Category Archives: Scouts

Scout Troop News and Information

Scouts

Hammocking in Hammerwood

The Mill Lane scout troops spent this weekend at Hammerwood Scout Campsite, between East Grinstead and Holtye in West Sussex

With a lightweight camp, we tend not to use any canvas at all, apart from a giant tarp as a mess tent, and hike tents for those that find hammocks a bit intimidating.

We were blessed with an almost completely dry weekend this time, although Wet Wood (the name of the wood the campsite forms part) is never actually dry.

Activities

The camp was a laid-back affair with quite a lot of time for the scouts to do their own thing. We did manage to organise

  • Rope swings
  • Wide games in the dark (no photos, it was dark)
  • Rounders
  • Campfire sketches
Continue reading Hammocking in Hammerwood →
Scouts

Night Hike to Westerham

Swift Troop organised a set of night hikes to Westerham this week in a joint adventure with Seal, Ide Hill and Westerham Scout Troops.

Walking groups converged on Westerham from six directions, with groups departing from Downe, Halstead, Ide Hill and Merle Common (half way between Edenbridge and Oxted)

Taking photographs of scouts walking in the dark wearing high-vis tops is always challenging, here are some of them starting out, some having mid-hike hot chocolate and a couple of scouts-on-the-horizon ones.

All of the scouts looked pleased to get to the hut for a sit down and a bite to eat!

If this looks like something you would like to do please join us – either as an adult volunteer or as a young person. Get in touch with us.

#iscout #scoutinginSevenoaks

Scouts

Summer Camp 2024 – Wye Valley

This year a joint party from Chapman, Swift and Seal Scout troops camped next to the River Wye, one bridge crossing away from Wales and the Forest of Dean.

We were blessed with a beautiful week in a pretty miserable summer and were able to run two patrols.

During camp we…

  • Pitched camp
  • Wide games
  • Climbed up some really steep hills
  • Explored a cave
  • Found a rope swing
  • Found a geocache
  • Prepared dinner (and breakfast and lunch…)
  • Played with the fire
  • Competed in camp Olympics
  • Natural rock climbing
  • Washed up
  • Orienteering trail
  • Full day MTB ride and hardly fell off at all
  • Canoeing up the river Wye and went for a dip
  • More wide games
  • Prepared and lit fires
  • Hike to Simonds Yat
  • Crossing the River Wye using a rope barge
  • Visit butterfly farm
  • Frisbee
  • Struck camp
  • Helped put all the kit away
Continue reading Summer Camp 2024 – Wye Valley →
Scouts

Monopoly Run 2024

The 4th and the 9th Sevenoaks took 7 teams to London on Saturday, competing in the annual Monopoly Run Live competition organised by a team from Hampshire Scouts.

The competition has grown over the years until this year when they have capped the entry at 8,000 competitors.

This year the run started from the Imperial War Museum instead of the usual London Eye. After a very damp first hour, the day brightened up and we even saw the sun in the afternoon.

The teams were generally not competing with each other this year, which meant more of the teams could taste success! Our top teams came 19th and 22nd overall out of over 1400 teams (well done Cars and Hustlers!)

Here are a selection of photos from the day

Continue reading Monopoly Run 2024 →
Scouts

Christmas Camp at Broadstone Warren

This year’s Christmas Camp was held at Broadstone Warren, just outside Forest Row in East Sussex.

Weather was a lot warmer than last year, but the 16mm of rain made things fairly damp.

After a scout survey, we went for a climbing heavy programme. It included

  • Christmas Quiz – which team of scouts (or leaders) will triumph in a festive quiz. The leaders only get to answer questions that the scouts have missed.
  • Crate stacking – the scouts see how high can get as a stack of milk crates is built under them
  • Abseiling – scouts descend the side of the 12m climbing tower on a rope
  • Tunnels – the scouts explore a multi-room man-made underground tunnel system
  • Leap of faith – scouts climb up to a platform high above the forest floor and see if they can grab hold of a hanging bar several metres in front of them
  • Jacob’s Ladder – scouts climb up a ‘ladder’ of logs, each gap between logs getting further apart
  • Climbing – scouts pick a way up the side of the climbing tower
  • Silent disco – scouts choose to listen to one of three
  • Christmas Carol-fire – a Christmas-themed sing-song round the camp fire
  • Festive campfire sketch – each of the five quiz-teams perform a campfire seasonal skit.

And no camp would be complete without everyone’s favourite activity (apart from complaining about the weather), eating!

This year featuring: Cooked breakfast, porridge, soup, sandwiches, Christmas dinner featuring spit-roast turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes and veggies followed by panettone or Christmas pudding and custard; camp doughnuts, more porridge, spit-roast pork and apple rolls and mince pies

A huge thank you to all the scouts, leaders and parents that helped make camp happen.

If this looks like something you would like to do, then you can join scouting too! As an adult or a young person.

Scouts

Night-time adventures in Sevenoaks Weald

Eight groups of scouts went out exploring on Friday evening, with a night navigation hike from locations across the district to Sevenoaks Weald.

Walking parties from 10th Sevenoaks (Weald), 9th Sevenoaks (Seal) and both Chapman and Swift troops from the 4th set out from locations stretching from Westerham to Shipbourne and navigated their way to the scout hut in Sevenoaks Weald.

Map showing the eight routes
Continue reading Night-time adventures in Sevenoaks Weald →