At SEEE, we are now entering the last weeks of our main expedition season. The process for Silver and Gold was:
- Training at Bonaly in March
- Online training and First Aid training
- Practice expeditions in May/June – 3 Silvers and 3 Gold Hillwalking expeditions, and 1 Silver and 1 Gold Offroad Biking
- Qualifying expeditions in August/September – 3 Silver and 3 Gold Hillwalking and 1 Silver and 1 Gold Offroad Biking
The Explorers (and six Networkers) have put in a lot of effort and have done very well so far. Our excellent leaders have come up with two new routes in the Hills: Cairngorms and Aberfeldy. There were also two new routes for Biking with Silver starting in the Borders and finishing in England, and the Gold a coast-to-coast route from Troon to Galloway.
The first group on the Cairngorms route, from near Aviemore via Linn of Dee to the Spittal of Glenshee, really enjoyed being out in some of Scotland’s wildest country, and coped well with thunderstorms on the first day and a heatwave later. Their assessor commented that their campcraft skills were excellent, including ‘leave no trace’. This is what we would expect of Scouts, but it is still good to hear!
The Gold biking group followed a stunningly beautiful route over 200km with a mix of coastal, hill and forest trails culminating in a beach-side camp, with the assessor commenting that they were an exceptionally strong group with great teamwork, had great fun and demonstrated excellent group biking skills.
Canoeing followed its specialist training programme and had two Qualifying teams of Silvers on Loch Tay and two teams of Golds on Lough Erne in Northern Ireland.
However, we have an urgent need for more organisational support. Most things can be done at home on a computer, at times that suit you. We also need someone to look after our not inconsiderable amount of kit to make sure it ends up in the right place. If you, or anyone you know, would be interested in becoming involved with our team, please get in touch by email seee.team@sesscouts.org.uk to discuss. Remember, this does not need to be someone with a particular role, and could be a good way to get to know the world of Scouting.
David Newton and John Buchanan for SEEE
