Posts Tagged ‘Hike’
Scouts (& Ventures) are Hiking Sunday
October 12th, 2011
This weekend we are hiking in the the Wicklow mountains. It should be a fun day out for all. We are starting in Crone Wood car park, climbing a hill to get to one of my favourite spots in Wicklow: the top of Powerscourt Waterfall; then we move onto the climb up to the top of Djouce mountain. The venture scouts will be organising activities and challenges along the way, which should be fun and hopefully help all the scouts achieve another part for the skills badges.
For those of you who have forgotten what to bring I have attached the images from the meeting on the end of the news item. We cannot stress these things enough: strong shoes (no wellies); 2 pairs of socks are better than big socks; your bag must have two shoulder straps; and don’t forget rain-gear (that applies to me too – I always forget it). For food be sensible. Be warned that no matter how many times you’re told by the ventures that there is an Eddie Rockets or ice-cream shop at the top of Djouce it doesn’t exist, so bring a good packed lunch and ‘healthy’ snacks.
For any parents out there that are interested in coming along for the hike you are more than welcome. Don’t worry the hike is not hard at all, so you won’t embarrass yourself. If you want to come or need further directions Paul’s (the scout section leader) has his contact information on the October letter. Hope to see you all on Sunday down at the the Crone Wood car park for 10:45.
On another note if you did not get the letter October 4th 2011, that is it there.
Here are Directions to Crone Car Park if you need them.
(I apologise for the blurriness of the photos)
Posted in Scouts, Ventures | Comments Off on Scouts (& Ventures) are Hiking Sunday
Gilwell Annual Camp 2011 – Log Book
July 8th, 2011
Saturday 2nd July
Today is Saturday, we had to meet up at 7:00 am in Dublin Port. We got on the ferry at about 8:00 and it left the harbour at about twenty past. The boat journey was long but lots of fun XD we played card games and some of the group went to the arcade. There was another scout troop from Naas on the ferry. We were the last people off the ferry and there was no room left on the shuttle bus, so we had to wait for a little while and when the next one came we had it all to our selves.
The train we got on was really bad because it was way too full and many people where not able to sit but then when some people got off at the first stop we where able to sit down. We switched lines at Chester. The second train was so much better! We all got to sit together, we played some card games and sat around making scooby-doos! We went to the shop several times and were talking to the lovely staff on the train too 🙂 XD It was deffo the best train of the day.
After we disembarked the train at Euston we had to walk to a different station than we had originally planned as the Victoria line was closed there. 🙁
So off we went trying to find Euston Square but after using our epic navigational skills we soon arrived and took the tube to Liverpool Street and from there got the National Express to Chingford Station which was a 30 min walk by really fancy houses from Gilwell Park.
Luckily when we arrived the marque had already been pitched by the people who run Gilwell. So we pitched our sleeping tents, three for the boys and one for the girls. We also pitched our base tent which is a really warm and comfortable rec tent. Theres benches in there. Then Oisin helped Niamh cook the hot dogs and noodles which where delicious. For desert we had rice pudding which was delectable according to everyone as I didn’t want any. Then everyone went to bed except the pl’s as we went to play switch (which is like Uno) and Stephen, Fionn and I got over excited in our super awesome epic warm brand new exiting tent. 😀
Sunday 3rd July
So today is Sunday and we arose between seven and half eight. My patrol started making breakfast while most people had showers. French toast and cereal were for breakfast it was yummy. We started clean up with special help from honorary patrol leader Ruairi Mc who cleaned most of the equipment.
A golf cart came with our pionering poles and we began building. We didn’t have enough poles so we brought trailor and got more. The leaders built a lift using a pully system. The scouts built a swing(Stephen’s patrol), a see-saw(Emma’s patrol) and an arial assault course(Oisin’s and conors patrol) coolest pioneering gadgets I have ever seen. We have collected fire wood for a campfire its all cut up and into three piles; kindling, small logs and big logs. Ruari and cillian also made a tennis court.
Monday 4th July
Today is Monday. We first did the Leap of Faith which was a high ropes activity where we climbed up a ten meter pole to a small platform at the top and jumped through the air and cought onto a bar that was suspended in front of us. Callum got stuck at the top when he sat down on the platform and couldn’t stand up again but he eventually managed it (Well Done Callum!). The bar was pretty close to us when we jumped but some people got a second jump and the instructors moved the bar farther away from the platform. I was about to get another go but then Fionn had to go and tangle up all the ropes so no one else could go.
