A 32-strong contingent from the Stella Maris College Scout Group recent­ly went on a 10-day, jam-packed, overseas activity in the UK. The group comprised members from the troop and unit sections, accompanied by nine leaders.

The first four days consisted of a joint camp with the First Keswick Scout Group from Cumbria in the Lake District, with whom the college group has been twinned for the past four years, together with other scouts from the Shap and Second Penrith Scout Groups.

The 160 members were camped on the shores of Lake Bassenthwaite, north of Keswick. Activities carried out during this camp included raft building and racing, archery, target shooting, climbing, kayaking, canoeing, pioneering, crafts, water waltzing, boat trips, hiking around Derwent Water and much more.

The international camp also featured a British and a Maltese night, and a campfire which was also attended by County Commissioner Graham White, District Commissioner Don McCutcheon and the District Team.

This camp was then followed by three days residing in the First Keswick Scout Group hall in Keswick, from where the scouts had first-hand experience at caving in the Long Churns in Yorkshire, scrambling at Stoney Croft Ghyll, hiking around the lake, geocaching and also swimming for the brave-hearted. Some leaders also had a go at paragliding around the hills of Derwent Water.

Four venture scouts had a taste of British trekking by completing their 80-kilometre qualifying expedition for the President’s Award, whereby they challenged several hill climbs to arrive back at Keswick in time for the group departure to Cheadle in Manchester for the last leg of this adventure.

While in Manchester, the group visited Chester Zoo, and on the next day were accompanied by members of the First Keswick Scout Group to Alton Towers, where they experienced a rush of adrenaline, taking as many roller-coaster rides as humanly possible in a single day.

The last day was spent in Manchester touring the Manchester United stadium and Manchester Museum, which brought this time-defying holiday to an end, leaving all the members tired albeit with a smile.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.