On 24-28 October 2025 – Hertfordshire Wing RAF Air Cadets successfully completed their Gold level Duke of Edinburgh expedition in Wye Valley National Park. Whilst Hertfordshire Wing ran this event, participants from London, Middlesex, South Midlands and Wales joined to make up three gold and one silver group.
As this was at the very end of the season, a lot of the participants were from units not known to each other, so online planning meetings between the groups were carried out to start the planning of routes, campsites, menus and equipment requirements. In-person meetings weres not possible as they were spread across 300+ miles of the country.
The overall aim of the expedition was to inspire young people to develop initiative and a spirit of adventure and discovery by planning, training for and completing an adventurous self-sufficient journey as part of a team. When planning the trip, the participants did not shy away from a challenging route. Although there was a clear route alongside the river, they sought greater challenge by tackling hill and moorland areas.
With such a diverse group spanning the country and the distance they were required to travel, as well at least 50% of the participants being from a socially deprived area, the support of the Ulysses Trust, as previously, was the perfect way to ensure all could participate, whatever their background and circumstances.
Preparation days: Everyone travelled down to base camp, which was the first physical meeting for some of the participants. Full kit checks and final planning amendments to the routes for safety reasons were completed.
Day 1: The cadets started their expedition from Chepstow Castle and parallelled the River Wye, taking in the Tintern Quarry and Devil’s Pulpit, before coming into Botany Bay. The groups instantly jelled well, there were the first signs of good teamwork and friendships and the teams enjoyed their first meal cooked by their own hand in the wild. Unfortunately, the weather was not kind to them, with the rain and wind increasing throughout the day.
Day 2: The groups planned an early start as they knew the weather was going to be very gusty with driving rain by mid-afternoon. All were up, fed and ready to go for 7am – not bad for groups who only met the day before. They walked to Llandogo, then through the forests and over the hills to Whitebrook. This was the longest of all the days, distance wise, and, once they had traversed High Meadow, they arrived at Biblins campsite. Camp was struck in rain, the cadets found shelter under a tree canopy to cook and decided to go early to bed to stay out of the bad weather with high winds and rain continuing all night.
Day 3: The participants thankfully woke up to dry weather, albeit very wet underfoot. The group had an anticlockwise route planned, through a deer park across to Ganarew, then south through Goldsmith’s Wood and Hayes Coppice then another route back to Biblins via Kymin. This was a very challenging route due to the amount of height gain and wet moorland they crossed and the teams did exceptionally well. The Silver group were very happy to be finishing this day!
Day 4: The groups woke up to dry weather again. After breakfast and packing down camp, they headed due north, crossing the river at Symonds Yat then onto the last stretch into Ross-on-Wye. THey were debriefed on site by the accredited assessors who were quick to tell them they had all been successful and the smiles on their faces were clear to see. One group were so happy they literally broke out into song. Once they had a chance for some food (not cooked by them!) they were on the buses home, with the trips home was slightly quieter than the journey here.
This expedition would not have happened without the support and generosity of the Ulysses Trust which has led to the completion of 21 gold Duke of Edinburgh’s awards. Thank you so much for the support.
