Summer Camp 2012
Camp report
On a very sunny Saturday some adventurous scouts met at Horfield Parish Church to set off to Lyme Regis where their expedition was to begin.
As soon as we arrived there was work to be done pitching the tents & dining shelters and moving wood, made easier with excellent team work. The buckets that were to be our toilets for the week already had pride of place in their own little tents! We then had to cook our own supper of burgers, sausages & corn on the cob. For some of us it was a case of learning to cook quickly or go very hungry !
Sunday morning and the sun was out, the opposite to the weather for the rest of the week. After a filling breakfast everyone took part in a dam building activity then first aid and food hygiene activities. After a tasty lunch we had lots of free time, which the brave scouts took as an opportunity to swim in the freezing pool created by the dam. Well done Luke for being the 1st in! A warm campfire in the evening had us all ready for our sleeping bags.
We woke up on Jubilee Monday bright and ready to head out of camp for the first time, a hike to Lyme Regis. A walk through the fields quickly turned into a fossil hunt along the beach as we built our muscles up with backpacks full of our finds. We also played hunt the public conveniences, the flush – what a fantastic invention!! When we arrived in Lyme Regis we had a jubilee tea party complete with scones, jam & cream. Then we had an opportunity to see how much money we could spend in 45 minutes and test the Dorset ice creams. Fish & chips for tea before heading back to camp for some football and shut eye.
Tuesday was an early start. After a leader cooked breakfast (just like being at home!) we headed off to Land and Wave with rain battering on the minibus roof. The 1st challenge was to get into our wetsuits before heading down to ‘dancing ledge’ where an activity even wetter than the weather was facing us – coasteering!! This involved throwing ourselves off rocks into the icy, rough seas. The afternoon was spent rock climbing and abseiling, almost as wet as coasteering! We dried out round the campfire before dropping off to sleep.
Wednesday was a lie in and another leader cooked breakfast before learning lots of new knots, which Hugo practised by tying Jasper to a chair , pity they hadn’t taught us how to untie them!! Nice hair Jasper! In the afternoon we headed to the leisure centre in Bridport to go swimming, warm showers at last! A giant bouncy assault course in the middle of the pool gave us a chance to challenge our friends and get wet for the right reasons. King of the assault course was Jonty. That evening Chris & Richard, Cabot district leaders, arrived to join the mud festival , Glastonbury has nothing on us.
Everyone woke up to a soaking wet Thursday to find we were going to try to avoid the rain with a visit to the Tank Museum at Bovington. This was a long journey so we were all very relieved to get out of the stuffy minibuses into the museum. The first experience was to walk round the trenches with model men ready to fire their missiles. The English tanks were brilliant; they would have been perfect to get around camp. The gift shop managed to relieve us of lots of our pocket money, especially if you purchased 3 pencil sharpeners Harry! The highlight of the evening was Chris & Cecil the caterpillar round a giant campfire.
It was a lie in for all on Friday as we were staying on site all day. The weather was better with wind rather than rain, so our morning of free time was spent chilling out before taking down the dining shelters and playing a football tournament. That evening the scouts all looked a bit different when Australia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and New Zealand came to camp. Fantastic outfits – thanks Mums – were donned to celebrate the Commonwealth. Jamaica was invited but didn’t fancy the weather. Wide games relieved us of any excess energy before turning in for our final night under canvas.
Saturday was time to dismantle camp and get packed up. Six scouts got invested around the flagpole before suddenly their 62nd neckers were catapulted at them at top speeds . When investitures were over we did a final litter sweep before leaving for home and giving our parents the gift of a bag full of wet, smelly washing. How pleased they were to see us return.
Finally a few awards:
The award for the ……. goes to…..
- Most electrocuted Toby
- Most interesting meal David
- Most likely to be found at Glastonbury Tom FL
- Most likely to need a Spa weekend to recover Lucas
- Most likely to need a new pair of shoes George K
- Best pet Cecil the caterpillar
- Most likely to need a tumble dryer Isaac
And finally the award for the best leader goes to:
Nick, Clive, Daisy, Dave, Mike, Alexis, Mark & Catrin, thank you all for a fantastic week.
Matt & Harry Simpson