EXPEDITION

Going on an expedition gives you the chance to have an adventure, work as a team, and act on your own initiative.

Each expedition team will have different abilities and interests. The team need to set themselves an aim which is specific and relevant to them.

You can travel on foot, cycle, by boat/canoe/kayak, on horseback or by wheelchair

You will need training in First aid & emergency procedures, risk assessment, navigation & route planning, campcraft, food & cooking, Country/Highway/Water Sports Codes as appropriate to the form of travel, observation & recording and team building

You will need to complete at least one practice hike as a team for each level of the Award

You will be assessed on the qualifying expedition and will need to give a presentation of your journey and the aim of the venture

If you are a leader wanting to become an Accredited Assessor please click here

 

How long do you need to spend doing the expedition?

Level	Minimum Expedition duration	Time per day
Bronze	2 days with 1 night camping	A minimum of 6 hours at least 3 hours of which must be spent journeying
Silver	3 days with 2 nights camping	A minimum of 7 hours at least 3.5 hours of which must be spent journeying
Gold	4 days with 3 nights camping	A minimum of 8 hours at least 4 hours of which must be spent journeying

 

The key to the Expedition Section is PLANNING

Start your planning by completing this form and use the Programme ideas sheet to decide on an aim as this may determine the are in which you will want to cary out your expedition. With expeditions the speed at which you can travel will be that of your slowest member as it is essential that you journey together as a team.

Where can you do your expedition?

For the Bronze Award the expedition can be fairly local so for Units in Nottinghamshire popular areas are the Vale of Belvoir for those in the south of the county and Clumber/Sherwood Forest for those in the North. District campsites can be used or some pubs have public campsites. If you need contacts, or if you have a favourite site which you can recommend to others please contact the County Adviser.

For the Silver Award the most popular area for local participants is the White Peak of Derbyshire. There are plenty of public campsites a number of which have a separate area for DofE expeditions. Again contact me for suggestions.

Gold Award expeditions must be held in wild country areas

As a team you will need to complete at least one practice journey which should be in an area with similar terrain to that to be used for the qualifying expedition but could be closer to home eg a for a Gold qualifier being held in Snowdonia the practice could be held in the Dark Peak ie north of 85 easting on OS map.