As the school summer holidays loomed scouts from both troops along with explorers from Woodsmoke ESU set out for the annual week long summer camp which in 2025 took us to Ashdown Forest in Sussex, staying at Blacklands farm.

While the scouts camped the explorers vanished into the woods creating their own hammock based sub camp that soon became the epi centre of spooky noises and unsettling wooden figures carved with axes. The scouts were a mix of the intrigued and the terrified 🙂

A trip to Brighton, a somewhat soggy hike, a murder mystery night, canoeing, paddle boarding and high ropes all made for a fantastic week in the woods. We’ll be doing it all again in 2026 in the Lake District