Scouts Summer Camp

Eighteen 2nd Onchan Scouts, two Onchan Explorer Scouts and five Leaders over the 30. July to the 6. August 2011, spent a week camping at Peel for our Summer Camp.

The Scouts arrived on site on the Saturday afternoon and spent the next hour setting up their Patrol Tents and getting the site ready for the week. As it was a fine and sunny afternoon, once all the jobs had been completed the Scouts spent the next couple of hours on the beach in Peel. In the evening after tea, we held a formal Flag Break in full uniform, before heading off for a hike to the top of Peel Hill. Back on site we had our supper round the camp fire before heading off to bed.

On Sunday morning the weather was a bit damp, but that didn’t get us down. After breakfast we held Tent Inspection, where the Patrols were marked on the state of their tent, personal kit and lack of litter. The Scouts donned their uniforms for a visit to the House of Manannan. Lunch was back on site and in the afternoon we spent the afternoon at the Wildlife Park near Ballaugh. After tea we headed off to Watertrough Cottage for an evening of Bivouac building, but it was raining up in the hills and we only stayed an hour. Supper tonight was in the marquee.

On Monday after breakfast and tent inspection, we spent the day at the Venture Centre in Maughold, where the Scouts took part in Abseiling, Crate Building, Shooting, Assault Course, Archery and the Zip Wire. There were a lot of other Scouts at the centre and it was very busy with Scouts taking part in activities on the whole site. Back in Peel, after tea we played some games outside, before we watched a movie in the marquee.

Tuesday morning was spent at Ardwhallan Outdoor Pursuits Centre, where we took part in their problem solving activities and then we finished with a race around the Assault Course. The weather was a bit damp, but by early afternoon the sun was out. After lunch we went out on the Manx Sea Quest RIB and spotted Basking Sharks just north of Peel. The Scouts each got a go at steering the boat. In the evening we went back up to Watertrough Cottage and finished the bivouacs.

On Wednesday, we travelled to Douglas and caught the Tram to Laxey and then to the summit of Snaefell. The Scouts found some of the hidden Letterboxes and hiked to the Mountain Box where they were collected by the minibus. A quick change back at Peel and we were off to the cinema in Douglas to watch Cars 2 (the Scouts did, but some of the Leaders fell asleep). After the cinema we went to KFC for tea, before heading back to site.

On Thursday, the Scouts went swimming in the pool next to the Camp Site and afterwards spent a couple of hours doing Backwoods Cooking. In the afternoon the Scouts went Coasteering with Adventurous Experiences and spent a couple of hours climbing over rocks, swimming into caves and jumping into the sea. After tea and a long game of Danish Longball we watched another movie in the marquee.

Friday saw us up at Mooragh Park for the with the Scouts doing Raft Building in the morning and in the afternoon sailing and kayaking. Luckily it was a fine and sunny day and most of the Scouts didn’t mind getting wet. In the evening we held a Camp Scout Meeting and were joined by other 2nd Onchan Scouts and Leaders for the evening. We finished off our last night with a camp fire and discussion about the camp.

On Saturday, the last day at Camp, we were up early as rain was forecast later on in the morning and we (just) managed to get the tents down before the rain started. With everything packed away, we held Flag Down and presented prizes to the Best Patrol and to some individual Scouts as well. Scouts were collected a bit earlier than originally planned due to the rain.

Over 900 photos from the Camp can be viewed here.