Torbay Summer camp - Saturday 15th to Saturday 22nd August 2009
What a week - great activities, great weather and great fun!
Saturday
After a quick start to the the we soon hit the M5 traffic which slowed us down. We arrived at about 2:30pm and set up our campsite. In a true Scouting style, the boys left the girls to put their own tent up - but at the end, the girls tent looked the better of the two! Then it was down to the local beach to go for the first swim of the week in the sunshine. The water wasn't that warm but it didn't stop some of the group going in!
Sunday
Sunday was a leisurely start and a fry up. Then it was off to Dartmoor to stretch our legs. From Shipley Bridge we walked to Avon Dam for lunch. Then it was back to the river we had walked along to get our feet wet. At that was the idea, although some ended up with more than just wet feet. Once back at the campsite it was off to the beach again. This time, everyone went for a swim and some even managed to sunbathe.
Monday
The 7:00am start wasn't popular, but we had to be in Brixham by 9:30am for sailing and canoeing. While the sailing group had a great time trying to get Wattsy wet without crashing into each other, the canoeing group found a friend - a local seal, who followed them round for the morning. After lunch it was off to Trago Mills for a couple of hours. Eight Explorers, eight bumper boats, total mayhem!
Tuesday
Tuesday was another early start - this time for climbing and abseiling. At the centre, we split up and had a great time messing around in an old quarry with plenty of variety to keep us all busy. The treetop adventure was great with rope bridges, gorge crossings and zip wires. After lunch it was off to the horse riding centre. No-one is quite sure if it was Bruce or his horse that had the "wind" issues, however, everyone gave him a wide berth.
Wednesday
Mid week and a more relaxed day at the water park in Paignton. We thought we were in for a scorcher but unfortunately the clouds came in pretty quickly. However, it didn't stop us and we stayed in the park until about 5:30pm.
Thursday
Thursday saw a trip to Plymouth to visit the National Aquarium and the historic city. Jamie represented the Unit in an ROV race but unfortunately was comprehensively beaten by a five year old! After looking at the sharks and having "found Nemo", we had a quick lunch before walking into Plymouth for a few hours. The leaders took the chance to sit in Starbucks for most of the afternoon, whilst the Explorers bought coloured hairspray and attacked Bruce.
Friday
Friday was our only day on the campsite, but we managed to pack quite a lot in. We started with shooting before moving on to tunnelling. After lunch we tried to build a friction bridge before trying our had at French Arrows. Then we had another climbing and abseiling session and most of us had a go at crate stacking. After dinner, we joined the weekly campfire, where the girls tried to lead everyone in a rendition of Black Lace's "Superman"!
Saturday
And then it was time to go home. Everyone worked very hard to get away from the site by 1:00pm. After a quick stop en-route, we put the kit away at Eastwinds and headed home.
Thanks to Bruce and Tom for all their hard work and to everyone who took part - we hope you enjoyed it!
If you have any photos, comments or stories, e-mail them and they will be added to this page.