Kinver Scout camp is almost exactly 200 miles from home, and the journey there, via the A21, M25, M40, M42, M5 and a maze of country lanes took about 4½ hours.
The weather was uncomfortably hot for the first few days, and then a deluge which lasted nearly a whole day cooled us down. After that for the rest of camp it as mostly cloudy and cool; luckily, we missed the thunderstorms which afflicted much of the country at this time.
Of the 28 Scouts present, for 16 this was their first time at Summer Camp. We also had 4 Explorers (2 of them new to our camps), and of the team of 6 Leaders, 3 were also experiencing their first camp as Leaders. For a lot of us it was a very steep learning curve.
The youngsters amazed me by their resilience in coping with this new environment. Tiredness led to the occasional cross word, but I thought they coped remarkably well, and will become really good experienced Scouts in the future.
There were three days out at local activity centres, where kayaking, raft building, paddle boarding, climbing, clay pigeon shooting, air guns, abseiling, quad bikes, and laser quest were enjoyed, while on site the zip wire, crate stacking and archery added to the overall experience. Everyone who attended now has the Adventure Challenge Award to wear on their uniform.
Back in camp, the Scouts cooked some delicious meals, and learnt a great deal about looking after oneself; we aim to teach skills for life, and this is one
of our main ways of achieving this aim. 15 Outdoor Challenge Awards were presented, along with 22 Nights Away badges to those reaching their next stage. Chef badges will also be presented in September.