Walking in Winnie-the-Pooh's footsteps
Sunshine and clear skies greeted us over the Ashdown Forest for this year’s Silver Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition. The forests and fields of Sussex become home for our three-day adventure.
It started at Crowborough Station: one hundred of us and our rucksacks unloading from the train, meeting our instructors and receiving the usual briefing. Then we donned our bags and headed off, some going West to Heaven Farm campsite, others, including my group, north to St Ives – only we had several miles of the town to walk through before escaping into some real countryside.
After this initial hurdle, we enjoyed the beauty of the Sussex Weald: ancient woodlands for which the area is known, rolling hills and heath, colourful with gorse and heather. We even traversed the Five Hundred Acre Wood, A. A. Milne’s inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood where Winnie-the-Pooh lives (he was not spotted unfortunately, but I did see a badger).
St. Ives campsite was abuzz in the evening as everyone cooked their dinner (typically a boil-in-a-bag or pot noodle, though I shared some homemade lamb stew with my teammates). We clustered around the fires and kicked the football about until dark, when we retired to our tents. The next day, it was nice to see the sun rising over the fields beside us, and on such a crisp morning, breakfast and a cup of hot tea were a source of much-needed refreshment.
The next days were similarly enjoyable, with more natural landscapes to appreciate and some pleasant Sussex villages, such as Horsted Keynes, with a lively community spirit as the Easter holidays began. At Heaven Farm, the second campsite, many were relieved to discover that there were showers available, a pleasure we rarely enjoy on DofE.
The expedition did have to come to an end though, and after three days of hard work and trekking, we returned to Croydon’s concrete terrain. I very much enjoyed the chance to spend this time in the outdoors and I’m sure we’ll all be looking forward to the qualifier in June.
Article written by Jamie, Year 11
