• Home
• News
  • Headlines
  • Archive
• Activities
  • Adventure Training
  • Duke of Edinburgh
  • Flying & Gliding
  • Fieldcraft
  • Sport
• Hovercraft
  • Hovercraft Training
• Training
  • Classifications
  • Ranks
  • BTEC
  • First Aid
• Squadron Life
  • Staff of 148
• Resources
  • Teamspeak Server
  • Training Programmes
  • Squadron Videos
  • Recruitment Forms
• Squadron Calendar
• Gallery
• Forum
• Guestbook
• Links

Spring Bank Shenanigans

Early this Spring a notice went up on Squadron asking if cadet's wanted to go on Spring Bank Camp. I had never been before but speaking to some of the older and more senior cadets it sounded like the camp was a good weekend away with other cadets. I put my name on the list and I was lucky enough to be picked.

As time for the camp got closer Mr Kaye arranged kit lists so we knew what we had to take with us. When it came to the Friday when we were going on camp I thought some cadet's had packed the kitchen sink by the size of their rucksacks. Mine wasn't so light and I was thinking maybe I should have left some things at home.

At about 6pm on Friday 23rd May we were picked up by Mr Doxey in the minibus (although getting us and all the kit on was a challenge) and traveled for about 20 minutes to Silverwood Scout Camp just outside Barnsley. I had seen the signs for Silverwood before but never been so was interested in what it was like. At first I thought we were camping in the woods until we drove through to the campsite.

As we pulled up we could see the staff were already there with their tents set up. As we jumped out of the bus we found out that our first job was to put up our tents for the weekend (which was a shock for some of the other cadets who'd never put a tent up before). After some struggling and guidance from the Corporals we managed to get the tents up and kit put away.

For dinner we had a BBQ and played sports until lights out. I managed to sleep ok to say I was in a tent with 5 other lads and the smell was a bit wrong. In the morning we were woke up too early for my liking and after we had washed and had breakfast it was on to today's activities. With the weather being nice and warm the activities were done outside and we learned about different pieces of equipment we may need on expedition or when out walking and also how to pitch a tent.

After lunch we went for a walk in the woods where the staff asked us what we knew of wildlife and how people can impact the environment. I thought Mr Kaye had staged this as whilst we were talking about this we cam across a burnt out car in the woods which has badly damaged a tree. During the walk we also found out why people joined the cadets (including the staff) and how long they had been with the Squadron.

When we got back to the campsite we moved onto the next activity where we learned map reading skills like different symbols on a map and how to read a map. Once we had done this we were thrown in a the deep end and had to plan our route for the next day when we would be out walking. We did this for the evening and then settled down for the night.

The next day we were up bright and early again and packed our walking bags ready for the day. It turns out that after we had gone to bed the staff were up late turning our routes into route cards ready for today. We then set off in the bus out into the countryside and after about an hour we arrived near some crags. We then split into our groups which we had planned the route and set of walking.

On the walk the staff taught us how to find out where we were by looking for clues on what we could see in front of us and knowing where we had just been. The weather when we were walking was not great and was quiet windy at times. After about an hour and a half we had walked and made our way to Stanage Edge and saw loads of climbers being blown up on the crags. We met up as one big group near the crags and headed back to the minibus.

After eating we headed into Hathersage and were given some of our money for the camp back and allowed to go spend it in one of the many outdoor shops there. Quiet a few of the lads bought kendal mint cake and other's bought headgear whilst some bought just food. When back at camp we had curry for dinner and had a fire in the evening as well which was controlled by the staff.

On the final day we spent the morning packing up camp and learning some first aid with Mr Doxey then did some first aid exercises where staff simulated a camping accident. I found it very strange seeing the staff screaming and playing at being injured but we did our best to try and help them. After we had done that we headed back to Squadron and had a KFC and cake to celebrate Cdt Holmes birthday

Written by Cdt B. Foakes
13th July 2008

Check out pictures in the Gallery

Back to Headlines

Last Updated: Saturday, 3 January, 2009 0:15 AM
Webmaster