On Saturday 18th March 80 Scouts, along with 40 Leaders and young leaders from all across Newcastle District, descended upon the Guide campsite at Maer.
After pitching their tents and then helping their Leaders pitch theirs, the Scouts started the afternoons activities:
- Learning how to use and read 6 figure grid references.
- How to use a compass and walk on a bearing.
- How to locate your position on a map.
After this they had a challenge to figure out what 90 different symbols are on a map.
The Scouts then filled their bellies with pasta bolognese and greasy garlic bread before getting ready for the evenings walk.
At 17.30 the first groups, Knutton, Red Street and Whitmore were ferried out to Swynnerton, the starting point for the hike. They were followed in 20 minute intervals by Ashley Air Scouts, two Clayton troops, Holy Trinity, Porthill and St Giles scouts.
The hike routes were around 5.5 miles long and we saw the first group walking down the drive at about 21.00. Some Scouts were still out walking until around 00.30. When they eventually arrived, warm soup was on offer before swiftly collapsing into their tents for the night.
The following morning Scouts and Leaders were greeted with a nice warm cheesy oatcake.
Everyone then helped out dropping all the tents and tidying the site, even with the gale force winds.
They then broke camp, but not before handing out some prizes to the winning teams.
St Giles came in 1st, with Ashley 2nd followed closely by Whitmore in 3rd place. Congratulations to those groups and well done to all the other groups for taking part.
A special thanks to all the leaders, young and older who made this event the success that it was.
