25th Bolton

Scouts - 2007
For many years now, Scouts at 25th have been very much focused on outdoor "adventurous" activities as well as the usual indoor activities.

During 2007, the Scout Troop went on 5 full weekend camps, 2 of which were national hiking competitions - the Pike View Hike held in the West Pennine Moors in April, and the Border Hike, held in the "White Peak" area of the Peak District in September. Other camps were the 25th Bolton's joint camp (along with the Beaver and Cub Scout sections), the Greater Manchester North Centenary camp, and our own Water Activity Weekend at Moor Crag.

Water Activity Weekend, Windermere

One of the highlights of the year has to be the Water Activity Weekend at Moor Crag, which is located on the very shores of Lake Windermere. 16 Scouts, 1 Young Leader and 4 Leaders went on the weekend and we tried our hand at the Voyager Canoes, Kayaking and Sailing on the lake. An impromptu wood fire with marshmallows on the beach on Saturday night, with the image of the sun setting on the incredibly flat and calm lake holds many memories for all present.

Hillwalking in the Lake District

This year also saw Steven get his Scout "Terrain 1" authorisation, in simple terms this allows us to take groups of Scouts walking on hills up to 800m high; three fantastic day trips followed (two to the Lake District and one in the Peak District) which saw the Scouts get good real-life navigation practice in time for the Border Hike and Pike View Hike events. We couldn't have asked for better weather on the two days in the Lake District, the sun was shining and the views were breathtaking.... but ask anyone about our day on Kinder Scout in the Peak District and they're sure to mention the massive winds on the day which really played havoc with our eyes (traditional Peak District grit and strong winds are not a nice combination!).

Again the Pike View Hike and Border Hike competitions were entered in April and September respectively, with our Scout teams taking second place on the Pike View Hike and third place at the Border Hike. 25th entered four teams into the Pike View Hike and 26 teams in total competed in the event. Likewise, at the Border Hike, 25th entered three teams and 24 teams entered in total.

2008 plans
In 2008 the following activities are planned to take place:

April - Pike View Hike 2008
May - Patrol Camp - Tawd Vale
June - Bolton South District Scout Camp - Bibby's Farm
July - Gliding at Derbyshire & Lancashire Gliding Club
September - Border Hike 2008
November - Group camp at Great Tower

On top of all this, we will be out on at least one Sunday per month (either on mountain bikes or walking) in the local area, and the usual weekly Thursday activities are also run. There are also additional dates set aside for walking weekends in the Lake District, North Wales or the Peak District.

Leaders

Scout Leader	Steven Steven has been involved with 25th Bolton since joining as a Cub in 1989, aged eight. Upon reaching the age of 18 in 1999 he took on the role of ASL, and then became SL at the end of 2002.
Assistant Scout Leader	Warren Warren joined us (well, he got roped in) in 2004 as ASL.
Assistant Scout Leader & Group Quartermaster	Brian Brian joined the Troop way back in 1992 as an ASL, when the previous leader (John) retired. Brian has been heavily involved with the Troop since then, with over 15 years unbroken service!
Assistant Scout Leader	Mike Mike joined us after previously being involved with leading Explorer Scouts at 25th and has been helping with the Scout section since early 2006.
Section Assistant	Chris Chris has been through the whole system at 25th since originally joining as a Beaver some 12 years ago, going straight through every section, all the way to Explorers. Since turning 18 in 2007, Chris has been helping out with the Scout section.
Section Assistant	Nigel Nigel, one of our Scout's parents, has recently joined our ranks as a Section Assistant, after coming along to help on a couple of activities in previous years.