Friday 15th August 2014
The Journey
As we arrived at the scout hut, there was a buzz of excitement in the air. The parents took one last photo then, we boarded the mini bus. After two hours of eating sweets and chatting, we arrived at our first stop, THE SERVICES! Half an hour later we were off again for the next leg of the journey. Finally, lunch had arrived and we all tucked down for a feast. Another two hours and thirty minutes and we were there. We all ran inside and started unpacking. The week has started!Georgia
Saturday 16th August 2014
Hillwalking
Today we went on a long hillwalk. Soon after breakfast we got on the minibuses and went to the middle of nowhere. Our group headed towards Linhope Spout, a large waterfall near the start of our walk. Then afterwards we trekked up a hill (Hedgehope Hill) for a good two hours then finally we reached the top and ate lunch in blistering winds with all our waterproofs firmly on.
After being blown off the path for the hundredth timewe headed off down the mountain for a relaxing stop on some very sharp rocks. We were early down to the bottom so we went back to the waterfall to pass the time. After walking through more or less a lake with lots of plants in we got there. We threw lots of stones to the water in a competition to make the biggest splash. Then Mark fell in the water so we headed back to camp.
Angus & Tristan
We went in the minibus to the Breamish Valley and it was very windy. We got to the waterfall (Linhope Spout) and it was beautiful. Chris King presented my Gold Award in front of the waterfall.
Then we started to head up Hedgehope Hill and it was a bit less windy and it got easier. When we got higher it got even windier and it seemed impossible to get to the summit. We found a part where there was a bank and it blocked out the wind when we sat there so there we had lunch. When we were coming down we were half the time of going up. So we decided to stop by the big waterfall again and play in the water.
Adam
Saturday, the day to relax, NOT! Falcon (our group) and Buzzard went on a hike to the hills whilst Goshawk went on a local hike. It was a blustery day so; it was very hard to walk. We visited Linhope Spout waterfall and the water was freezing! Our group arrived at our mini bus a couple of hours early so we visited the River Breamish, then we headed back to the mini bus and made our way home.
Georgia
Sunday 17th August 2014
Coasteering
Today we went coasteering in Howich. First we tried to find a geocache on the beach. We looked around for about 20 minutes then we found it and in it was stuff like: cards, keyrings, toys and things like that. We traded a coin for a toy soldier. We took the soldier and showed everyone
Gabriel
Today we went coasteering and ‘trust me’ it’s fun but the worst part is getting your wetsuit off. Getting into the pool at first is absolutely freezing cold! But you’ll get used to it. The best bit is jumping into the water. Some of the times you get sunk under but it’s definitely all worth it. Luckily I didn’t have a reaction to seaweed as there was loads. When we started jumping in it was so fun. It started with jumping in, then long jumps to 360’s, to fronts flips to back flips then spring back flips. I must say it was awesome all round.
Riley
Monday 18th August 2014
Rock Climbing
Today we went to Corby Crag to do rock climbing. I was part of the morning group. First we went to get our harnesses. We went to a big rock and another rock so we could take it in turns to climb and abseil. After about five hours we went and got our harnesses off and had fish and chips or sausage and chips.
Jack
Today we were going to Corby Crag rock climbing but first the second group were going to shopping. Eventually we made it to Morrisons where we were allowed to choose some sweets to buy…..Yum!
At around 1.30pm we got our harnesses on and ventured towards the rock climbing course. Me, Mark and Josh were put into a group and started to climb. We all made it very far. The walls are very steep and hard to climb. As me and Josh couldn’t reach, Alvin (the climbing instructor) gave us a knee up. Towards the end there was a very hard 15 metre wall. Jay got up first, then me, then Josh, then Lauren. The wall is very hard to climb. While I was climbing I lost a lot of blood in my hands so they went pale.
