Both Walpole and Pitshanger Scouts had different evenings this week. On Wednesday, Walpole patrol were set the challenge of building miniature rafts from wooden dowels and rope, then putting them to the float test in a pool of water. Pitshanger's Friday session worked through three camp-craft bases, covering patrol gadgets, chopping-area safety, and the correct setup of a wet pit.
After a warm-up game of dodgeball, Walpole's patrols settled down to the main challenge. Each patrol was handed the same starting materials — dowels, rope, a handful of floats — and a straightforward brief: build a raft. The methods varied considerably. Some patrols lashed tight square frames with careful knots at every joint. Others invested time in sails.
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| Patrols at work across the hall |
Scouts focused on the build at their table
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| Two Scouts with their completed rafts |
Then came the float test. Patrols headed outside, and each raft met a pool of water. Most floated. The second challenge — loading weights on top to judge carrying capacity — focused minds considerably.
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| A patrol showing off their completed raft |
Float Test
Pitshanger rotated through three bases: studying pictures of camp gadgets and imagining new ones of their own; planning patrol borders and working through the safety rules around a chopping area; and learning to set up a wet pit. The kind of session that answers questions scouts did not know they had.