Beaver Lodge, Parkend, Forest of Dean
Saturday 27th May until Tuesday 30th May 2017
23 Scouts and leaders a plenty, lost themselves in the beauty of the Royal Forest of Dean. Camping in Parkend we enjoyed and wallowed in an exciting splattering of activities.
Friday started as one of the hottest days of 2017 and we’d decided it would be good to pack the van, which turned out to be more of a large estate car. However, a little thought and TLC everything was squashed into all sorts of spaces and crevices and 3 leaders wended their way to Beaver Lodge. Still exceptionally hot. On the other side of the Severn back in Bristol, Nick and Toby were playing food tetris, trying to create enough room in the car for their own kit! Who knew that the space for a spare wheel is actually an excellent food storage space?!
Scouts finally arrived the next day, after a cycle up hill from Lydney, a breeze for some and a challenge for others but everyone arrived safe and sound and a round of applause for the final few! Exceptionally wet for the stragglers.
Enjoy the links below for photos and further reports and run-downs on everything else we got upto. Never a dull moment…
Cycling
Hike
Campsite
Activities
River
Investitures
As is customary on these occasions those Scouts who have recently joined get invested, however at 62nd we try to think outside the box and provide a more memorable occasion. Thus, in the absence of stunning backdrops like Caernarfon Castle, Tintern Abbey and freezing cold waterfalls to stand under we opted for the river.
The original plan was the station of the Dean Forest Railway but rain and the fact it was closed put paid to that! 6 hardy souls dipped their toes in the cold water – it was only ever going to end in a water fight…
…and a few soggy uniforms, ah well!
