Duke of Edinburgh Expedition

During half term most of year 10 went on a Duke of Edinburgh expedition.

Here is Oli Walker’s Diary of the trip.

Our first night

We were excited for the coming days but also preparing for blisters and tiredness. We camped at a scout camp which was around eleven miles from a second camping point in the middle of a field. There were two routes to take my group which contained six of us all doing the clock wise route for the first day of walking. Many of us, on the first night got little rest and sleep. 

On the first day of walking it was both windy and wet with the occasional thunder storm! At one point my team got lost. However throughout the day, the clockwise route got easier and simpler to follow. At the second camp campsite my group were the fourth team to get back, which was surprising considering the clockwise route is around 2 miles longer than the anti-clockwise route. As we unpacked the two tents we were disappointed to find that because of heavy rain the tents were soaked on the outside and partially on the inside, along with strands of mud and hay. Meaning we were in for a wet evening too!

As the night drew in a double rainbow appeared before more grey clouds once again blinded the sunlight. Many of us on the second night slept easier but also wrapped ourselves in all our dry clothes for the next day of walking.

On the final day of walking, my group was mentally prepared to walk the final 9 miles back to the original scout camp; the first down side was that our shoes were sodden with mud and rain water. The walk was simple but only because we mainly followed the River which seemed to stretch for years, at the end of the walk, my group was the first to reach the end, finally!

We all had a great time on the trip and it was definitely a worthwhile experience! We look forward to our next expedition!