Cockney Venturer Novice 9 2018

Forty three cadets aged between 13 and 17 years from South East London Army Cadet Force spend the half term break 26 May to 2 June 2018 in Snowdonia North Wales as part of an adventurous training package aimed at pushing young people out of their inner-city comfort zone to try new experiences.

As part of the action-packed week, the cadets took part in a series of different adrenalin-filled actives which included: mountain walking, kayaking in magical lakes, coasteering, mine exploration, rock climbing and a new bush craft adventure. This enabled the cadets to learn about building camp fires, making improvised shelters, using tools, cooking fish and other foods from scratch and learning what vegetation in the wild is safe to eat (so watch out Bear Grylls, the next generation is on its way!)

The young people came from the South London Boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth, Greenwich, Lewisham, Bexley and Bromley. The camp was an opportunity for cadets to learn outdoor skills and stretch comfort zones in a safe environment. It also strengthened their teamwork, confidence and communication skills as well as many other inter-personal skills.

Cadet Maya Southward, 14, from 101 Cadet Detachment, Penge said;

“It’s been a fantastic week, where we have all been challenged far beyond what we normally would do in our everyday life. Out of all the memories that I have made over the week one that will stay with me must be abseiling and climbing in the mines, something I never thought I could imagine doing, it was extraordinary.”

Other notable quotes from cadets were:

“I thought the mountain would be impossible to climb, but I gained the confidence to do it!”

“Wales is so pretty, it was great seeing proper mountains”

“The camp was the best thing I have ever done in cadets!”

One of our adult staff also reported that her cadets were raving about the camp afterwards to adults and cadets.

The weather was generally very kind to the cadets apart from midges in the evening which were quite a nuisance!

The cadets and adults are immensely grateful to the Ulysses Trust for their very generous funding provided to this project especially at short notice and with such positive support. It made our project a real success and was really appreciated!

Following the success of this camp, we aim to continue providing adventurous training in Snowdonia as part of our wider offer to our cadets and are always looking for ways to get the best value for cadets from future events.