Posts by: Scouts Blog

Park Farm Visit

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On the 9th and 16th of May, scouts went in two groups- Kestrel, Falcon and Tiger the 1st week (my group) , Wolf, Eagle and Cobra the 2nd week- to Park Farm, a dairy farm in Madingley. We started by meeting our tour guide Paul Kelly. He told us about how they are owned by the university so they can lose land for buildings, villages, schools etc.

We then saw the 271 sheep that they had. They each have a number sprayed on their wool and on a yellow tag clipped on their ear. This is to show who their mother is and so that they can tell them apart. We found out that if a mother is going to have over two babies, they would inject one of the babies into another cow, who was only having one, so that they would have enough milk to feed them. We also found out that a sheep is pregnant for about 152 days.

Then we went to see their younger cows. Unlike the sheep, all of the cows numbers are different. Later, we also found out that they all have names too but they refer to them as their number. After that, we went to see some baby cows, some of which had only been born in the last 24 hours. They were so cute! Then we got to go inside one of the cow enclosures. We had seen inside it already but this time we got to be right in there with them. It was awesome but we must have scared them as there were lots of us and only eight of them. A few of us were lucky enough to stroke one or even get licked by one!

Then we went to see some more cows and then made our way back to where we started. There, we got to sit in the tractors (though not drive them) and play on the haybales. We managed to get nearly all the scouts on top of the tallest one.

Next, we went to see the pregnant cows in their barn. Before we went inside, Paul told us a very interesting fact: they turn cow poo into energy for light bulbs! When we got in, we noticed that there was a machine going up and down the outside of the barriers that separated the cows from us. We asked Paul what they were and he told us that they pushed the food along the outside in case one bit had less than others, it spread it out evenly. We also noticed that some cows had green nose rings with spikes on them. Paul told us that a cow was given one of these if they had been trying to suckle of another cow. It would spike the other cow if it tries to do so again and the other cow would kick it. Then we went to see the milking machines. We saw them clean the cows udders and we saw the milking process happen. One cow tried to kick the machine off!

Then we had a choice: we could either go back and play on the haybales or go into the enclosure with the cows again. 7 of us, which included me, decided to go to the enclosure, while all the others went back to the haybales. In the enclosure, the cows didn’t like us much so Paul ended up grabbing a cow and letting us stroke it. Alex managed to get one to come to him on his own and it licked him. The cow Paul had also licked me.

Overall, it was a great visit, we learnt a lot and the other group had a great time too.

Written by: Eunice

Up close with the young calves

The food spreading robot

Three Peaks Hike 2023

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We started in the Babraham park-and-ride car park, and walked in a huge circle out to Wandlebury, where we walked through the forest, with a short stop to decide if we needed to go through a field, but a quick map-check showed that we were already at the first peak.

 

We looped back to the car-park by a different and longer route, then started on our journey towards Castle Hill, the second peak.

After walking through some new residential areas we stopped for lunch in a field near Byron’s Pool, and a few of our number went to a nearby stop to get extra food. We hiked along the river and then though the orchard at Grantchester, it was quite sunny and hot and we were really pleased when Andrew got us some ice creams and we had a short break. We continued onto Castle Hill, taking turns to carry the flag, which got caught on some long-hanging branches a few times.

After climbing Castle Hill we headed for Coton country park where the last hill was. By the time we got there, everyone was pretty tired, but really happy to get there and we took lots of pictures. It was a great day and I think everyone was pleased to have completed the hike.

Written by: Felix

Master Chef

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For this years Master Chef the prompt was, something on a stick. The first week of Master Chef we decided what we were going to make and what ingredients we would need. We needed to have a sweet and savoury selection. Wolf patrol decided to have a vegetarian option too. Some groups made signs and labels for their tables. Then they decided who in their group would buy the ingredients and then made a list for them to take to the shops. Wolf patrol choose Archie to do the shopping and other groups either chose the P.L. , A.P.L. or another member of their patrol

Week two the baking and making

After everybody had arrived, we got a table out for each group and organised our ingredients. Then people got to work, cutting and preparing food. Some groups cooked their food, other groups offered cold food, but every group had something on a stick! Towards the end of our preparation time, groups began to rush about in panic, washing up and finishing preparing the food as parents started to flood in to try and judge the Scouts delectable delights, on sticks.

Written by: Monty, Wolf patrol P.L.

