1st Ealing North Scouts began their ten days away this week, as the Scout section left London before the roads got busy and headed west for Perthyre Farm near Monmouth. This year's theme is Legends, and the Scouts wasted little time living up to it: full kit, full patrols, and a stop at Leigh Delamere services before the Welsh border came into view.
Photo 1 — the whole troop, backpacks on and mascot dog in tow, before setting off
The convoy, cars, a minibus, and a hired seven-tonne lorry loaded with equipment, rolled onto the campsite around midday. What followed was the least glamorous and most essential part of any camp: unloading, pitching, and turning an empty field into a home for the next ten days.
Photo 2 — the campsite taking shape as evening drew in
Water came from a tap by the church down the road, and by early evening a small mountain of jerry cans had been filled and ferried back to camp, quiet proof that Scouts can make light work of a genuinely heavy job.
Photo 3 — jerry cans lined up at the water point
As the light faded, the whole camp gathered at long trestle tables for chilli con carne, followed by apple pie and custard: lantern light, camp mugs, and the particular tiredness that comes from a day spent building rather than sitting still.
After plates were cleared, leader Terry Jagers gave the whole camp a fire safety briefing, a timely session given the heatwave and wildfire risk across the UK this summer. Cooking fires, open flames and what to do if anything got out of hand all got a proper going-over. Fire safety is being taken seriously at Perthyre Farm this year.
Photo 4 — Terry giving the camp its fire safety briefing after dinner
By the time the tents went dark, Perthyre Farm looked, for the first time, like a Scout camp rather than an empty field.
Photo 5 — heading back to tents
Friday brings the less romantic business of finishing the pitch, QM training, and the first proper session on knives, axes and saws, before the week's first campfire. Ten days of Legends Camp lie ahead.