Sunday 2nd April: Day 1 – Farnham to Guildford (17.5km)
A marvelous first day. 17.5 km (11.5 miles) we had a pleasant walk through a mixture of woodland, heathland and sunken tracks. No steep hills, and lovely weather. A day of firsts for some of the scouts. Their first time for a “nature wee” and they said it was an “enjoyable” experience! No injuries except a bramble scratch and everybody ate a hearty lunch in the sun. There was a longing for shorts as layers were removed. We finished the day walking over the pretty pixie bridge and across the river.
Monday 3rd April: Day 2 – Guildford to West Humble (21km)
A long day. Begun walking at 10:30 finished at 16:45. Started by walking uphill then a straight section of sand then a second steep hill to the top of the hill where the pretty church was. By this stage it was warming up nicely. We continued up the third steep ridge to Newlands corner. Chance to use a proper toilet! Then the rest of the day was spent walking along the ridge through woods for the rest of the day. Everyone walked well and the trees gave us protection from the sun. By the end of the 20 Kms many were feeling it and passing the vineyard made some leaders sigh and dream of a cool glass and a seat in the sun. Oh well. The finish was under the brooding boxhill. This will be our first challenge tomorrow. Another 12.9 miles done (approximately 21km).
Tuesday 4th April: Day 3 – West Humble to Mertsham (15km)
Day three. 9.75 miles. Although it had been raining when we left camp we were lucky as the rain stopped and we soon took off coats as we begin to climb. There were two horrible uphills to conquer today. The stepping stones followed by hundreds of steps up box hill was the first. The weather remained dry as we travelled up and down the chalk that was now slippery after the rain. We stopped for lunch before we tackled the second hill. Colley Hill. Boy was it steep. Everyone was relieved when we made it to the top. We then walked into the viewpoint and had a group photo taken by the little monument. After this point it was a fairly steady walk back to the finish. We passed through a very posh boarding school before we reached the finish. Now off back to camp for a much needed turkey and ham pie and some birthday celebrations for Reuben and Skip Intrepid.
Wednesday 5th April: Day 4 – Mertsham to Oxted (14.5km)
9.2 miles 14.5 Kms in the sunshine. We spent the day walking close enough to hear the M25 but only seeing it a few times. The scouts did a good job of the route planning and the reading of the maps. There were a few hills again and we were all aware of the big hill waiting at the end of the journey. We walked through woods which were full of wild garlic which filled the air with ‘scent’. The young people were keen to have an early lunch and we had a lovely view across the downs as we ate our sandwiches. After lunch we as leaders were pleased to see games of cards being played. We continued through the countryside and had a stiff climb up hangman’s wood where skip was all excited as his new fitbit buzzed and announced he had achieved 10000 steps. Phoebe gave him some instruction on it. Finally we reached THE hill. 100m in half a km. The young people raced up it! Tug Roy and Jackie were waiting with lollies. We had finished. A short journey back to camp, showers and then off on a peg hunt around the camp site.
Thursday 6th April: Day 5 – Rest Day
A rest day. Swimming followed by jacket potatoes for lunch then a trip to Chislehurst caves. Then home in time for ice creams and free time at the site. A chance to rest the muscles before tomorrows walk.
Friday 7th April: Day 6 – Oxted to Otford (19km)
Breakfast was shared with a herd of deer that appeared in the field outside. We then left in bright sunshine and spent all day in it. We walked through bluebell woods, fields of primroses and banks of small violets. Then we reached the noisy M25 and crossed into Kent where we saw our first mile post showing how far we had come and how far we had left. In Otford we saw a duck pond before meeting Jackie and beginning our final climb of the day. Half way up we met Roy sunning himself and at the top at long last we saw Tug and the buses. Today we reached the highest point on our walk (over 260m). Tomorrow will be our longest day.
Saturday 8th April: Day 7 – Otford to Cuxton (21.5km)
The longest day has been completed. Everyone is well and pleased with themselves. Perfect weather for it today. Carys had some lessons in the types of flowers we were passing but seemed unimpressed by my knowledge! We were met at half way by Tug Sharon Jackie Roy Matt and Gemma. Roy joined us for the last half. We passed some black sheep with their black lambs. After a few steep climbs we finished the day walking through more bluebell woods and there was a lovely smell from them. Our longest day has gone very well and we are all impressed by the scouts stamina and energy. I’m not so sure about us leaders though!
