Wagwan Parents!

Our final night drive from Zagreb to Paderborn was 16hours long and a very hard drive for our drivers especially when security at the Austria/Slovenia border gave us a cheeky €150 fine per van because we couldn’t read the languages on the sign to get a piece of paper in the van. There was a discussion within our vans about how we should call in our british armed forces contacts and get Sid to call in his ninja seagulls to sort the mess out, but decided against this as could cause world war 3.

We arrived at Paderborn army base at 12 the next day and found our rooms that had actual beds!! After getting our kits into our rooms, and having showers (that were free, warm, and limitless) we relaxed for a bit before going to the base cafeteria for our tea which was really nice, we all went back to our rooms to chill for a bit before a very comfortable nights sleep. The following day we got a cooked breakfast and cereal from the base cafeteria and then set out to spend the morning wandering around Paderborn town finishing (surprise surprise) with some ice cream. We returned to the base for lunch and a game of football then some of us washed some clothes, and cleaned out the vans, before having another delicious tea at the base cafeteria. After tea we made some camp awards for the leaders and presented them. The next morning we packed up the vans and the leaders presented us with camp awards, everyone said goodbye to Deborah as she was staying in Germany with her parents.

The journey from Paderborn to our final stop in Belgium was relatively short at 4 and a half hours, everybody was in a good mood especially when we drove an extra 30k past the campsite to a much-needed McDonalds. To get to the campsite we had to do a little bit of off-roading, (the land rover would have been helpful).

The campsite in Belgium was very similar to Youlbury in Oxfordshire. When we arrived we put up all the tents and checked for damage to them so we could sort it out when we got home. Then a convenient campsite ice cream van appeared and we all sat down for an ice cream. By this point the rugby ball had gracefully placed it’s self in a tree, so some of us tried many interesting methods to get it down which included a giant slingshot, which was very entertaining for the rest of us to watch as much of the surrounding tree was coming down instead of the ball. After the ball came down we played some frisbee whilst Alison, Sid, and George went to the supermarket to get some stuff for tea which was, as requested one of Alison’s legendary cup a soup risottos. Most of us had an early night as we had to get up at 5 the next day to pack up in record time to leave the campsite by 6, so we wouldn’t be late catching our ferry.

The journey from Belgium to Dunkirk was short and relaxing, as was the ferry ride. We are all very excited to be back driving on the correct side of the road in beautiful rainy England! (and you too!)

YAY!

Note from George: Photos to follow soon..

Hello Mums and Dads,

After a drive across Italy we got to the site in Venice, It was a great camp site!
Had amazing showers as we were all in great need of a fresh shower! There was even somewhere to wash some clothes. Most impressive was the view of Venice we had over the sea from our tents, especially at night.

In the morning we went on a 15 minute ferry ride into Venice…and surprisingly it didn’t smell too bad!
It was a very beautiful city and we did a quiz around it to learn more about its history. We got time in the afternoon to go shopping; it had the most beautiful masks and shops. We even tried haggling for some souvenirs.

The weather was very hot so we took a break to eat some really good ice cream (or several). The place was a bit odd as there were no cars but lots of boats! Even saw a UPS delivery boat. Some of the leaders went on a Gondola ride, and Sid had a pigeon decide to go to the loo on him!

For our last night in Italy we had pizza and BBQ meat back at the camp site. Was a great night before an overnight drive to Croatia.

When we woke up from our long drive, including the most amazing landscape as we came down the Croatian coastal road, we found ourselves at the next camp site. Finding the sea only 30 meters from our camp, a 5 meter diving board was a great plus!

The campsite was just outside Split, the heat was intense and we chilled out after setting up the tents. The beach and sea were a focal point for activity and fun, which even included a night swim!

The second day at Split was spent in the city itself. We went around the markets and managed to haggle again for “real” Ray Bands. The market was in a roman Palace and there were a lot of stalls. Afterwards, some of us went on a Segway tour of the surrounding hill, while the rest of the group walked up the hill and admired the view of the city and sea from the shade of a café…which also did good ice cream.

