This year saw the hottest unit camp since records began, with significant fires having taken place across Dorset including the area where we were due to camp. Despite these challenges the highlight of the year still took place- 42 cadets got a chance to go away and have an experience they will never forget.
Thursday saw the cadets join at the unit and we all worked hard to get all the required equipment together and loaded onto the transport. We then drove to the campsite to make camp; the cadet first arranged their own accommodation areas before helping the adult volunteers set up the catering tent. They then got the opportunity to take part in some campsite games before settling down for the evening.
Friday saw the first day of activities, starting with giant paddle boarding, first becoming accustomed to the sea, they then took part in games, races and even used the boards as a slide! Lunch was provided as a picnic served by the CO and unit training officer in Swanage. We then took them up to Dancing Ledge to commence coasteering; this year it was low tide so the jumps were higher than before.
Saturday was due to be a round robin of 4 activities, one of which was the ever-popular raft building. However, the week before, the local area had been covered by wildfires with the fire service consuming all of the reservoir water meaning we couldn’t run it. Some rapid planning from the adults meant a round robin of 8 new activities was produced including: mountain biking, bush craft, kayaking, a town tour, camp escape room, showers, archery and recreational games
Mountain biking returned after a number of years of not running; it was loved by all the cadets who here able to push their own limits on a varied route. They all came back with massive smiles on their face. The town tour become a massive hit, cadets were sent off with a small amount of money to complete a number of challenges in Swanage, these were later scored. The winning team then had the opportunity to keep the change from all the other teams or spend it at the tuck shop for the rest of the unit. They commendably chose to get the unit tuck!
The camp escape room was a new activity for this year, challenging the cadets’ brains to collate clues and demonstrate leadership to collate them together. We saw some very quick times, credit to their teamwork and intelligence. To finish it all off, they were able to get a shower in!
To finish the course on the Sunday we took a walk from the camp, with many of the paths now subtly changed due to the recent fires. This challenged the cadets even further than normal, but all managed to complete the routes getting back to the campsite. We then got the campsite packed down ready for the cadets (and adults) to have a rest!
“I think unit camp was an amazing experience, I enjoyed giant paddle boating and forming closer bonds with cadets and staff” Cdt 1st E
“My favourite part of unit camp was the town hunt and kayaking, whilst my friends where not in my group I managed to make friends with new people” PO Cadet G
“I loved how unit camp was 4 days instead of 3; the films were great and there were many different activities” OC O
Once again this was a very successful camp which enabled the cadets to enhance their teamwork, develop friendships further and build on their leadership skills. I would say this has been the best camp for completing these important skill sets for some years with all the cadets able to enjoy the weekend.
