Category: Scouts

The Scouts used to attend an Autumn camp on a regular basis (the county-organised Interlink) but this has not been held since 2004 so a District Scout activity camp was held at Bentley Copse over the first weekend in October.

The camp was well attended by 57 scouts from all 6 groups in the District and 15 adults including all of the Scout leaders (although unfortunately one had to leave for another Scouting event after helping to set up camp).

Paul Frame and Jonathan Gasson lead the pioneering activity. Over Saturday, other leaders, helpers and Scouts constructed A-frames and transformed them into a circular obstacle course by the addition of ladders, beams and ropes.

Scouts also enjoyed archery, air rifle shooting, go-karts, orienteering, a camp fire and a wide game as well as exploring Bentley Copse and making new friends.

Richard Cant kept everyone fed with 180 eggs, 140 sausages, 2 vats of Bolognese, mounds of pasta and piles of other stuff loaded into 3 supermarket trolleys and wedged into a car on Friday. He commented that he should be awarded his camp cooking badge and asked who was cooking at next year’s camp – any volunteers?

At the end of August 2009, Scouts, Explorers and leaders from Normandy, Stoughton and 2nd Guildford were among 450 Scouts, Explorer Scouts and leaders on Surrey Scout’s international expedition to Kandersteg International Scout Centre in Switzerland. Expedition planning had taken two years and the coach journeys there and back ranged from 18 to 23 hours but it was well worth it.

A core team of county leaders spent two weeks providing food for two groups (one each week) of over 200 Surrey Scouts, Explorers and their leaders. They also arranged all activities and transport including booking tickets and organized a camp bank so there was no need to carry large amounts of cash. The media team kept us amused with daily newsletters containing jokes and articles from groups and useful information such as the fact that the kitchen had used 99kg of yoghurt, 52 kg of butter and 25.5kg strawberry jam. They also updated the website and K9 blog (all still on the Surrey Scouts website for those who want a look).

Scout groups spent a day rafting and swimming in the river Aare from Thun to Bern including one exciting bit where we went through a wave and had to paddle hard and then dive into the middle of the raft. Older Scouts and Explorers had to work harder on the more challenging Simme.

Another day was spent on the high ropes at Kandersteg or the zip wires and high ropes near Adelboden where there were fantastic views of the mountains and the river 140 metres below the highest zip wire.

Explorers walked for two days on a high-level route, spending a night at a mountain hut. Scouts spent two separate days walking on a high-level walk and a low-level walk (relative to starting at 1200 metres above sea level). 2nd Guildford walked from Selden to the top of the Gasterntal valley back to Kandersteg following the river Kander which changed from a stream to huge waterfalls through some fantastic scenery.

On their day in Kandersteg, many walked up to Lake Oeschinensee to swim in and row on the lake, enjoying tobaggan rides en route.

Apart from these core activities, each group chose an excursion or activity of their own. 2nd Guildford decided to visit the thermal pools at Brig via a train through the Lotschberg tunnel to Brig and a bus to Brigerbad. We also had time to explore Brig. The pools were amazing with views of the mountains, a long slide and a river section that alternated between moderate and very fast.

During the rest of our visit, everyone was kept busy completing a 36-task K9opoly challenge (including seeing how many people could be fitted into a Swisscom telephone box) and evening activities such as fondue and an international camp fire on the last evening.

For ten years, Cub Scouts from St Nicolas 9th Guildford have been moving on to other groups or leaving Scouting due to a lack of Scout leaders.

A parent volunteered to run the Scout Troop but was unable to hold meetings on evenings during the week, so unlike other troops in the District, they meet on every third Saturday, either for the afternoon or for the weekend.

Nine Scouts were at their first meeting in September at Bentley Copse campsite where they enjoyed a sunny afternoon learning how to use axes, bow saws and lighting fires for backwoods cooking.

Their programme for the rest of the term includes the District Scout activity camp, a night at the Spike followed by a church parade to celebrate their centenary, caving at Merstham, hiking and a December survival camp.

On top of this busy programme, the new Scout Leader is also attending weekend training courses aiming to get his Wood Badge by Christmas.