2024/25, A Year in Scouting Review…

Aboard the Isle of Wight Ferry to Summer Camp.

We pride ourselves on our active outdoor and traditional Scouting programme. And what another action-packed year it has been.

Paddleboarding on the water at Corf Campsite, during our Summer Camp on the Isle of Wight

Concluding our last Scouting year with our phenomenal Summer Camp on the Isle of Wight, a week in fine sunshine, to make our adventures even better. The Scouts were fantastic. Throwing themselves (sometimes literally) into every activity and challenge. Activities we’re only able to do with their enthusiasm and perseverance. From Coasteering to Bushcraft, Water Sports to Hikes, they will have made memories for life. All the Scouts conducted themselves and represented the Group impeccably.

The Scouts making axe head covers out of leather with knives and fixing islets.

Our autumn term programme kicked off with cooking skills and navigation, finding north without a compass. The Troop put their creativity into action with some leather work, making axe head covers, and putting pioneering skills to the test with tripods and monkey bridges. The Troop also produced and recorded their own podcast, discussing all their favourite Scouting adventures.

As always, bushcraft skills featured heavily in our programme, investigating alternative fire lighting methods with charcloth and birch bark and knife skills, making feather sticks and wax fire starters/stoves.

The Scouts about to enjoy their backwoods cooking creations.

In preparation for our numerous camps, Scouts were practising building shelters. They learnt bowlines and tautline hitches to make guy lines, as well as different shelter-building techniques. Our Scouts prepped and Bannock Bread, Stewed apples, vegetable packs and sausage rolls as backwoods cooking projects, all cooked on fire and the Dutch oven.

In September, the Scouts and Young Leaders were truly fantastic today, supporting the SRC model railway exhibition at the Showground to raise funds. Their enthusiasm, politeness and service were brilliant. Carrying out all manner of logistical tasks from selling tickets to making drinks and judging best in show.

In October, Autumn Camp was a joint venture between the Troop and Cub Pack. Despite the cold and wet weather at times, it was a super weekend.  A chance to develop and hone important Scouting skills.

Two patrols meeting together during their hillwalking courses.

Adventure is the keystone of our programme, the Scouts enjoyed caving near Matlock Bath in November and Kilnworx climbing in April to finish the term. The early months of 2022 saw several hillwalking courses. 7.5 miles around Moel Famau and Moel Arthur in the Clwydian Range in February and 8 miles around the Goy Vallet in March.

Winter Camp was in February. A great weekend of greenfield and backwoods with the PLs and APLs. Reaching the pinnacle of Scouting skills and prowess, in constructing and sleeping in shelters, putting all matter in bushcraft skills into practice.

Setting up hammocks on Spring Camp at Kinver.

Spring Camp, in April and what an amazing camp! Kinver 2025 turned out to be amongst the best weather we’ve ever had, helping to make the weekend even better. From hammocks and pioneered bridges, rifle shooting to aerial runways, cooking meals to bushcraft skills, the Scouts have the opportunities to experience these amazing traditional Scouting based activities.

Huge thanks go to the Leadership team – Adrian, Sam, Jake, George and Lucy as well as our adventurous activities team, Darren and Luke – for the hours of planning, meetings, trailer and boat sorting that make our amazing programme possible.

See more of what we got up to in our Gallery…