Summer Camp at Kielder

The August Bank Holiday Weekend saw 1st St Helens Scout Group’s annual summer camp take place. The venue for this year was Kielder Reservoir for a long weekend doing watersports and other activities. While the weekend was another unprecedented success, unfortunately it was not the fine weather that many scouts remembered from the camp.

From the Friday through until the Monday, the six Scouts and five Cubs were continually at the mercy of the infamous Kielder midges. A number of ingenious methods were tried and tested to deter the pesky little insects. While no method was 100% successful, it was generally agreed that assistant Scout leader Derek Provan’s aftershave was the most effective means of repelling the midges!

However, the inconvenience of the midges did nothing to deter the spirit of the Scouts and Cubs who attended, and every one enjoyed taking part in the activities laid on. Not least because the reservoir itself was the only place where the midges could not be found!

Both Scouts and Cubs took part in canoeing and raft-building on the reservoir, many of whom had never tried either of these activities. Everyone enjoyed the activities, and the glorious weather meant that when the inevitable capsizing and splashing occurred it was not such a shock to the system as it could have been. Which was just as well, as had the water been very cold, those travelling in the raft built by Explorer Scouts John Horsman and Michael Forrester would have had a very chilly day indeed!

A waterslide constructed out of a giant sheet of plastic and washing up liquid was another feature of the camp, which kept the lads wet and amused in equal measure. In the evenings, a quiz and a campfire were also held to entertain the scouts and cubs.

One positive aspect of the midges at the camp was that they were so bad on a morning that no one wanted to get up. This meant that the leaders were afforded a well-earned lie-in and did not have to get breakfast ready so early.

At the end of the camp, everyone taking part went home with a healthy tan, a bag full of wet clothes, a number of midge-bites, but above all else a lot of good memories. On top of all this, each of the Scouts and Cubs was given a pennant to begin their camp blanket with.

One thing the leaders took away from the camp was that the need for a group minibus was greater than ever. Spaces on the camp were limited to the number of lads the leaders could fit into their cars. Had any more Scouts and Cubs wanted to take part they would have been turned away. A minibus appeal has now been set up to try and buy a vehicle for the group.