Sunday 9th April: Day 8 – Cuxton to Detling (19.5km)
Another lovely day hiking in the sunshine. The first 2.5 km were quite a steady steep climb in the heat. We went through more woods and fields of yellow oil seed rape. We crossed the Medway bridge. The tide was quite low but we could see the boats. It was incredibly noisy with all the traffic. Later we moved away from the noise of the road crossing several times the Eurostar track. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful high point Bluebell Hill. We saw kestrels and a buzzard circling in the thermals. We were joined by Tug, Jackie and Roy. We refilled water bottles whilst we were there. Fortunately there was a breeze blowing up the hill to cool us slightly. The afternoon continued with several smaller hills to climb. We had to climb through/over several trees at one point and we shot past a burial chamber(not sure how many scouts saw it!) We then turned and headed back up the hill. Steps and a steep slope greeted us. It was hard. We stopped at the top for a breather. Then on through more woods of bluebells. Arik spotted another milemarker. Only 48 miles to Dover! Then on for another few kms before a sharp descent down to Detling. We crossed over Jade’s bridge and there were the minibuses. Another hot day completed.
Monday 10th April: Day 9 – Rest Day
A day of onsite activities. A later breakfast followed by climbing and other activities in the sunshine. Then off to swimming with the large inflatable. Time spent chasing each other around the pool. Then home in time for a lunch of pizza. Later on more activities including grass sledging and crate stacking, before a dinner of lasagne followed by jelly and ice cream. Another lovely day.
Tuesday 11th April: Day 10 – Detling to Lenham (17km)
A short easier day we were told… Humm. Maybe not! I lost count of how many sets of steps and steep slopes we had to climb up and down. The views were amazing. The path crossed fields full of cowslips. Then there was the peppery smell of a wild herb that we walked over. Later we walked through woods full of bluebells. Then along slopes of primroses. For our lunch stop we found a lovely field. It was full of cowslips. In the afternoon we walked along some dusty tracks and found the bench with the resting monk on it. A pause for a photo before we walked on. At least now it was flatter. We finished at 16:00. Another hot day but another 16.8km done. Dover is getting closer!
Wednesday 12th April: Day 11 – Lenham to Wye (20.5km)
A fairly flat walk except for the last mile. We walked on wide tracks most of the day. We found the point where the track divides, one section going up to Canterbury, then our route that goes straight on to Dover. We walked through the pretty town of Wye over the
Thursday 13th April: Day 12 – Wye to Etchinghill (21km)
We changed the finish twice as they were doing so well. Most of the day we walked in the quiet of the countryside. We walked through quiet country lanes with lots of flowers up the banks. There were also woods full of bluebells again. We passed two alpacas who gave us odd looks as we all marched onwards. We saw fields of sheep with their lambs. Some scouts began to discuss the merits of mint sauce with lamb chops…We finally caught our first sight of the sea! At lunch we had a good view of the sea but it was a dusty area with a cold breeze. Our major hill today was after lunch. In fact it was after we were due to originally finish. It was a horrid hill. Now there was a view of the sea almost constantly, as we made our way towards Folkestone and passed over the top of the Eurotunnel terminal. It became noisy again as we reached civilisation. We finally met the drivers on the top of the fort. Their hi-vis jackets meant that if they had been looking the scouts would have seen them a few km before we did reach them. A long day today but it makes tomorrow a good short one! We are looking forward to seeing you all at 15:00 tomorrow.
Friday 14th April: Day 13 – Etchinghill to Dover (20km)
So, we finished! A marvelous reception from all the parents and supporters. All the young people have done so well. We are all proud of them all. Their behaviour and commitment has been outstanding. Through good and hard times they have always kept going. A big thank you to them for making this such a brilliant event.
Big thanks also to Skip Intrepid, and his leadership team for all their hard work in the last 18 months to make sure the event took place. Thanks to the three minibus drivers Tug, Roy and Jackie, who drove us from point to point, always there ready for us when we finished. Also being prepared to change pickup points at short notice when the scouts raced through the days journey and onto the next days routes. Also my thanks to the superb catering and hospitality department, run by Lesley and David with the support of Sue and Sharon. Always ensuring we had a hot meal waiting for us, a hearty cooked breakfast and a range of freshly made sandwiches and snacks each day for our lunches. A thank you to Rates for the sweatshirts, the Gateway Academy and the Sporting Academy for the free minibus hire and Hovis for the free bread.
Thank you to everyone.
Updates by Wendy Thomas