The weather conditions were almost perfect, with the temperature being not too hot or cold and bar a 10-minute spell of rain the Bronze groups stayed dry. Unfortunately, for the Silver group they did have to set up camp and cook in the rain on the Sunday evening but apart from this also had a good dry weekend.

The Bronze groups walked about 10km a day with the Silver group averaging about 13km. Everyone seemed to manage these distances well and walked at a good pace throughout. We did have a couple of blisters though, so it would be good for everyone to check the fit of the footwear, tightness of the laces and socks before the final expedition in July. It is also a good idea to walk in new boots before this expedition.

We had the normal variety of expedition food with curry, chilli con carne, peri-peri chicken, pasta carbonara and beans and sausages all being followed by things like chocolate brownie and chocolate mousse. All of which were expertly cooked using a Trangia.

All the groups worked extremely well as a team to navigate around the route, support each other, set up camp and cook in a timely manner with very few problems. 

Both Ocean Rock staff and Severn Vale DofE Leaders are looking forward to the qualifying expedition in July, where hopefully we will have a repeat of how well our students did this weekend. This will mean that many of our students having had the other three sections signed off will complete their Bronze and Silver awards.

Finally, I will leave you with the closing remarks of the lead instructor on the final day of the Silver expedition, who said that they were an amazing group of children, who at a good speed could navigate their way around the route and also excel with their campcraft making them a perfect Silver group.