Over the weekend of 6th – 8th May 2016 Cubs from 2nd Onchan’s Snaefell Cub Pack attended camp at Ardwhallan Outdoor Education Centre. On Friday evening, after arriving at Ardwhallan and settling in, the Cubs went out exploring the centre by doing some orienteering around the grounds. After this we had a couple of games of Long Ball whilst the sun set before heading up to the Viking Longhouse for hot chocolate, biscuits, some stories and jokes. Those that were still feeling energetic then headed back out for a couple of man hunt wide games in the field. Everyone got caught in the end except for myself managing to sneak past the Cubs and make it in! We then all walked back to the house and headed to bed with the cubs asleep by 12:30.
Up at 7:30 we had breakfast and inspection followed by some free time before our morning activities. The Cubs were split into two groups and took on the challenges of the Low Ropes and a Blindfold trail through some thick vegetation before swapping over. After a quick juice break it was on to Archery and Backwards Cooking where the Cubs made some delicious stuffed potatoes and cheesy twisted dough balls on the hot coals of the fire. After lunch we decided to postpone our hike and headed into Onchan for a trip to the Fun Barn as the weather was a bit wet. Following a couple of hours of jumping into the ball pits and racing each other down the slides we headed to the Scout Hall for some games and dinner. We then headed back and watched a couple of films with cake and popcorn. Most of the cubs took themselves off to bed or fell asleep on the giant beanbags during the films.
After a well deserved lie in we had a hearty breakfast of bacon sandwiches before packing our kit away and heading to Windy Corner for a gentle and enjoyable hike. Back at Ardwhallan the Cubs helped tidy the house before prize giving and being collected.
All the Cubs said they had a great time over the weekend and can’t wait for the next camp. I’d like to say a massive thank you to our Leaders (Rob and Mark) for helping run the camp and also to Andrew (Akela with Manannan Pack), Charlotte and Dan for popping in over the weekend to help with activities and driving the minibus. It was a great team effort by the Leaders and together with the excellent behaviour of the Cubs made for a fantastic camp!!
Alex Armstrong
Assistant Cub Scout Leader
