Martians summer camp!
It's Saturday the 9th August at the Horsell HQ and nine faces with that just-woken-up-but-excited expression can be seen at the windows of the mini-bus, already anticipating the week ahead, parents waving hopelessly in the background.
Why? It's the Martians SUMMER CAMP of course! We had a brilliant time (as expected) even despite the weather, which gave us a run for our money as soon as we got to Lyons Copse, the campsite where we were staying! 6 tents, a mess tent and a lot of moisture later; we had arrived!
The next day we went for a cycle ride for the day, hiring bikes for the entire motley crew! We had planned the 20 mile route before hand, and didn't get too lost, but enjoyed seeing the area and all being together! On the way back, we all bundled on to the ferry (which practically turned out to be a large rowing boat) with our bikes and all, but we didn't mind; our bums were starting to ache from so much riding! When we got back to the mini bus we all decided to cycle down to the sea for a quick cup of tea and the use of the public toilets, which were much appreciated after the long day's cycle!
We also did some serious sailing, learning how to rig up our 3-person boats, and sailed them ourselves in the treacherous waters near Southampton. It was blowing a gale, but we all did well, and only one capsize occurred, much to the displeasure of the soggy sailors! We had the interesting meal of rabbit to look forward to on our return to the campsite that evening, which Jay and Jason cooked on the fire.
They put it out of its misery that morning after it had been attacked by a stoat and we all decided to try some before dinner was served that night! It wasn't quite as good as the meals we'd been cooking (according to our rota) but was an experience nonethe-less!
The kayaking and climbing we had planned to do was cancelled due to the windy, wet weather, so instead we all enjoyed a few hours in the swimming pool and went shopping and to the cinema at Gunwharf quays which turned out to be just as fun!
Another day we took on the challenge of a day's hike, which went very well despite the sudden outbreak of wind and rather pointy rain on the top of a hill. Sheltering under some trees, we stopped for lunch and all received nicely muddy bottoms for our trouble. By the end, when the sun had re-appeared and many of our feet were feeling they'd done their fair share of work for the day, small mutters of mini-bus! were heard, but it was to no avail! We finally reached the spot where we'd parked, under our own steam and flopped into our seats! Phew.
One of the best days was our last, a day trip to the Isle of Wight! We got there by hovercraft across the water (which was rather exciting!) and spent the morning relaxing, shopping, fishing and joining in a local window spotting game! Then we all met up for a round of mini golf at the Pirate Adventure course which was fun, accompanied with the occasional crazed competitor determined to win! After that, we had a BBQ on the beach, and finally felt the weather was on our side as it was lovely and sunny. Some of us even felt daring enough to paddle in the sea!
On Friday, we sadly began to pack up to go home, but surprisingly ended up back at the HQ early!
So. Many aching bodies, fun filled heads and broken tents later, we are back, and summer camp is over for another year (sniff), but still, we had a really fantastic time and are already looking forward to next year!
Jessie.
If you, your son or daughter is aged between 14 and 18 and would like to join the Explorers then please contact the Group Scout Leader and he will get in touch.