Cambridge 105 radio station tour

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Last week (7th of March), the Media and Marketing group had a tour of the Cambridge 105 radio station. We started off by splitting into two groups and the first group was shown one of the two recording studios at the radio station. In the recording studio, they were shown how to add music and jingles to a radio show. They were also given a demonstration of how the songs have a countdown, telling the presenter how long they have to introduce the song until the introduction ends. When they were there, they also got to see some people recording a show for the next day. While they were doing this, the second group were being shown the main computer system and how it worked, as well as where the antennae is (on top of the catholic church- it’s extremely tall!). They even said that when the weather conditions were really good, the received a post card from someone in Sweden who had heard their show! Afterwards, the groups switched round and at the end some of us making podcasts had an interview with the radio station guides. Overall, it was an interesting and fun tour, especially all the funny stories about things going wrong!

Written by: Niamh

Learning about the studio equipment
Interviewing Julian for our podcast

Forward Hike 2023

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We were all prepared to set off as we had our bags and map checked.Our first few steps were great as it started to rain very quickly but soon stopped as we made our way to the bases and after a few tumbles and turns it started hailing and we did decently well at the bases apart from the one where we had to but up a tent.When we were blindfolded and lets just say it did not go to plan.As we approached the HQ I myself took a tumble but we moved on and at one base we got some sticks and found a golf ball so that we could play golf while we were waiting for another patrol to finish there activity.We then got back and were very muddy but we completed it without running out of time.

Winter Camp 2023

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Hi everyone, here is my blog from our winter camp!

Transportation – the weekend begins!

To get to the Camp we were dropped off at Cambridge train station on Friday evening by our parents and caught a train to Letchworth Garden City. From there we hiked with our camping gear to Wymondley Woods camp site. This took us along roads, tracks and through fields and got us all ready for a weekend of fun!

Activities – lots to do over the weekend!

The leaders planned loads of activities for us and everyone was able to choose their favourite three! These included whitling, film making, pyrography and paracording. The Patrol Leaders (PL) also planned activities that everyone took turns doing. I enjoyed teaching people to play the card game ‘Spoons’!

Entertainment – we all enjoyed it!

There was a lot of fun entertainment that everyone joined in with. The best was certainly saved until last, as at the end of the night we all did dancing and then karaoke after dinner to finish it off!! it was great. At the end of the weekend camp we played wide games as a group which was brilliant fun.

Accommodation – warmth ! no tents for us…

This camp was an inside camp which we were all grateful for! The hall had 8 bunk rooms with one of these for the girls. There were around 3 to 6 bunk beds in each of the rooms.

Food – lots to eat!


The food at the camp was good. We had cereal and bacon rolls for breakfast and sandwiches with ham, cheese, or tuna for lunch. Then for dinner we had a vegetable curry which was fantastic. On Sunday morning we had a full English breakfast with hash browns, beans or hoopla’s, sausages and vegie sausages for people who don’t eat meat.


We all had a great time and loved the winter camp! Thank you everyone for making it a fantastic experience.

Written by: Thomas

Night Hike 2022

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Eagle patrol with their tower

We arrived at Abington at 3.00pm and discussed and arranged our sleeping arrangements and set up the tents. We then got ready and prepared to leave the campsite on the hike, it was freezing cold so we all made sure we had on plenty of warm layers! We packed our bags with what we needed to take with us, an OS map, a compass, a map with paths on it, a first aid kit and torches. We left behind what we didnt need like our sleeping bags.

At the start we were given 7 six figure grid references to find our way from the campsite, round the hike and then back to the campsite with activities along the way, we also stopped for a packed tea. The activities included: sweet tasting, tallest flag/tower making, lego model building, cup of tea making for the leaders and a cpr life saving drill. They were really fun.

It was tough and tiring but overall a good experience and it took us about 5.5 hours to complete. Myself and Eagle patrol were the first to arrive back, we were treated to hot chocolate to warm us up then ate hot dogs, we grooved and sang and generally had a good laugh. We then went to sleep in our tents and it rained all night!

When we woke up in the morning we ate pancakes for breakfast, then got started packing our belongings and taking down and putting away the tents, all looking forward to getting picked up and heading home at 9.30am. Thank you to the leaders who organised the event.

Its fair to say that the 27th Scouts Night Hike 2022 was a fun success!

Written by Max

 

 

Expedition Camp

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Firstly, we planned what we were going to do with our patrol at two meetings on Tuesday 26th April, and Tuesday 3rd March . We had to plan our food, timetable and activities. Scouts from each patrol went and bought their own food, which the leaders were transporting to the campsite. We were setting off at 9-9:30 on Saturday, and arriving back at 4:00 on Sunday afternoon.

One of the patrols from the 13th was joining us, and they set off at 9:00 with Falcon and Eagle. Wolf, Cobra and Kestrel (my patrol) set off at 9:30. We walked to the station and arrived at around 10:30. We took the first train available to us, and got off at Stevenage. After waiting for about 20 minutes, we got the train heading to Moorgate. We only needed to go 3 or 4 stops down the line, and we got off at Bayford. The walk to Danemead campsite usually took about an hour, but we took a wrong turn so it ended up being more like an hour and twenty minutes.

