Scouting in South East England
These have included visits to Kandersteg International Scout Centre in Switzerland and Explorer Belt expeditions to Finland, Hungary and Iceland.
WINGS is a major event, open to all Scouts and Guides aged 10 to 25 in all parts of the world, and is normally held approximately every 5 years in the county.
[30] This included broadcasting a County wide Camp at Home in June 2020 with young people sharing their experiences and calling in to the radio station during the event.
[45] The county is run by a team of volunteers with roles for developing the youth programme, adult support and providing governance and oversight.
Moreover, Hampshire Scouts use paid employees for different projects and roles including administrative staff,[46] growth and development officers,[47] support assistants as part of a Carers in Scouting project[48] and a number of paid instructors and staff who run the county activity centre, Ferny Crofts.
In July 1942, Avington Park in Itchen Abbas, Hampshire hosted the first national Air Scout camp, only 18 months after the section's launch on 31 January 1941.
These expeditions are preceded by a number of training weekends beforehand in various challenging areas of the UK, such as the Lake District, Cairngorms and Snowdonia, and taking part in adventurous activities.
Between 2003 and 2006, HSX member and Hampshire Scout leader Rhys Jones succeeded in climbing the seven highest mountains on all seven continents and in doing so became the youngest person to do so.
[104] The first summit was Mount McKinley (subsequently renamed Denali), the highest mountain in North America, which he tackled when he was 17 with a team from HSX.
[116][117][118] It was the first HSX organised trip to Antarctica and originally featured a larger Scout team until various circumstances required the dropping out of the other members.
Doherty and HSX marked the expedition beforehand through a special badge gained by groups and Scouts and afterwards with visits to young people to discuss the adventure with them.
[122] It is based on the shield that is part of the coat of arms of the Isle of Wight Council; the blue colour and anchors representing the island's link to the sea while the castle represents Carisbrooke Castle (with its twin towered gatehouse and motte tower keep) which is the historical seat of the Governor of the Isle of Wight.
[14] The uniform badge used by members in the county is based on the Flag of Oxfordshire in a shield shape and on a black background with the name underneath in a banner.
Offering two accommodation buildings, a climbing tower, bouldering wall and crate stacking it is also the county centre for Royal Berkshire Scouts.
[212][213] Longridge Activity Centre was previously owned by The Scout Association but sold to an independent charity in 2007, to be run for the benefit for all young people.
It also offers land based activities including Climbing, Team Challenge Zones, Water Orbs, Go Karts and Disc golf.
Each year the team at Longridge run a large number of courses ranging from basic beginner skills right through to advanced coaching and instruction.
[216] In addition to Scouting activities, the Quarries also hosts many Girl Guiding camps and school parties during Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions.
[226] In addition the site has a climbing tower, low ropes course, indoor archery and rifle shooting range, bouldering wall and small pond for rafting.
The site underwent significant development after the adjacent M2 motorway was widened in 1995 requiring a number of buildings to be demolished with the scouts compensated.
[250] The new facilities, built using the compensation and £2.9 million of public money, opened in 2000 and included a swimming pool, conference centre, an air rifle range, archery butts, a sports hall, a café, accommodation, a climbing tower, a caving network, and an assault course.
[251] The operating company, Buckmore Park Scout Centre Ltd, went into administration in 2004[252] and then faced a legal dispute with the land owner the Bridge Wardens Trust which lasted until 2007.
It featured on BBC One daytime show Homes Under the Hammer which covered the purchase of the property at auction and the subsequent redevelopment to make it suitable for Scouting activities.
[262] Chief Scout Bear Grylls visited the site in October 2010 to unveil a stone to mark the start of the climbing barn project initially at the consultation and funding stages.
[262] During later years the focus moved into the wider site with construction on the climbing barn taking place between 2012 and 2014 with the official opening on the 29 June 2014.
[280][267] White Beeches is run by Godalming Scout District in Dunsfold as a green field site with no on-site amenities aside from water.
[267][281] Scouts also have use of other campsites in the county including Little Acres, a site owned by Girlguiding Epsom with camping space and indoor lodge.
[283] Adjacent to the site is the Hurtwood, some 4,000 acres (16 km2) of mixed woodland which has numerous footpaths and bridleways suitable for hiking, orienteering, wide games and nature study.
[284] The site also offers a range of activities including air-rifle shooting, climbing, abseiling, archery, high ropes and caving.
[300] A number of Gang Shows run in the region, many of which are long established as an outlet for creative expression and as fundraising efforts.