Altogether it was a very enjoyable day out
Thank you
Alex
Kielder Observatory
After a long day of climbing on steep rocks we headed out to Kielder Observatory. It was 1 and a half hours journey there. When we got there we saw a massive wooden building in the middle of a field. As we walked in Dr. Fred came to say ‘hello’
We were trying to get our astronomy badge so we went to look through some telescopes. Unfortunately it was a cloudy night so we couldn’t se anything apart from an upside down tower. Soon after it started raining so we had to stop looking.
We had a talk about the stars and space then we got some cups and stickers.
Angus
Tuesday 19th August 2014
Hillwalking
Today we went on the Hillfort Walk which is a walk with lots of hillforts. We started walking from the carpark where we parked the minibus. The first hillfort we saw was called Ingram Hill Fort. The second fort was on top of Wether Hill which we had to climb and it was colossal, so we had a break at the top. We went past two other smaller hillforts and on to the final hillfort. We found a geocache with lots of items inside. At the end of the walk both of the two groups that were walking opposite ways round the walk had a race to the finish and Buzzard (my group) won. It was a good and enjoyable walk and I was very happy to have won. On the mini-bus journey back we sang the Llama Song and we added two or three more verses. It was a very interesting and fun day out,.
Mark
Today we went hillwalking and we climbed The Cheviot, the highest mountain around. The view from the top was AMAZING. When we got to the top it was so boggy. It was so funny when Mike nearly fell in. After we walked along the top on our way down we found a patch of rocks where we sat and had lunch. What a view! After we found a path we walked along it stepping across the stream that turned into a river.
Jay
Wednesday 20th August 2014
Rafting
This morning we packed up the buses to go on a fishing trip but the sea was too rough so we could not go. Instead we went to the beach. When we were in the sea we watched the lifeboat come out of the big shed where they were filming BBC Coast. On the beach we saw a jelly fish and skimmed stones. It was so much fun.
Ryan
Today, in the afternoon we went to a lake in Druridge Country Park and went rafting. We were split into two groups and we had to build our own rafts and have a big race. Our raft was obviously the best one! Lauren’s failed lol!
Mae
Thursday 21st August 2014
Surfing & Body Boarding
Today we went to Alnwick to shop. We wandered round all the shops. I don’t know what all the other leaders did but I’m pretty sure that all together Mike and Zeke probably emptied the shop of all their fudge.
Obviously we bought sweets!
Even though we were already wildly hyper we just had to keep on eating sweets otherwise our energy levels would go down and who wants a minibus full of quiet children!
After we went shopping we went on another adventure in Northumberland.
We went SURFING!
Everybody did really well bearing in mind for some of the people it was their first try.
Almost everybody managed to stand up every time they caught a wave plus if they didn’t want to surf there was always body boarding or just the sea alone. Was fun!
Molly & Rebecca – the awesome ones LOL!
Friday 22nd August 2014
The End of another 8th Letchworth Summer Camp
We’ve all had an amazing time and everyone (leaders included) has tried new activities as well as ones we’d done before. Coasteering was a new one for all of us.
We made the acquaintance of Mervyn the Mouse – who saw all the cakes and thought he would try and move into the Leaders Room at Powburn, however he was spotted early on (and after much discussion as to the best method for his removal) Mike helped him re-locate to a much better part of the county with a stunning view some 10 miles away (luckily before any of his relations had moved in!) Gabriel had a run in with another of the local inhabitants whilst surfing and his close encounter with a jellyfish ended with the jellyfish taking cover whilst Gabriel surfed over the top of him.
The scouts have given us a list of ideas for next year and so the planning for 2015 can now begin!
Well done to everyone, you’ve all tried new activities, learnt or improved skills and tried your best throughout the week. The instructors from Adventure Northumberland were excellent and we’ve all had a brilliant trip. Thanks also to Mark from 12th Letchworth who gave us a lot of insider knowledge for walking routes and places to visit.
Photos have now been uploaded – just follow the Flickr link on the albums page
Thank you to you all
8th Letchworth Scout Leaders