Life here at Come walk with me has been super busy of late and as I am heading off to Peru with Camps International and Beauchamp College this Friday I have decided to amalgamate the last week and a half into a single blog! It’s a great example to show the breadth of work that we do here and the amount of the country that we cover as we aim to fulfil our mission statement which is to showcase the best walks this country has to offer.
After our fantastic day on Catbells in the sunshine with Al and Jess from California I headed South down into the Cotswolds for a qualifying expedition with BXM and Doeverbrooks school. The students did a great job and the countryside was stunning with fields of poppies and plenty of birdlife including a beautiful Green Woodpecker. We based ourselves near Northleach and the routes took us through the beautiful hamlets and villages that have become synonymous with the area.
Leaving the Cotswolds with some reluctance it was off to Staffordshire for four days working with Entrust at the Standon Bowers OEC. It was a varied week of caving, bridge building, countryside walks and low ropes with lots of very enthusiastic and excited littlies! It’s always a refreshing change to work with this age group as they tend to face their fears head on and you can see real progress being made.
Friday presented a very different challenge as I took Ed and a bunch of friends visiting Keswick for his stag do up Haystacks, one of the Lake District’s most iconic hills and the favourite peak of Alfred Wainwright. After an initial downpour we were lucky with the weather and we summited via Scarth Gap before returning to Gatesgarth Farm via Warnscale Bothy. The lads definitely found it a challenge but I think they worked up a suitable thirst for an evening on the town!
My day off involved driving six hours South for a quick pit stop at my Dad’s before joining Aim High and Teddington School for a Bronze D of E training weekend based at Broadstone Warren Scout Camp in the Ashdown Forest, Winnie the Pooh land! A weekend of navigation and campcraft instruction saw the girls of group 22 grow in confidence and show a sensible and mature attitude when faced with difficulties and provided a positive end to a very busy couple of weeks.
So now, it’s a case of Peru here we come……