When we got to the campsite, we found a spot where there weren’t too many trees, and set up our tents. We had three two-man tents, and one hammock. After got our stuff into the tents, we started making our camp gadgets. Unfortunately, we were the last to arrive so there weren’t lots of pioneering poles left. We made a flagpole and put it in a hollowed out tree stump we had found. Josh volunteered to have his necker tied onto the top of the flagpole, so we did that. We then started making fajitas for dinner. They actually tasted very good.

After dinner, we did the washing up, and laid the plates on some pioneering sticks. At 9 o’clock, we had a campfire with the rest of the troop, and had marshmellows that we had toasted on the fire. We also sang campfire songs, then went to bed.

We woke up on the Sunday and made breakfast, which was bacon, sausages, eggs and baked beans. We then washed up again, after making our sandwiches for lunch. We went and met up with the rest of the troop again, and some scouts got invested. We then went and packed our bags up and our tents. At around 11:45 on Sunday, we left the campsite. We took the right route this time, and it was a lot quicker this time, although we had to make quite a few stops as members of the patrol were getting tired. We arrived at Bayford station, and got the same train as Falcon and Eagle. When we got to Stevenage, we switched trains again. When we got to Cambridge, we let the other patrols go ahead of us, and we went to the toilets. When we finally got back to Colville, Andrew (our leader) gave us all ice creams as it was a hot day.

Written by: Alex

Cambridge Three Peaks Challenge

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Cambridge Three Peaks Challenge was a Cambridge District event. It was a sponsored walk to raise money for scouting.

This challenge was 15 miles (though it may have been 16), and started around 10:15, for the 27th scouting group. Starting at Babraham Park and Ride the 27th group included about 16 27th scouts, 2 other scouts and a cub! It was sunny and warm, we needed suncream. Preparing to go, we held the 27th’s flag and set off heading for the first peak. After a while, we entered Wandlebury and split up, with a faster group in front. At the trig point, we took a photo and worked out where to go next.

On the way to Wandlebury
Wandlebury trig point

Starting again, we went back to Babraham Park and Ride, passing another scout group eating lunch. We carried on towards Castle Hill, the next peak. Walking to the bus way, we stopped at a playground to have a quick lunch (around 10 minutes), and then carried on to the bus way and later Trumpington. At Trumpington, some people had a quick toilet break and then caught up again. Eventually, we arrived in Grantchester and the leaders talked about ice cream! Andrew(our leader) then went to buy ice cream in Newnham. When we met up, we had ice cream but were told to “Eat as we walked”.When we finally arrived at Castle Hill, we ate, renewed our promises and met up with lots of scouts, cubs and beavers (though some people had left, as we were the last to start, so, the last to get there). We then set off for the last peak.

The last peak was a viewpoint in Coton country park. After Castle Hill most of us were tired so it was difficult to understand where we went. However, we did go over the M11 and through fields and woods. When we eventually reached the car park before the last peak, we had the option of stopping but most of us carried on. Going up the hill, some of us ran, while others walked. At the top, we received a medal and took a picture, we then climbed back down, where we went home, possibly with hot dogs and other refreshments. We were tired, but we had finished.

Written by : Rhoda

The Forward Hike

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On a Grey, wet Saturday on the 5th March we were invited to come on an exciting hike with patrols from all around cambridge.

 We all arrived at the HQ prepared and ready to go along with other scouts in one of the forty patrols competing. We all got signed up , had our bags and our route checked, ready to go, everybody started at different positions going from their start point to the end in different orders.

Our patrol (Cobra) started and after a few navigational issues went towards point D, our first destination, on our way we approached a paddock, with a sign saying not to feed the animals, this allowed us to tick off one of our questions on our navigation sheet. We then followed a small path between two fences filled with puddles that caused our feet to get wet.

After a bit more walking we approached point D where we were told to split our patrol in half, we could not see each other but were given a bag of lego bricks and the other half of the patrol were given a lego model, we had to create the model only from their description.

After even more walking we ate lunch where we thought point C was. We looked for the point for quite a while before calling HQ who said to stop looking and try to find point B, here we were given a first aid exercise, practicing the recovery position. 

On our way back to HQ we found Point A, which was a traffic cone we had to stamp on our card. Eventually, we arrived at HQ where we were told we didn’t have time to finish. There we were also given a quiz, hot chocolate and hot dogs with doughnuts. We all took our muddy shoes off as well since they were so muddy and wet.

We all went home muddy, yet proud of our achievements and happy to go home.

Written By: Mark

Our mucky boots!