The next day we went on a boat tour which began with a short boat ride and a tour of the city of Trogir. Then we got back in the boat and spent the rest of the day on a small island in a blue lagoon, with plenty of swimming.

After the shortest drive yet, we found ourselves in the beautiful vineyard in Zagreb countryside, owned by fellow scout master Filip. With grapes hanging centimetres above our heads we sat in the veranda where we were greeted by Fillip, and his girlfriend, Ivanka. They treated us to pancakes upon arrival! We then wasted away the evening by chatting, playing musical instruments and eating traditional Croatian food. As it was coming up to midnight, we set up our roll mats on the balcony overlooking the vineyard and spent the night under the cloudless Croatian sky.

Of course this peace couldn’t last for too long, at 8am we were brutally awoken by the sound of a lawn mower and Filip screaming “WAKEY WAKEY!” at the top of his voice.

We packed the van and were on the way into Zagreb where we were given a tour by friends Marko and Eliza. We all enjoyed it and we learnt some very interesting things, besides the heat. Due to the heat we decided we needed yet more ice cream…

We went onto a restaurant for dinner, we are now headed for Germany! WHOOP!

See you Soon!
LOVIN’ LYF.

Hello (wagwan) parents!

After 28 hours of travel, lots of drinking water, stops and singing (but not much sleep) plus getting stuck in a Switzerland traffic jam (worst places to get stuck than the Swiss mountains). We have arrived at our first camp site!

The site had a great view of a lake at the edge of the alps. The lake had pedalo’s, first day was a ‘rest day’ so we used the pedalo’s all day, swam in the lake and jumped from the pier.

Food has been great, with thanks to Alison, with loads of respect to cuppa soup risotto!! We even had BBQ steak and chips.

The pitch opposite us had nice Ducth people in it who we quickly made friends with! We played football with them, turns out the are better at football (‘soccer’) and English than us!

The camp manager Roberto was really nice, gave us free shower tokens and made great Italian pizza. With traditional wood stove and dough flipping.

We invested Roberto into our group as a thank you.

The second day was at a water park, was rather…wet. Had good rides, was a really good day.

Just done a trip to Milan but at the metro station ended up with tickets that wouldn’t allow us to leave the station.

Soon as we stepped into Duomo square (piazza) got given free colourful wrist bands.

The ice cream, Geletaria, changed our lives! Was so amazing and revisited many times.

Met boy scouts of America outside McDonalds (opposite prada). We swapped our trip neckers for American badges. Were very well dressed, from Ohio and typical Americans.

We are now leaving for Venice!

Miss you all, love you! ;D

Safe

After leaving the Church Hall at 1430 on Saturday, we finally arrived at Camping La Tartufaia, near Bergamo at about 1800 on Sunday. We got our site set up and settled in for 4 nights.

Today we have had a late start and are now relaxing and recovering in the lake!

Here’s a few photos…

4 free meals, thank you McDolalds at Maidstone Services!!

18 leaders and explorers from Harwell ESU are about to embark on an expedition across Europe. Their journey sees them visiting Italy, Croatia, Germany and Belgium over 2 week.

Updates from the group will be appearing on here as and when we can!

EVENT CANCELLED DUE TO LOW TICKET SALES

On Friday 15th July, 1st Harwell Explorer Scout Unit is hosting a Family Barn Dance at Bishops Manor Farm, Townsend, Harwell from 7 till 11pm. We are raising funds to put towards new equipment for the Unit and to help with this summer’s expedition to Italy and Croatia.

Please join us for live music, barn dancing, BBQ and pig roast, fete activities and a bar.

Tickets cost £10, with a discounted family ticket costing £30 (for two adults and two children).

Tickets are available from Harwell School, Bob’s Butcher and Elliott Gaspar (07729 615847)

Harwell ESU were hard at work making Mother’s Day cards for their mums.

Well done to the four Scouts pictured here with Competition Judges on bringing the Trophy to Harwell.

After a freezing night here in The New Forest the cubs are up and full of energy for a long hike.

Further updates to follow…