During the weekend Saturday the 27 th to Sunday the 28 th September 2008 Cadets and Staff from 2028 (Southam) Squadron went on a ‘qualifying’ Bronze and an introduction to Duke of Edinburgh’s expedition to Bala in North Wales. The Cadets and Staff travelled to Bala during early morning on the Saturday, setting out from the Squadron at 7am so they could start their navigation immediately on arrival.

The purpose of the weekend was to introduce the newer Cadets to the D of E expedition at Bronze level and teach them the practical skills needed for both safe navigation and camping. The 13 Cadets who attended were split into two groups of both experienced map readers and novices.

The Cadets arrived at their start point at 10am and began the first leg of their navigation. The weather at the start was quite foggy but as the morning developed it became sunny and quite hot. The journey took the cadets straight up into the hills on the southern side of Llyn Tegid (the true name for ‘Lake Bala’). This meant a reality check for some of the cadets not used to walking in such a remote environment. The novices were on the weekend to learn the skills and enjoy the walking, so they set off without backpacks a short time after the Bronzes had started with the expedition gear they all required for the two days on their own. Lunch appeared early and long in duration on the Saturday; the pace seemed relaxed, but this meant a tiring (endless) days walk before reaching the idyllic lakeside camp at approximately 6:30pm. The Bronze group set about sorting camp and cooking within the team, while the novice group were able to receive constructive training in the basics of camping. As night fell over the lake so did everyone’s voices, with only the staff staying up a bit later to enjoy a BBQ and some pancakes.

The Cadets awoke on the Sunday to a wet and quite cold morning in Wales. After a good breakfast they started the second day’s navigation at 0830hrs . For the first few hours the Cadets had to persevere through the rain but as the morning progressed the rain stopped and the weather improved. There appeared to be a very different attitude with Sunday’s expedition; the rain was actually improving the way the two groups pulled together, and didn’t seem to dampen their spirits. Lunch was only a short break, as the prospect of another long day didn’t seem to go down too well. The Bronze group seemed to always hit their check point times and even managed to finish ahead of schedule. The novice group enjoyed the day, but this time relishing in the challenge of carrying most of their kit on their backs. A slight map reading error meant they lost a lot of time, covering some distance before retracing their steps and getting back on track. The day ended at 4pm with both groups loaded into the minibus for the journey homeward.

The weekend in Wales was a real success for everyone; the weather was quite good for most of the time, with visibility poor early on the Saturday and the rain early on the Sunday morning but overall quite good for Wales. The experienced Cadets, working as a team, helped the new ones to develop their navigational skills and everyone demonstrated a real determination to succeed, even if there were occasions when their map reading was less than perfect.

C.I Rogers said after the weekend, “It was really great to see so many Cadets attend a short overnight Camp; it’s a sign of future success in our D of E next year and real turnaround for the Squadron from the last 18 months.”