Twenty DofE participants from throughout Norfolk & Suffolk Wg of the RAF Air Cadets and a team of six staff joined forces to run the largest (since I have been in post) Wing DofE gold expedition to the Brecon Beacons in July 2025. The expedition consisted of three teams, two undertaking their qualifying (assessed) expedition, and a third team consisting of a practice group.
Thanks to the support of the Ulysses Trust, costs for this event were able to be kept down, which assisted all the participants in making the activity affordable and was very much appreciated by all involved.
On Sunday 6 July 2025, all personnel were transported from Norfolk & Suffolk and, after a long drive, congregated at the first night’s accommodation which was the Brecon bunkhouse near Talgarth. This enabled a comfortable night’s sleep in hard accommodation and all the pre-expedition checks and briefings were carried out with relative ease.
The following day, Monday 7 July 2025, was the first day proper of the expedition and all groups left and walked out from the Bunkhouse and directly onto their routes, with their destination being the campsite near Llangorse Lake. All groups safely made it in after walking between 18-20km.
Day 2 of the expedition saw the groups follow various routes from the campsite to Pencelli, where they all spent their second night. This was also the staff base for the expedition.
Day 3 of the expedition saw the groups walk from Pencelli to a campsite (Bishops View) just north of Brecon. The weather had been kind to the groups at this stage, but now it started to heat up and get very warm, so the staff were busy ensuring there were no heat illness related issues.
The final day of the expedition saw the groups go off in different directions, with the first qualifying group going south, into the Brecons range and towards Fan Y Big, and the other two groups heading west. Due to the heat, the groups had all departed the overnight campsite by 0615hrs that morning, with the benefit of this meaning an early finish avoiding the worst of the daytime heat. So all groups were finished and had been transported back to the base camp (Pencelli) by early afternoon to enjoy a well-earned shower and an evening meal out to celebrate a successful Gold DofE expedition!
This was our first expedition to this area, which was enjoyed by all, with a noticeable observation being that the higher-level paths were better maintained and easier to follow than the lower-level paths, which were often overgrown and not passable in places!
Overall, a very successful expedition, with four of the participants completing the final section of their Gold award (subject to their expedition presentation) so hopefully off to the Palace soon, with the rest either finishing their expedition section or completing their practice expedition and hence ready for their qualifying next year!
Some quotes from the participants following completion of the expedition were as follows;
Cpl J W 1895 (Cromer) Sqn – it broadened my horizons to the natural world around me and provided me with new inspirations and lifelong friends.
FSgt H R-W 759 (Beccles) Sqn – teamwork & organisation is a huge part of being successful in the DofE award and it is exactly what helped me to improve during and complete this 4-day expedition.
FSgt J T 2110 (North Walsham) Sqn – DofE encourages exploration, and this expedition has enabled me to witness amazing views and make some close friends which I would not have done without doing this.
Cpl H S 301 (Bury St Edmunds) Sqn – the adventure of a lifetime!!
Sgt W F 356 (Felixstowe) Sqn – An excellent way to make lifelong friends who have all been through the same struggle and completed it
