August 2024 saw 15 cadets and 5 staff travel to Norway for our annual overseas assessed Gold DofE Award expedition. This was the culmination of months of training and a practice expedition in scorching weather in the North Pennines a couple of months before.
The journey was smooth and after taking the train to Oslo and then negotiating the Oslo metro, we collected our hire vehicles, left the bright lights of the city behind and headed through the rain for our base in Rjukan in Telemark. Having shopped on the way, we arrived at the campsite and the cadets set about getting their tents up (quickly in a dry period!) before putting their culinary skills into action with some teams opting for steak whilst others had burger night.
After a well needed rest day 2 saw the rain break long enough for the acclimatisation walk to be in the dry as they tackled the Saboteurs Path up to the edge of the Hardangervidda – the same route the ‘Heroes of Telemark’ took as they escaped after their brave acts of World War 2. Cobwebs shaken off, we descended and then went expedition shopping.
Day 3 was the start of the 4-day assessed trek, and after a hearty breakfast we drove to the start points before setting out onto the Hardangervidda for real. The weather was kind and whilst chilly, it was at least dry! The teams worked hard and by the end of the day after their first 25-28km or so, they arrived at their first campsites. Day 4 saw the teams head south for their long trek southwards back towards Rjukan and by the end of the day, the teams had covered another 30km and had reached their destinations. As part of their wider European walking education, this middle night was their ‘hut night’ with two teams in the dorms at Märbu hytte and one team at Kalhovd hytte. Despite a warm bed, cooking was still done outside. Day 5 dawned dry and chilly as the teams set off and over the next two days they covered around 30km per day before finally arriving back in Rjukan at the and of day 6. Alas the cable car was out of action which added another 4km to their day down the Saboteurs Path once again. It was a short hop to the hostel and after a thorough ‘degunge’, it was out for their well-deserved end of exped meal in town.
Day 7 dawned wet as we headed down to the train ferry dock then back up to the museum at Vemork to piece together the full story of the heavy water raid, the newly excavated heavy water cellars are a moving and very real link to the past and the Heroes. We then climbed back aboard the vehicles to head for Oslo where we arrived late afternoon at the campsite and after a well-deserved visit to the Golden Arches, we rested. Day 8 was the main R&R day so the cadets were free to head out into the city to explore and thankfully the weather played ball with some sunshine! After a great day, it was early to bed before day 9 arrived and the short journey back to the airport and home.
Our cadet Head of RAF Section Lena said:
My DofE Gold expedition in Norway pushed me out of my comfort zone and ultimately taught me that I was capable of much more than I realised.
Fellow SNCO Halle said:
Personally, with the help of the Ulysses Trust, my Gold DofE expedition has increased my resilience and determination incredibly. I have learnt a lot about myself and have set new boundaries to build from if I am ever struggling, I feel as though I have levelled up in life!
The expedition was a great success and it achieved its aims – namely to enable the cadets to undertake their assessed Gold expedition and also to bond them together as a team before they come back in the upper 6th form to take up SNCO positions and lead the contingent. Over 90% of the cadets in the lower 6th form take part in the Gold DofE programme and the grant from the Ulysses Trust helps to keep the expedition affordable and an experience that the vast majority of cadets can undertake. We are, as ever, truly grateful for the grant which makes a real difference to their cadet experience.
