Scouts successfully complete their Hope Valley Expedition

Over the weekend of 2nd/3rd March, eight of us from the Monday and Friday Totley Scout groups carried out an expedition to contribute towards our Scouts Expedition Challenge Awards. To complete this challenge, we had to plan and carry out a weekend expedition in the Hope Valley.

We divided into two groups of 4 for the challenge, each of which had to plan a different route. In our group, we had many planning meetings discussing our route, the public transport we would take and any food and kit we would need. We agreed team roles such as who would buy the food for the evening meal, arrange the train tickets, and take the lead in planning the route. Our Scout leaders checked our plans and made sure we hadn’t forgotten anything and ensured we assessed all the route’s risks.

Our original plan was to get the train to Edale on Saturday morning, walk up Mam Tor and Lose Hill and back down to Castleton youth hostel by late afternoon. Then on Sunday we would get the train back from Hope, stopping off at Grindleford café for chips. However, due to the bad weather conditions on the Saturday, we could not carry out our original plan. So instead we got the train to Hope station on Saturday afternoon, walked to the YHA and enjoyed a fun relaxing evening in the youth hostel.  We played some games in the grounds and in the lounge, and cooked ourselves a gourmet meal (of pasta, a jar of sauce and pre-grated cheese…).

On the Sunday, we took the long walk from our youth hostel up Lose Hill and across the great ridge and up Mam Tor, before heading down to Edale station to get the train back. The weather had improved by the Sunday and we had some good views, but it was very muddy and there was still snow at the top! Luckily we had enough time at Edale before the train to call in at the Penny Pot Café for a drink and cake.

Over the weekend I enjoyed spending more time with my friends. And my favourite part of the expedition was the view on top of Lose Hill because we were above the clouds which made a spectacular sight.

I would like to say a VERY big thank you to Adam, Jon and Mark for helping us to plan (and re-plan) the expedition and making sure we were safe and had a great weekend.

Many thanks to Kathryn for writing this report.