Richard McLeod

Anyone who wants to get a hillwalking permit for taking young people into the hills will require an assessment by a Scout Association appointed hillwalking assessor. Generally, this would be an assessor in your region but if none is available, assessors from other Regions can be approached.

To apply for a permit, you either need to have the relevant  Mounting Training qualifications or you need to be able to demonstrate an equivalent level of experience and skill. In addition, you will need to demonstrate knowledge of the activity POR Rules and how they affect the activity within Scouting. 

If you do not currently have the required level of experience to hold a permit but are interested in developing your own skills, you would be welcome to attend an “Assessment Training” weekend. However, you would need to:

• have appropriate personal kit including walking boots, waterproof jacket, waterproof trousers, suitable clothing (see the layering system), sleeping bag, sleeping mat, etc.
• have a suitable rucksack for carrying your personal kit and lightweight camping equipment for one night on the hill. (Camping and cooking equipment can be provided on request.)
• be able to walk over rough terrain not following paths, and on steep ground and be out for a full day (up to 5 hours travel time with appropriate rests and lunch break, bringing it up to a 7-hour day or more)
• be prepared to undertake some navigation exercise during the hours of darkness to simulate low visibility conditions.

While the above list may feel a little bit daunting, if you are reasonably fit and want to learn new skills, the weekends are very enjoyable. While we will be travelling for several hours each day, the distance we travel tends to be low because of the time taken to do navigation exercises.

The South East Scotland Scouts team of assessors run two weekends each year, one in April and one around the end of September. The weekend allows us to cover the full syllabus, including the lightweight camping aspects. Our next assessment and assessment training weekends are:

• 28 and 29 September 2024
• 26 and 27 April 2025
• 4 and 5 October 2025

If you are interested in attending an assessment / assessment training weekend, please get in touch by sending an email with the following information to the following address:  hillwalking@sesscouts.org.uk 

• Name
• Mobile phone number
• Permit type you are looking for: T1 Summer or T2 Summer
• What you are attending for: Assessment or Assessment Training
• For assessment, you will also need to provide an application form and your walking log.
• For Assessment training, you do not need to send us any forms, but an outline of your hillwalking experience would be helpful, including a walking log if you have one.
• Emergency contact details, including name and mobile phone number.
• Any medical issues that we need to know about, for example asthma, allergies, etc.

If you simply have questions or would like to find out more, please feel free to also contact us through the hillwalking email address.

I look forward to seeing you on the hill.