Five Go Wild in Yorkshire

Early in September, five young people successfully completed their Duke of Edinburgh Award Gold Practice Expedition in the stunning surroundings of the North Yorkshire National Park. This was their first time crossing open heather moorland by themselves, unaccompanied and the navigation on the ground was interesting to contrast with the route planning done back at William Bradford College!

North Yorkshire was surprisingly easy to reach with the after school journey taking three hours to base camp outside Pickering. Thanks go to Dick Beaumont for the excellent campsite recommendation. The first day started from above Robin Hood’s Bay with superb views down to the coast. There was mild disappointment when everyone, especially the staff, realised the route went inland over Fylingdales Moor. RAF Fylingdales is no longer dominated by the three ‘Golf Balls’ which have been replaced by a ‘Pyramid’ structure, which dominates the landscape.

The group kept well clear of this area including a detour through shoulder high undergrowth, which wasn’t strictly necessary, emerging high above Goathland at the end of the afternoon. Goathland is the location for the TV series Heartbeat and the campsite entrance was opposite ‘Scripps Garage’ and next to the ‘Aidensfield Arms’. The group settled down for a much needed sleep despite the fact that the North York Moors Steam Railway ran through the campsite.

The following days took the group past Boggle Hole over high moorland to Rosedale before a day of forest tracks to the finish at Hole of Horcum and a celebratory ice cream. The group learned a lot about themselves and the determination needed to complete this sort of expedition and were really good at supporting each other and helping out when needed. They were fortunate to have really good weather and were able to spend time travelling through one of the largest areas of heather moorland in the world when the scenery was at its best. Organising and supervising an expedition in this terrain takes time, commitment and throws up its own challenges. A minibus that can get up steep hills, a good pair of binoculars, running shoes and the ability to think and map read on your feet are to be recommended! However the rewards for the group were well worth it with achievements in physical fitness, personal organisation, navigation and camp craft and above all decision making, group work and communication skills. This piece of work should enable the group to progress to accreditation at the highest level of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The Award enjoys wide recognition with employers as an indicator of the ability to work with others and commitment to completing varied demanding tasks over a substantial period of time.

Thanks again to the Youth Work staff at William Bradford College.

Russell Woods – Expedition Leader
Outdoor Education Development Worker