On Saturday 4th March, under clear blue skies, two teams of scouts from 30th Abingdon took on the Winter Challenge, an 18-mile hike along the Ridgeway. Here is what four scouts had to say after the event.
Louis wrote:
This was my first time doing the Winter Challenge and I didn’t know what to expect. I thought it was going to be easy, turns out it’s not! The checkpoints were a relief, they were a point closer to the end. Checkpoint 3 was the best, the bacon butties were really tasty! The terrain was really muddy & slippery & at one point I fell in a puddle. The mud added lots of weight to your feet & made it harder! I felt relieved and exhausted when I made it the whole 18 miles but also really pleased I’d done it.
Charlie wrote:
On Saturday 4th March I walked the winter challenge with a group of scouts. It was a dry, bright spring day; which made for good walking conditions, so we made good time.We managed to complete it in 6 hours and 55 minutes, which we thought was a reasonable result. We walked and talked so the end was soon in sight. We had a great adult walking with us who encouraged us when we were struggling- thanks to Lucy for this support! There is a bacon butty stand and two tuck shops along the route to keep you moving.
It’s the first time I’ve done it and I would recommend the Winter Challenge to any scouts who want to test their limits.
James wrote:
We set off on a cold, dark but dry morning. This was my third Winter Challenge so I was planning on improving my time. When we set off, all we were talking about was our equipment and bacon butties! However, this was soon silenced when we got a taste of the bacon butties! We had fun together admiring the countryside. I can’t wait until next year!
Toby wrote:
I really enjoyed this year’s Winter Challenge. I have now done nearly 100 miles along the Ridgeway. I really loved the snacks and bacon butties, especially the lack of queues! It was great fun just walking and talking and I would recommend it to Scouts nad Cubs of all ages. I would also like to thank the Oxfordshire Kenya Unit for providing snacks at Checkpoint 4.
