DUKE OF EDINBURGH//
DUKE OF EDINBURGH
SILVER
Midges. Maps. Mental fortitude. The
first few days of July witnessed the efforts
of three Duke of Edinburgh Silver
Groups traverse the difficulties and
challenges presented by the Galloway
Forest. The three groups consisted of
four boys, in one as well as the two girl
groups, containing five in each group.
The journey began after a few
wholesome breakfasts in Newton
Stewart. Each group was dropped off
at the drop point of their choice, seeing
as our only definitive point was the end
site. The two girl groups left first before
the boys were dropped off last. All the
groups then followed their plans for the
next few days. Here is what they have
to say about it:
Henry Kay - “That first day threw us
in at the deep end, plunging into the forest.
However, armed with a compass,
a map and a book of walking
songs, we were able to navigate
our way onwards. Determined
to never waiver from our route,
we marched onwards, stopping
for lunch by Black Loch. We
then continued towards the huge
Clatteringshaws Loch, where we
camped. Next morning we set
off on the trickiest of our days.
Lunch was taken overlooking
the beautiful Loch Dee before
heading to GlenTrool to camp.
Dinner was a Wagyu Beef dish.
The next morning, hampered by
a midge swarm, we had to move off before
cooking breakfast. That tough start to the
day made it hard work, but we kept our
spirits and afterwards, we realised what
our teamwork and high morale had got us
through. Great fun.”
Anna Robinson - “It was a great
experience, having three days out in the wilds
of the Galloway Forest and we learnt a lot,
including how to pick a good campsite away
from midges, which affected us a lot throughout
the expedition. We also learnt the advantages
of camping near a river, which proved us with
a useful source of water. Our three-day route
took us through some challenging terrain, but
our teamwork helped us to keep going. The
promise of nice meals was also a booster, and
I would recommend to future groups to plan
your meals to be delicious so that you have
something to look forward to. We had to deal
with losing one of our team members, Katie,
who had to join the other group after they
had lost members to injury. Losing a member
meant having to regroup as a team, but we
were able to carry on happily. Overall, a great
few days, learning a lot about ourselves and
the difficulties of wild expeditions.”
Eunae - “Our group had a tough time, with
Trinity injured before we set off and then
Millie hurt on the first day. Katie brought
with her some great effort though and we kept
going through it all. Our aim was about
communication and this played a big part
in our success with being able to cooperate
effectively.”
All groups were brilliant and all passed.
We wish them luck in Gold.
GOLD
In August, two D of E groups headed
to the Galloway Forest to complete
their Gold Qualifying Expeditions.
After training in May and a practice
expedition in July, we were ready to
complete what would be our final
expeditions. After some deep fried mars
bars and a brew for breakfast, we were
fully fuelled and prepared to embark on
our incredible journey.
definitely a highlight for our group, as
we were able to use the skills we had
learnt over our previous six adventures.
This was by far the best expedition for us
as we also picked three superb campsites
(apart from the ghosts in the haunted
abandoned mining town) and managed
to maintain high group morale, due to
our group saying “positivity” (and of
course the fact we made good use of our
ukulele!).
The girls’ group managed to set
the record for the longest Duke of
Edinburgh day that Mr Hall has known,
a time of 13 hours and 38 minutes and
they were still smiling at the end of
it. We were particularly lucky as the
midges were down whilst all our morale
remained high. We endured two final
days of torrential downpours and strong
winds, which decreased visibility, but
spirits were higher than ever (especially
after some melted chocolate and
marshmallows on our last night).
D of E has taught this year’s gold groups
all many valuable skills and lessons,
which are applicable to everyday life
such as time management, organisation,
teamwork and planning. We would all
like to say thank you to everyone who
supported us, giving of their precious
personal time, and helped us achieve
such a tough, but worthwhile and
thoroughly enjoyable award scheme.
We cannot recommend this award
scheme enough to pupils in younger
years as it provides you with truly
unforgettable
and
wonderful
experiences.
The Ashwinites and the Gold Girls
Throughout our four day trek, the
boys completed five off-road sections,
including a particularly strenuous
stretch alongside the banks of Loch
Doon, which we completed in our
allocated time (even after a combined
total of ten falls). The off-roading was
THE POCKLINGTONIAN
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