corie Altruim. Even Adam was forced to admit, 'I can see why people do this now, quite good isn't it.' Which is high praise coming from Adam whilst on a mountain.
Yes it looks like they are on their phones on one photo, because they are. They assure me they were taking photos of the stunning views and it wasn't because this was the first time in hours they had got a signal - which we all totally believe! At one point, a wild Explorer leader in their natural habitat was also spotted!
Thursday
A chilled morning after the exertions of Wednesday, followed by more general silliness in Sumo-Suits and a gentle canoe on the waters of Auchengillan, I say gentle, they ended up swimming - obviously!
Friday
Another full day out, this time climbing at Bennybeg crag. The day had many challenges, and not just from the rock, trying to guess what the weather was going to do from one moment to the next was interesting (Jacket on, jacket off, waterproofs on, waterproofs off, straight into, 'I wish I had my shorts on' and back to 'where are the waterproofs!') as was making sure one of the local dogs out on a walk with it's owner didn't help itself to our packed lunch!
Saturday
It wasn't just the weather that was miserable on Saturday morning, none of us wanted to go home, but our time was at an end. We set the Explorers the challenge the evening before to be up, have their breakfast cooked and eaten, personal gear packed and personal tents down, have the group tents packed and taken down, the trailer loaded and ready to go by half ten. As we were saying it, I'm not sure any of the leaders believed that was possible, but we like setting them challenging targets. This incredible group of young people never fail to to surprise or delight, we were in the van leaving site at 10:24. The long journey home was supposed to be made easier by van karaoke on the way back. DJ Ben had been on the decks all week and his music choices had been getting better and better, I was expecting banger after banger, so was a little surprised at some not so great tunes, only to discover he'd fallen asleep about 3 minutes into the journey and the speaker was just randomly playing through his playlist - ah well, you can't have everything!
A big thank you has to go to Newman RC College in Chadderton who loaned us one of their minibuses for the week, without which much of this would have been impossible. But the biggest thank you as always is to the young people who once again, amazed, amused, challenged, inspired, entertained and made it so, so easy and enjoyable for the leaders - we're already planning next summers week camp - anyone for the Brecon Beacons????
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