Last month, in the grips of Storm Brian, Shiplake's Head of Outdoor Education Mr Steve Macpherson led the Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition to the Chiltern Hills, which runs through Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. Here is Mr Macpherson's account of the expedition:
During the first weekend of half term, while most of the students and staff enjoyed a well-deserved rest, eleven students and three members of staff travelled to the Chiltern Hills to carry out a practice Silver Duke of Edinburgh Expedition.
The first day was a training day, which allowed the groups to fine-tune their navigational skills and staff to get a close look at how the group worked as a team. As per DofE guidelines, they would then be supervised remotely over the following three days. The training day was very constructive, and as this was not part of the main expedition a visit to a local coffee shop for cake was deemed an acceptable part of the training.
The wind picked up throughout the day and we kept a close eye on it to ensure that it was not going to become a problem. That evening tents were double and triple checked to ensure no one blew away and after an evening meal everyone settled in for the night. Everyone survived the night and with stronger winds forecast for later in the day the DofE practice expedition began.
During the following three days, the groups followed similar routes to different campsites, which made it easier to check point and monitor them throughout the day. The wind, as promised, increased throughout the first day and to enhance the DofE experience it also started to rain as the groups arrived at their campsite. The rain did not last long and the groups soon had their tents up and an evening meal on the go. The following morning the wind had finally passed and with no more forecast for the rest of the expedition we could all relax a little: WE HAD SURVIVED STORM BRIAN.
The groups performed very well in challenging conditions and remained positive throughout the expedition. They will continue to fine-tune their skills over the winter months however if they perform as they did in the Chilterns they will have no problems during their qualifying expedition in the Brecon Beacons in the spring.