KidsOutdoors

2008-06-02

The 1^st Turnford Scouts spent the Whitsun bank holiday weekend at the Eaton Vale Scout and Guide Activity centre in Norwich. 

We left sunny Hertfordshire at 6pm Friday evening and a convoy of three cars and two trailers made their way through the weekend traffic, after two and a half hours of boiled sweets and 20 questions we arrived at Eaton Vale and started setting up camp. By 10.30 we were all set up and ready for hot drinks and hot dogs – well the leaders were as the Scouts were apparently so shattered from their exhausting journey that they all trooped off to bed without any supper – you would have thought that they had done all the driving! 

We were up bright, but thankfully not too early on the Saturday for a day at the seaside. The sun was shining so after a full cooked breakfast we packed our cosies in our day sacs, grabbed our picnics and off we set. A picnic on the cliffs above the beach at West Runton was first on the agenda, but unfortunately in the mad rush to get off the campsite we forgot to pack the cutlery – oops, no butter on the French bread! We Scouts are a resourceful bunch so off to Morrison’s petrol station went two leaders who came back armed with plastic knives and forks.  Picnic eaten the Scouts wasted no time and were straight in the sea for a paddle. I tried it, it was freezing but they seemed not to care! We spent a fun few hours building sand castles, rock pooling and even invested a new Scout on the sand by the edge of the sea! The rest of the afternoon was spent looking around the shops and walking along the pier. We ended the day with a fish and chip supper on the promenade then made our way back to the campsite tired and wind swept but full of stories from our fun day out. 

We had to be up early on Sunday but trying to wake the Scouts up was a feat and a half – I nearly had to get my Billie and wooden spoon out! After a quick breakfast of toast and cereal – yes we had toast at camp! The Scouts made their packed lunches and we were on our way to Blakney to pick up our boat for our trip out to Blakney Point to see the seals. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t kind to us it was cold, wet and windy and full waterproofs was a must, at one point we even had hailstones! Weather aside we had a fantastic trip and we saw loads of seals, back on dry land and glad to have a chance to warm up we climbed in the cars and made our way round to Wells next to sea. We went up to the pine forest and over the sand dunes and sat and had our picnic on the beach huddled against a sea breaker to shelter from the wind – you must think we are mad but the tide was out and all you could see for miles was sand. And before the heavens’ opened once more the Scouts spent a fun time rolling down sand dunes – as you do! Next stop was the harbour to do some crabbing and/or more shopping! It was pouring with rain and very windy but the Scouts spent a happy couple of hours in Wells, they even managed to catch some crabs despite the weather! Tired and wet we took the miniature railway back to the pine forest and wet, tired and hungry we made our way back to the campsite for home made curry a well needed shower and bed!  

Bank holiday Monday was our final day at the campsite and we remained on site to take advantage of the excellent facilities offered by the centre. The Scouts took part in an Archery session then enjoyed an hour and a half kayaking on the river Yare which runs right through the campsite. Following a morning of activities we had some lunch and got on with the job of breaking camp. The weather was not the best – high winds are not ideal when trying to pack away tents! But team work prevailed and we were packed up and ready to go by 3.30pm, a quick visit to the camp shop before we left and we were on our way home. Despite the weather we had the most amazing weekend and would recommend a visit to Eaton Vale to anyone.