Our Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s groups braved the heat to successfully complete their 2 day qualifying expedition this week. Once again Mr Taylor, our DofE manager, accompanied our determined young people on their adventure..

Dovedale & Manifold Valleys DofE Bronze Expedition 3/4 July 2018

On a hot Tuesday morning, the DofE Bronze students set out to begin their qualifying expedition. This was to take place over 2 days, where they would hike along the beautiful Dovedale and Manifold valleys in Staffordshire. 3 groups would travel independently along different sections of the route, crossing at times and meeting at a common campsite..

Walking was difficult due to the added weight of backpacks and the scorching heat of the sun..

Lots of extra water needed to be taken on board which was done in a variety of ways – drinking, splashing or by filling your hat up with water and then putting it on! It was also useful for keeping cool..

Navigation involved following the water course of the beautiful river Dove or the partially dried up river bed in the Manifold valley (an area where a flash flood had previously washed away some of a group’s gear – no fear of that happening this time!)..

The route provided many opportunities for exploring natural features such as caves, caverns, amazing rock formations..

..stepping stones..

..and trees that had fallen across the river..

Added spice came by the proximity of the local wildlife, especially in the field with the rather large bull (not this one..)

On the campsite it was very busy with a large home schooled group and more large DofE groups sharing the area. Later on in the evening, England’s penalty shootout came to an end and cheers rang out from those listening to the radio inside their minibuses..

Day 2 was also a hot one as groups set out early for one last push. Tired legs and achy backs were accompanied by smiles and sighs of relief as the weary travellers eventually crossed the finish line..

This was a great effort by all in very difficult and challenging conditions. Thanks to all the staff and students for making this a safe, positive and memorable experience,

Gavin Taylor
DofE Manager

Well done, everyone, what a brilliant achievement!!! We’re extremely grateful to all our wonderful staff for supporting our young people and making the expedition possible.

You can view all the pictures of the expedition in our Facebook album here and we will be bringing you news of how our Silver groups fare in their final DofE expedition soon!

You can find out more about the DofE Award Scheme at New Bridge here and read about all our previous expeditions.