Over the summer two DofE Gold groups travelled to Scotland to complete their assessed expedition. Scotland is perfect for Gold expeditions as it offers excellent remote areas for many types of trips. In addition the opportunity to wild camp in some of the most scenic parts of the UK makes for a memorable experience. Thank you to Head of Outdoor Education, CCF and DofE, Steve Macpherson, for the write-up:
The walking group travelled up first and after a comfortable night in a bunkhouse they set off on four days of walking through the magnificent Scottish mountains. The route they took would take them along sections of the West Highland way before breaking off into the more remote glens of the Mamores mountain range. Unfortunately for the group, the weather conditions on the first two days was very poor with monsoon like conditions on day one and heavy showers on day two. Luckily the weather improved for the last two days allowing everyone to dry out and take in their surroundings. Unfortunately the improving weather over the next two days were perfect for Scotland’s most notorious pest, the midge. The group by this stage were hardened hikers and took all challenges in their stride and the occasional interest from a small insect wasn’t going to worry them. Their final day was probably the most challenging of the expedition, the paths were indistinct and most of the route was through quite marshy areas, but again the group got on with the task. There were challenges during this expedition and that was the aim: the weather, the terrain and the midges all played their part in making the expedition both challenging and rewarding at the same time. The group wild-camped in some very remote areas and even with the rain they were rewarded for their efforts with some of Scotland’s most dramatic scenery.
The kayaking group arrived a day after the walkers had left and once again they were treated to a comfortable night in a bunkhouse. The following morning they were taken to their start point at Banavie on the Caledonian canal. The Caledonian canal is actually a series of Lochs, Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness connected by stretches of canals and is a classic canoe/kayak trail. The group would be travelling along its entire length to Dochgarroch just short of Inverness, essentially crossing Scotland from west to east coast. The first day is often the most challenging, it is quite a long day and due to its proximity to the west coast of Scotland Loch Lochy can be quite choppy. This year was no exception and the last part of the day the Loch was a little rough to say the least, but everyone took it in their stride and made their first nights camp with no issues. Day two was a little more sedate in comparison, still a long day from Loch Lochy to the shores of loch Ness but Loch Oich is usually quite calm and a fair amount of canal paddling made for a gentler day. The final sting in the tail though was the epic portage at Fort Augustus before entering Loch Ness. This series of locks allows boats to be lifted from the waters of Loch Ness up to the canal, our groups had to lift their kayaks out and manually move them on portage trollies, a little time consuming to say the least. Back in the water it was only a short paddle to their campsite on the shores of Loch Ness.
Day three and four were on Loch Ness, it takes two days to paddle its length. The wind was picking up and halfway to their campsite the water became quite challenging. The group pushed on and made their campsite in a sheltered bay near Foyers, half way up Loch Ness. We all hoped for a nice calm day to finish the journey but Scotland and the great glen had other ideas. The wind was quite strong from the South West and the Lock's waters were a little choppy but as there were plenty of get out options along this part of the journey, we decided to push on. Towards the end of the day we had to cut across the loch to the entrance to the river and the final stretch to Dochgarroch. The wind had become quite strong and the water had picked up to quite a swell, so the groups were pulled together and with the experienced supervision of staff they all crossed the open water together. This was very challenging paddling, well above anything the group had experienced so far. Large waves were rolling down the Loch and some breaking waves tried to swing the kayaks off course but the group stuck to the task and everyone crossed with no problems at all. With the open water crossing done it was a straightforward paddle down the river to the extraction point and hot showers.
Both the walking and kayaking groups were faced with challenges but both dealt with them magnificently, their attitude, motivation and determination shone through at every hurdle. Thank you to Mr and Mrs Adamson who led the walking expedition and to Mr Bayley and Ms Pearson who led the Kayaking expedition.
Well done to those who completed the expeditions, which included:
Walking Group: Tom Hallam, Joe Szweda, William Properjohn, Brett Fullard, Seb Rivett, Justin Janse Van Vuuren, Alastair Holbrough, Thomas Armstrong, Bilal Akeil, Tom Paine
Kayaking Group: Milo Macmillan, Daisy Stuart, James Davie, Fergus Elrington, Tayla Caldeira, Hannah Burnett, Darcy Timms, Georgia-Mae Frye