Then we walked back to the main square where we met with our instructor for the rifle shooting. We then walked down to the shooting range beside the swimming pool. First our instructor gave us the safety talk and then we started to shoot. Erin was one of the the best shots who got a score of 22 on one of her targets and was only beaten by me (Oisin) with a score of 29. We all got two rounds of five shots and on the second round most people tried the large target but I turned it around to the competition side and I managed to get a bulls eye on a target on target about the size of the bottom of a cup. Fionn also got a bulls eye on the other side of his target.
After that we went into Chingford and spent about two and a half hours there. We all spent alot of time in the sweet shop. They had all the sweets at the back in jars like a traditional sweet shop as well as all the other sweets like Refreshers and Aeros. We also discovered that Mountain Dew was two for one and got a load of that as well. Basically we pigged out on sweets. Then all us PL’s went to a little park and played switch again. Then when we where about to leave Conor followed some girls away from us and took his time coming back. Stephens patrol where on dinner and they cooked pasta bake and custard and banana for dessert.
Tuesday 5th July
Today is Tuesday. Basicially all we did was go on a hike and go swimming both of which was great fun 🙂 On the hike Fionn and Callum lead all of us, some of which were the wrong way… But we got home and went swimming which was extra great because it started raining while we were there.
Wednesday 6th July
Today is Wednesday. We had to get up really early to catch four trains and a bus to Legoland.
Once we got to Legoland we split into groups and went around the park. Us PL’s went around together. We went on most of the rides which were great fun then we went to have lunch.
We went to the Knights kingdom and went on the dragon then me (Stephen), Emma and big Emma went on the spinning spiders which made big Emma feel sick. So obviously I made her come on the big Jolly Rodger with me. The look on her face when we went on it was so funny, she tried to hide underneath the safety bar. We have decided to make a photo album of Emma’s face on roller coasters. We then went to meet up with everyone near the entrance where all the shops are.
We went home on the trains and bus which took about two hours. Once we got into Chingford the leaders said we could get chipper so we walked home from the station as they got our food.
Once we got to our campsite we saw that the mess tent was gone and everything was in a mess.
The half barrel had been flipped over and one of the tents was ripped and broken.
The van that brought all of equipment had been hit by something.
Once we talked to the staff of Gilwell Park they said that the wind was so strong that it blew down that mess tent which broke apart and smashed into the van, the tents, and into another one of the tents. The members of staff gave us another mess tent so we had some where to cook for the remaining days. We went to bed early that night because we were all tired from the long day.
Thursday 7th July
Today is Thursday and because of our long day on Wedensday we didn`t have to get up early. It was a very relaxed morning. After breakfast which was french toast we packed our bag up only leaving out our karri mat, sleeping bag and uniform. We decided to go into Chingford for last few things we wanted.
So we wouldn`t have to do too much on Friday we took down to the boys tents and packed most of the mess tent. We were all playing games then started tea which was soup but little ruairi ran in screaming hotdogs making everyone hungry for hot dogs. That night all the boys slept in the mess tent but the girls got to stay in our tent.
Friday 8th July
Its Friday and currently we are on our third and final train of the day. We set alarms for 5:30 but no one got up till 6 which was still way too early. We packed the last of the gear into the van and got a lift to the train station from the Cork scouts who had a van. Our first train was simple most of us got seats but the tube and the third train are packed with people.
By Griffindork, Blondie, McFly, Magic Tractor and “Bei”ker
(Patrol Leaders 2011)
Posted in Scouts | 3 Comments »
Rover’s Summer: Rovers in Whales?
August 31st, 2010
Heres what the rovers have been getting up to this Summer! We’ve been to both Wales to complete our Silver Gaisce Awards, and to Scotland in order to get some rock & ice climbing in.
The reason for our trip to Wales was to climb Snowdon (1085m) and walk 50km in the process, to complete the final part of our (Kevin and Conor’s) Silver Gaisce award. The hike across Snowdonia took us three days.
So with our trusty leaders Emma and Tony, and silly David we left Dublin port for Wales. On the boat journey we played cards and explained to Tony and David the difference between Whales and the country Wales with some Father Ted styled logic.
