Scouts is the third section in the scouting family and is for boys and girls aged 10-14. It comes after cubs and before Explorers.
Our scouts meet as two separate troops at the Group HQ. Both troops meet between 7:30 and 9. “Wildcat” troop meet on a Wednesday, “Raptor” troop on a Thursday.
Plus of course both troops have plenty of weekend camps and trips out mostly together. Recent trips have included white water canoeing, a weekend climbing in the Peak District and mountain biking in Thetford Forest.
A typical evening could include anything from wide games to cook offs to falconry to first aid training. Having once even run a fashion show there’s not much we won’t have a try at!
Here are some of the things we’ve done recently:
For 3 our scouts it was their first time on the course and indeed in terrain like this. For the other two it was a chance to repeat the course and build on what they learned last year. From the dramatic skyline of the Tarmachan ridge to the remote solitude of Inverlochlarig the scouts learned to navigate, camp and climb some of Scotland’s most spectacular mountains.
The week culminated in a 3 day, 2 night expedition, camping wild in the mountains, a far cry from many of the well kept campsites the scouts are used to on many of our camps.
Final note…. if you see any of our scouts wearing a red and green tartan necker, that is the necker of the Nicholson clan and can be worn by any scout who has stayed at Lochearnhead. Worn with pride by all our scouts who have completed the course 🙂
As a real final note…. as well as our 5 scouts on the course we have two of our young leader explorer scouts there for the week who volunteered to join all the other staff to cook meals, clean toilets, fix things and all the other glamorous jobs that keep events like this happening. A thank you to them and of course all the instructors, staff, organisers and everyone else at Hertfordshire Scouts for having our contingent as their guests for the week!
Probably best to stop typing and let the photos do the talking……
Having been newly trained in how to create all kinds of contraptions from logs and ropes the scouts set about building everything from a newly fitted kitchen to giant catapults and culminating in the bridging of Cuffley Brook. Opinions may vary as to exactly how successful that was…..
In between the building of contraptions the scouts also got to have a go at branding (with at least one patrol leader looking menacingly at her patrol!) and tracking the local badger population.
With spring now upon us there should be plenty more camp to come…..
