Adult volunteers from across Northumberland Scouts came together at the weekend to enjoy a two-day walking skills weekend in the Lake District.
The training weekend, organised by qualified instructors from Whitey Bay & District Scout’s Adventurous Activities Team aimed to help support more adult volunteers to gain the skills and confidence to enable them to get their groups out on the hill more.
Based at the Langton Activity Centre, near Brothers Water in the Lake District, the weekend brought together 10 volunteers from across Northumberland Scouts, along with two volunteer instructors from Whitley Bay and District Scouts.
One of the participants, Stephen Frost from Tynemouth Sea Scouts, described the weekend:
“Organised by the Adventurous Activities Team from Whitley Bay & District, this weekend saw several leaders from various Northumberland Scouts groups come together to learn about some of the skills and abilities required to take young people out walking as safely as possible.
“On Saturday we were given an introduction to navigation, from route planning to taking turns leading groups 837m up Fairfield. During the day we also learned motivational techniques, group management skills and practical approaches to dealing with common situations as well as a bit of night navigation come sunset.
“Sunday saw a theory and practice session in relation to water hazards, followed by another opportunity to practice navigation skills, this time 739m up The Knot.
“All of this gave us a sound appreciation of what would be required to gain our hillwalking permits to be able to take young people from our own groups on such adventures. It also provided an ideal opportunity for us to get to know other leaders a bit better and to share experiences and best practice.”
A big thank you to all the volunteers who took part in the weekend and to the Whitley Bay & District Adventurous Activities Team, especially instructors Elliot and Dave for organising such a great weekend!
