12 Explorers and Network members from four districts in the county completed a successful expedition in the Brecon Beacons, working towards their King’s Scout Award or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
The five-day, four-night expedition saw three colour-coordinated teams brave the wind and rain on some of the Brecons most stunning terrain – including Pen y Fan, at 886 metres above sea level, the highest peak in South Wales.
The teams had already carried out a practice expedition in preparation for their assessed adventure, so were more than ready for the challenge.
Gwen, an Explorer from Kennet said: “The expedition has been great, and I’m very proud of us all for getting through it. My favourite day was the Monday where we climbed Pen Y Fan, it was challenging but possible because of our great team.”
Putting on a KSA and Gold DofE expedition for participants across the county is only made possible by a dedicated team behind the scenes making sure the young people are conducting expeditions in accordance with expectations and in a safe, controlled manner.
Vince Knight, one of the assessors of this latest expedition, explains why a county-led expedition offers such benefits.
“Support for the young people starts as soon as they book a place,” he says, “from joining instructions, updates and polite nudges on timescale, reminders relating to kit needed, route plans, menu checking, while also supporting medical and any additional needs too.
Regular communications is not just about keeping the participants on track with their routes, it’s also a key tool to share hints and tips, and to build camaraderie within each team.
“Training days are provided along with a practice weekend based in terrain similar to the qualifying,” Vince adds. “Practical support is given with tent pitching, cooking on trangias, navigation, and team bonding. Each team is encouraged to meet up regularly to develop a good friendly relationship to iron out the wrinkles so they can know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”
All routes are checked to ensure they are safe while walking remotely with detailed risk assessments and up-to-date training and qualifications for the supervising adults.
Vince adds: “Safety is paramount and each team is remotely supervised with the aid of the electronic tracker it carries to enable the supervisors and assessors to know the team’s location when it is not in their sight. Further, as each supervising team also carries a tracker, the event HQ can also see where everyone is in the event of an emergency. In addition, while the participants are not allowed to use mobile phones or other electronic devices for navigation and phone calls, each team carries a phone for emergency use.”
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“Having been part of the County team that delivers this award for the young people, I can’t praise the organisation, pre-event, during-event, and after-event support enough. I can’t wait to do the next one in 2026.”