Bronze DofE Expedition June 2026
In the last weekend of June, six Explorers (and a supporting friend) from Adurni and Excalibur ESUs completed their Bronze DofE expedition. It represents the first combined expedition in the District, and we hope this collaboration will continue. We are all immensely proud of the effort they put in and the way they conducted themselves throughout the expedition. All the photos from the hike are in the event gallery.
Congratulations to Dylan Scanlon, Alice Toms, Carrie-Ann Crawshaw, Sam Bodkin, Arthur Harris, Archie Jeffery and their support, Nicolas Crompton. It will be wonderful to see them achieve their Bronze DofE and, hopefully, future Top Awards in the coming years.
The team were put on an event passport for the 2 nights, beginning at 2nd Portchester, where they prepped their kit together, reviewed their food choices and got to grips with their route. Adult volunteers left around 21:00 and the explorers were left to sort themselves and get themselves up ready for departure at 08:30 on Saturday.
The group headed off to Portchester train station, caught the train to Cosham, changed there to Portsmouth Hard, ready to catch the foot ferry to Ryde, IOW. When they got to Ryde Pier, they were checkpointed and set on their way. (Leaders went via car ferry). Overall, on Saturday, the group covered 14km in 32-degree heat. They had prepared well and met the checkpoints on time and were glad to refill water bottles. The Explorers arrived at 1st Newport Scout hut around 16:30 and set up camp, cooked dinner then settled down, prepping the 2nd day route and playing UNO.
The group asked the leaders to be onsite for 07:30 in anticipation of setting off at 08:15 and as we arrived, the camp was struck, and breakfast eaten. They departed at 08:15 and set of for 22km of a hike covering the spine of the IOW to Yarmouth. Again, regular checkpoints were met on time and refilled water bottles were a must, as although it was only 25 degrees, it was still very warm! At lunch, we found out it was Alice’s 15th birthday and so subsequently made some arrangements for arrival at Yarmouth.
The group covered the remaining 10km at record pace, and when they arrived, Alice was suitably embarrassed with a tray of cupcakes, card and a pack of coca-cola to share with her team. After the debrief, the team caught the ferry to Lymington and then the train home to Fareham, where grateful parents collected Explorers at 19:30.
The team coped with a complex and difficult hike in extreme heat. They covered, in total, 36km in just over 14 hrs whilst completing their activity. As these units will shortly be merged, this activity has bonded 2 smaller groups of Explorers who can now help integrate other friends into the new, larger group. It was brilliant to hear from their assessors how excellent the group had been!
