Scouts Back 2 Basics Camp 03/09/10 - 05/09/10

16 Scouts set up for a weekend of back to basics camping at Squirrel Wood near Doncaster.  The weekend was aimed at making use of the natural resources around us like the fallen wood to provide our heat for making drinks and cooking our food.  Friday night came and with only a couple of hours of daylight, the Scouts did manage to put up quite a large number of tents by the time that dusk had fallen.  For the weekend the group were split into 2 cooking patrols, and they started the difficult task of continually fetching wood and water as well as taking turns with the chores like making meals and washing up.

The first nights supper was meant to be pancakes, but 1 group did not quite manage to produce anything that any of them wanted to eat.  They had to make do with some fruit as a substitute and probably a visit to the tuck shop which should have been named "Open All Hours" - 'cos it was :-)

Once the washing up had been done, it took quite a bit of time to settle the campers down, as having a few first time campers seemed to make for a raucous night.

On Saturday morning the camp awoke to bright sunshine and breakfast was eventually pulled from out of the fires.  3 leaders joined us in preparation for a bike ride around the local villages and after a while sorting out 20 bikes, helmets and hi-vis vests we set off for an explore.  After a couple of set backs most of the Scouts made decent progress and some really enjoyed it, and after a couple of hours and a pit stop at a village store we returned to enjoy our lunch.  After some free time, either resting from the bike ride or exploring the camp, the Scouts started to prepare for their big meal, which was to be Loin Steaks of English Pork with Vegetable Stew and Dumplings.  During the meal preparation one of the Scouts had an accident and he spent a couple of hours being looked after in Accident & Emergency, but returned back to camp later that evening after being put back together by the lovely doctors and nurses at Barnsley Hospital.

On Sunday morning, we were greeted again by the warm morning sun, and despite a shower of rain in the night, both groups had managed to achieve keeping their fires in all weekend.  After a bit of a lie in bed for most, breakfast was being cooked on the open fire and some Scouts practised their newly found cooking skills.  Washing up after cooking on open fires is always going to be a chore, and sure enough it took some doing, but we eventually got through all the equipment and packed away for midday.

The turn out for this camp was exceptional, thank you very much for that and to all the leaders and adult helpers who play their part in making it all happen.

More pictures can be found at this location.

Regards

Ed.