Bronze and Silver - Will Brown In early 2023, a group of 7 8th Norwich scouts and Norwich School pupils began their DofE journey, starting with bronze. They completed the practice expedition at the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club in Wroxham, helping develop their flat-water canoeing skills and giving them invaluable kit-packing and camping experience. The qualifying expedition on the river Waveney also proved useful, helping the group further develop their paddling and navigational skills, particularly through challenging sections of the river, such as those with foliage blocking the river. The group also dealt with their first capsize of the journey, which was handled well. Upon the completion of their bronze, 4 of the group – Oli, Hamish, Hector and Will – continued to Silver, which saw them complete their practice on the river Stour in Ipswich in early 2024. This was another step up for the group, with cold, wet and windy weather conditions making the paddle challenging. However, the boys pulled through, gaining experience paddling on the estuary, as well as setting up camp in the dark. This was followed up by many sessions on the water in Norwich, where white-water skills were developed in preparation for the 4-day qualifying expedition on the River Wye, in Wales. This was an incredible trip, with the group confidently navigating many sections of rapids along the river, most notably the Symonds Yat rapids. Fast Forward to 2025/2026 Gold Gold - Oli Clark In early April, Norwich School sixth formers and 8th Norwich Explorers, Oli, Hamish, Will, Hector and Adam completed their Gold D of E expedition canoeing the River Spey from Aviemore to Spey Bay, a distance of just under 100km along one of the most beautiful and challenging rivers in the UK. This was the culmination of years of developing canoeing skills under the guidance of Ian and Tim. The expedition was a fantastic experience, not only the challenge of canoeing down rapids such as the ominously sounding Washing Machine (which was actually quite tame), but also wild camping in some totally stunning places such as Knockando – where we also helped a fisherman rescue his dog which had got caught in the fast flowing water. The Scottish scenery was spectacular, in particular the amazing view of the snowy Cairngorms and we were fortunate to see some some pretty special wildlife on the way, like an osprey in full flight – although sadly no Golden Eagle despite our best efforts to spot one. We certainly learnt a great deal about paddling, from how to pack boats effectively to following the best line down rapids avoiding rocks and wave trains, and the experience has fuelled our confidence and desire to take on even more challenging rivers such as the Tryweryn in northern Wales. We would all without a shadow of doubt recommend others to take on canoeing for DofE, we are all lucky to have had such an incredible experience. We would all like to thank Ian and Tim for giving so freely of their time and being such incredibly supportive paddling role models- we also all wish Ian the best of luck for his Britain by Kayak challenge.

Three groups undertook their practice expedition at the end of term. The weather kept to the predictions, being warm and sunny. On the hottest day the groups left camp early, with altered routes to ensure water could be topped up several times. They all coped very well, arriving in campsites and shade before the highest temperatures were reached. The fourth group arrived and the first groups returned to Norwich. The training was repeated with a short walk to refresh and learn navigational skill, followed by some first aid training. The next day the group walked to their next campsite, where they adopted an 8th member which you can see with the team below!