Expedition HQ

Histon Scouts recently decided to get serious about sending young people out on their own adventures and expeditions. There's a window of opportunity to persuade people that they can follow in Bear's footsteps. Rule number one is that, whereever you're starting, push yourself a little further than you thought you could go.

For our first team of year six Scouts—that's eleven year olds from primary school—that meant a five-mile day-hike route from Rampton back to Histon, unaccompanied, and doing all their own route-planning, navigating, and kit. Sam, Abi, Rachel and Joel steamed through the four-hour schedule in just over three hours, delayed slightly by the police...who seemed slightly stunned and impressed by the group!

Understandably, slightly nervous parents did pop up a couple of times en-route at locations of known traffic hazards, but the Scouts dealt with this impugning of their abilities fabulously, and are already negotiating with Scouters and parents for the six-hour mountain bike version of the expedition, which would cover at least sixteen miles.

This hike is a first in another way for Histon Scout Group, as it involved the first girls to join the troop. Though they are not yet invested, the girls hiked as Scouts, not Guides. Histon Guides is full, but the Scout troop has places available, and we certainly want to make sure that young girls deciding what to do with their free time know what opportunities are available in Scouts.

Running a Scout Troop has become a careful balancing act in recent years, as parents perceive more danger than ever before in letting their children out on their own. The Scout Association does everything it can to provide a controlled environment where children can push themselves, make their mistakes safely, and learn through adventure. 1st Histon Scouts, as a rule of thumb, send year seven children out on two-day, one-night hikes in the local area, and above that, expeditions get longer, hillier, and involve discovering areas a little further afield. Most other activities, like climbing, canoeing and shooting are adult-supervised. We do have some young canoeists that are good enough that they may soon get the coveted permit to lead unsupervised canoe expeditions. Scouts that progress on to Explorers, aged fourteen, quickly go on to climb mountains a lot bigger than can be found in the UK, build schools and orphanages in Africa and developing countries around the world, and we're proud of our motto. Be Prepared.