Easter Camp 2014 (Boldron)

The Seniors on their hike

Easter camp is the first camp of the year and can have unpredictable, difficult weather thus making the weekend exclusive to experienced Scouts — nine altogether.

They arrived at the Scout HQ at approximately 9 AM on Friday April 18th to pack the van with equipment they would need over the weekend. John (Scout leader) turned up happier than usual, and then left even happier because he wasn’t going to camp!

The field in Boldron (near Barnard Castle) where the group were spending the weekend is the same field that they camped in for June camp the previous year however Maverick claimed it “looked less green” the second time around.

The only hiccough that occurred in erecting the site was the Tiger’s tent falling down and the wind breaks around the toilet tents being deemed as useful as a jelly mallet because they blew over in the wind and wouldn't stand straight even when the air was still. Most things, though, ran smoothly all morning up to the fish finger sandwiches for dinner which Maddie described as “very nice”.

During the afternoon, Scouts revised camp inspection and the standard they should be abiding by when camping, whilst the Seniors planned a hike for the following day. The hike needed to be approximately 7 miles long and take the whole day to trek.

As the sun eased behind the horizon, and over a tea of pasta bolognaise, campers watched from afar as the wild, rebellious sheep in the neighbouring field majestically nutted Hannah’s car. The sunset also gave campers the chance to inspect the extent of the sunburn which the blinding sun had left on their skin. Some campers were lucky enough to have turned a crispy bacon tone however, tragically, some campers had turned the shade of red which John N would declare bacon perfectly fried at.

The masthead of the Senior's tent: Nessy

Ultimate Frisbee was the evening activity. The group was split into two teams and needed to throw the Frisbee into the other team’s small goal before of one of Neil’s iconic, unique, inimitable quizzes in the Marquee which the Tigers managed to win! One point off were the Seniors in second place, the Swifts in third and the leaders in an abysmal 4th place.

Friday night was uncomfortably cold with temperatures reaching as low as –2°C. Many of the Scouts, Seniors and leaders blamed the conditions for their lack of sleep that night. Despite this, the freezing temperatures had left some admirable, glistening scenes around the camp site.

After a quick wash, where campers littered themselves down the banks of the beck, and a classic bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast, an inspection took place where the PLs were taken round with the leaders and informed about what they were doing right and what areas they need to get their patrol to improve in.

After inspection, whilst the Scouts wood collected, practised fire lighting and had a delicious lunch of beans and toast, the three Seniors hiked 7.5 miles from the camp site to Barnard Castle via Egglestone Abbey and then back through a maze of fields back to camp. The weather was so pleasant James S wasn't even phased after he fell in mud, a bog and the river!

Saturday evening played host to a game of cricket where both teams managed to score over a century each and a camp fire. Campers sung in fine tune at the top of their voices to all of their favorite camp-fire songs. In between songs, the Scouts and Seniors even performed a stunt each which they had prepared earlier. Of course, since it was Easter, lots of the stunts involved the Pope. Even Lishman, the bear, belted out some songs and enjoyed some cold hot cross buns for supper.


That night, what can only be described as an ‘Easter miracle’ happened. You may have heard of it ‘raining cats and dogs’ however never will you have heard of it raining potatoes. However that is exactly what happened, bizarrely, in the Senior’s tent. The three boys woke up soaked in a small puddle of spuds!

After the Seniors had recovered from their first hand experience of divine intervention they joined the Scouts in cooking a never-tried-before breakfast of bacon omelettes. In theory, these sounded good however the reality was scrambled egg with diced bacon grill and vegetables. Aesthetically the final product didn’t look great however they tasted amazing and left campers craving more.

To mark Easter Sunday, there was then a ‘Scout’s own’ service in the marquee which included hymns, prayers and stories before Easter eggs were handed out. This was followed by a game of rounders which almost all of the campers played. The final score was 15-0.

Exhausted, the campers then had a quick dinner and then started taking down the site so the field could be restored to how it was before they arrived.