Caythorpe Cubs and Scouts at PGL Caythorpe Court

On Sunday 9 October, 21 Cubs and Scouts, accompanied by leaders, were treated to a day at PGL Caythorpe Court. The weather took a kind break from the previous day’s torrential rain to allow us to experience a lovely day undertaking adventurous activities under the expert instruction of the PGL activities staff.

After a relatively early start for a Sunday, splitting into two patrols for the day, each patrol went their separate ways across the vast activities area. First up was archery. After some top-notch instruction, the young people were able to develop their skills and hone their accuracy before taking part in team points games. Then, it was off to the outside climbing wall. Here, the team were harnessed up onto an advanced auto-belay system that would provide complete safety whilst they challenged themselves with scaling the wall. From those who were scared of heights, through to those that seemed oblivious, the Cubs and Scouts were all suitably challenged, with many reaching the top and opting to undertake the more challenging routes to the summit.

After a packed lunch with the leaders and some of the instructors, we moved onto abseiling. After safety checks of their harnesses and connecting up to the double rope belay system, the young people were required to step under the safety railing, onto the ledge. After sitting back into their harness and building trust in their equipment, the Cubs and Scouts bravely lent back and began to lower themselves. It was very rewarding to see their confidence build to the point they were happy to kick themselves out, with some whooping in delight and others totally focussed and silenced whilst consumed with overcoming their demons and completing the task for the first time. The day finished up with the serious activity of air rifle shooting. After a range safety briefings and some dedicated instruction on how handle and get best accuracy from the air rifles, the young people undertook target shooting, developing their marksmanship principles. The day finished up with our newest Scout members being invested into the Scout Troop and Group.

This wonderful experience would not have been possible had it not been for two of our Scout Leaders (whose day job is as activity instructors at PGL), and the generosity of PGL. We are very lucky to have this fantastic resource within our community and we look forward to undertaking further activities with them next year.