DofE Golds Start Their Journey
Explorers Kairo, Alex, Holly, Sol and Millie have begun training for their Gold DofE Expedition in Summer 2025. We travelled to Wales to paddle on Llyn Tegid, otherwise known as Bala, which is the largest lake in Wales. The objective of the weekend was to experience paddling on a large body of open water and learn how to handle the conditions which they will experience this summer in Scotland.
Llyn Tegid, the largest lake in Wales
Great conditions on the lake
We had beautiful weather on this day, learning about passage plans, rafting, paddling as a group, and efficient tandem paddle strokes. We also cooked a hot lunch on the shore of the lake under a tarp to practise some expedition skills. At the end of the day the Explorers demonstrated a deep water rescue, and practised recovering swamped Canoes.
Our 2025 DofE Gold team!
Back at base we had sausage and mash, apple pie and custard before getting our 8 hours of sleep. The next morning, we drove over to Ironbridge to paddle on the River Severn and have some fun on the rapids. We Scouted out the rapids and talked about the best approach as a team. We got this great photo of Kairo and Sol taking off in their canoe!
Sol and Kairo getting some airtime on Jackfield Rapids
Holly and Millie heading down Jackfield Rapids
The Famous Iron Bridge
It was a big weekend of new skills and team work and the team had a great time together. They also made it lots of fun which is a pleasure for our team of drivers, instructors and leaders. We’re sure they will do a fantastic job of their Expedition on the Great Glen Canoe Trail this summer. Well done team, and thank you to our volunteers who made this training event possible.