Please see also: The Scouts' Perspective
Each year the Brighton District Scout Fellowship organise a weekend hiking trip to a more demanding location than our local gently rolling Sussex downland.
Last year and this, the trip has been to Dartmoor, which is in Devon, in the South West of England.
The terrain is more difficult and open, with 1000 to 2000 feet hills (known as Tors), which generally have an outcrop of craggy rocks at the top of each one.
There are many 'letter boxes' hidden all over Dartmoor. A letter box is a weatherproof box, hidden amongst the crags, usually containing a rubber stamp, ink pad and 'guest book'. It is a hobby of many people to walk Dartmoor, searching out the letter boxes and collecting imprints of the rubber stamps.
For the Scouts, of course, it adds an additional sense of purpose to the hike, and creates a small element of competition between the groups. One group leader even supplied Chocolate Cream Eggs as a reward to the first scout who found a particular letter box
We slept the Friday and Saturday night in a Sourton Village Hall, where we were fed and watered by an excellent Fellowship support team.
There were enough hikers to form seven teams or 6 or 7 walkers. Each team had an experienced leader, and all carried emergency gear, including emergency rations, bivvy bags, boffy bags and some form of stove. Each team had a different route, over varying terrain, the difficulty reflecting the experience and ability of the group members.
There were two hikes. The Saturday hike was over sixteen to twenty miles and the Sunday hike was a short five mile stroll along a riverside walk.
A local pub has a separate hall with Skittles in it. The hall was hired for the evening, and the scouts let loose with coke and lemonade to organise a skittle tournament, which ran surprisingly smoothly!
The weekend did not pass without a few notable events. These included:
The Gun Ranges: Unfortunately a Dartmoor gun range was 'live' that weekend (a very rare occurrence at weekends) and it cut across every team's route. Many hasty decisions had to be made, and several shorter (and some longer) hikes resulted. As a result some excellent experience was gained for the advanced hikers as the problem HAD to be overcome.
The Mud: One Scout (there is always one!) attempted to walk through some rather sticky looking mud, and unfortunately he stopped half way through allowing himself to sink rather too deep. Yes, he was well and truly stuck, much to the amusement of leaders and scouts. (Not all the leaders - someone had to get him out!) Our only regret was that no one had a camera.
The Navigation: One of the most experienced hikers, so it is claimed by his brother, managed to get his team lost by taking a sighting on a Dartmoor pony...
The Scenery: One of the newest and youngest scouts who had never been hiking before did not 'prepare' his body for a day away from the convenience of home. Thus after much embarrassment and pain, he was eventually forced to 'add' to the scenery, again to the amusement of his team members. However the grin and pride on his face when the story was later recounted showed that it was another personal event which had added much to that young man's rich tapestry of scouting experiences!
The Snoring: Forty males of varying ages in a village hall. What else did they expect?
And so an excellent time was had by all. We are proud to note that our troop fielded fourteen scouts and three adults for the trip. We are grateful to the Brighton District Scout Fellowship for all their hard work in preparing such a successful weekend, especially to Maurice Elford and Steve Martin. And special tahnks go to the Fellowship support team who selflessly give their time and effort to help make the weekend such a success. Out thanks go to Brian and Jo Early and Harry for all their hard work - and excellent meals!
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