We arrived in Holyhead a little late, and missed our train. On the train we practiced (well more like butchered) our Welsh pronunciation. We got two trains to Betws-y-Coed, and that’s where the journey really beings. We started walking, rovers first but the leaders and David (“cheated”) and got the bus! Rovers walked to the meeting point at Capel Curig. We joined up and walked along the A4086 towards our first campsite. Along the road we stopped at an adventure centre, and asked for information about SPA (Single Pitch Award) and MIA climbing awards, all part of the debate on what is the plan for next year. By a lake we stopped for the night in a cheap campsite, 3 quid. There were some concerns that our tents might blow away in the strong wind that gushed through the valley.
4.00am I awoke to the sound of heavy rain beating off the canvas of our tent. I rolled back over and fell asleep. We all got up around eight in the morning once the sound of the rain had stopped. We got up ate breakfast, there is nothing like a cereal bar in the morning. Looking up to the sky we realised the storm hadn’t passed, but that we were sitting in the eye of the storm. We packed the rain sodded tents back into our bags and started walking towards Snowdon.
It rained, and it poured, and it rained some more as we walked towards Snowdon. We made it to Pen-y-Pass by eleven o’clock, finally the rain stopped. Pen-y-Pass is a drop off point for hikes and tourists, and the starting point of the Miner’s track, Crib Goch ridge route and the Pyg track. The plan was for the Rovers to walk the Pyg track up Snowdon (the red track on the map), and for the Leaders and David to walk the Miner’s track (the yellow route on the map). So we split up and went our separate ways.
Us Rovers decided that the Pyg track wasn’t that fun, so we changed to do the Crib Goch route. (Really we made a slight navigational error) Crib Goch is a mountain beside Snowdon. Let’s just say it was an interesting route: cliffs; vertical climbs; and strong winds. I think I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of story.
So we made it over Crib Goch and then to top of Snowdon. We rested for about 20 minutes in the restaurant on top of Snowdon. Snowdon is no ordinary mountain, at the top there is also a gift shop, webcam, and a train station adorning the summit. After our short respite at the summit we began the long tired seven kilometer walk down to Llanberis (pronounced clan-ber-is) and our second campsite, and most importantly what kept us walking the whole day: Pete’s Eats. Tony’s favourite restaurant.
After a long, and well earned meal, we set off to the campsite, one kilometer from Pete’s Eats. Of course the campsite was also up hill. We stayed the night, recharged the batteries for the final leg of the trip. The night also lead to some fun quotes/stories like “*stands up leaves the tent* I think I have two left feet!”… “No, are you wearing my shoes!”.
I would love to tell you the rest of the trip was easy: we left the campsite, on time; walked the relatively straight road from Llanberis to Caernarfon, arriving on time; but if I told you that I would be lying. It was to be honest a disaster. We awoke and left the site late, got lost on the “relatively straight road” and had to use a taxi to make it to Caernarfon to make the bus back to Bangor.
Forty minutes later we arrived in Bangor after a mundane and relaxing bus ride. We got the train back into Holyhead in order to catch the boat back to Dublin Port. We played cards in the port before boarding the boat. The boat journey was also another interesting part of our trip, strong winds and bad weather delayed the boats arrival into the port, we left 40 mins late. The length of the journey doubled because of the rough seas. The ferry rocked back and forward relentlessly, leaving the entire number of passengers and crew feeling sick.
Though there were some unfortunate bits to the trip, we all enjoyed ourselves throughly.
View our Wales Hike route in a larger map
Our report on our trip to Scotland will follow shortly. (Hint hint Conor L)
Posted in Ventures | Comments Off on Rover’s Summer: Rovers in Whales?
Bray Head Hike
February 1st, 2010
On Sunday Wednesday Explorers went on a hike up Bray Head. We had a great time even if it was a bit mucky. Bruce, our scout dog, decided to go on a wander on his own when we were walking along the beach. Will had to run afer him to get him back. Climbing up the rocks to the cross was fun but we had to come down the path as climbing down was too dangerous. Some of the scouts got yards of slush on the way back to the train, a super sugary drink that wasnt very nice!!
Posted in Scouts | Comments Off on Bray Head Hike
Hostel Weekend
January 31st, 2010
Jan 29/30/31
Hi all,
we are just back from our hostel weekend in Glendale lodge, we had a brilliant weekend. Hopefully some of the PL’s will post as well to tell you more about it.
We arrived down on Friday night, then on Saturday we went for a hike to the top of Prince Williams Seat, this was lots of fun although some people got very very wet and muddy.
Then on Sunday morning it snowed and we all had some fun in the snow.
All in all a good weekend was had!
Emma.
Posted in Scouts | Comments Off on Hostel Weekend
