Saturday July 2nd – Saturday July 9th
After much discussion with the Senior Patrol leaders and with the Troop 130 committee – the 2011 summer camp is planned to be a coastal camp at the Scout Association Camp site in Penmaen, South Wales (UK).
The Troop will be supported by the Scout Association in South Wales who will provide the core equipment needed for the full week camp. This year for the first time it is intended to undertake a double program – one for the Scout Troop (age 11- 14/15) and one for the Venture Unit (age 15-18).
The troop 130 Ventures will be hosted by the Lliw Valley Venture Scout Unit – with a separate program from the boys of Troop 130, although the camp site and activities of choice will be largely the same. One of the Troop 130 Scout Leaders will be assigned to this group.
Cost of Summer Camp
Troop 130 has a 3 x 3 philosophy for Summer Camps. The program we try to follow is to alternate between a BSA organised Camp such as Kandersteg; a local Troop 130 summer camp less than 3 hours drive; and a long distance camp.
Following this program the 2011 camp will be a long distance camp requiring travel to the UK using locally hired minibuses with a set number of seats and adult drivers.
The core camp is limited by travel to 24 boys and requires 4 adult drivers. Based on demand, an additional minibus for 9 to 12 boys can also be hired, but it will require an additional 2 adult drivers to commit to attend summer camp.
Travel Costs
· Mini Bus (2×16 seat – Taxis Dany – Rolle)
· Local travel as needed.
The anticipated cost of Travel will be approximately 250 CHF per boy. This will cover minibus hire, autoroute tolls, ferry and fuel. Troop 130 will be providing a subsidy so we hope to be able to reduce this cost to 100CHF per boy.
Camp Costs
Costs cover :-
· Campsite fees
· Activities
· Food
· Camp essentials
We would anticipate at this stage that the costs for the camp without travel would be in line with previous years – i.e 500 CHF. Total costs therefore are camp fees plus travel costs – 750 CHF per boy. After the troop subsidy it looks likely that the fee will be around 600 CHF.
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Location |
The West Glamorgan campsite is located at Penmaen in the Gower Peninsular. The site is situated in a largely undeveloped and unspoilt area which has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; overlooking the wide sweep of Oxwich Bay to the west with Three Cliffs Bay to the east, and is approximately 8 miles from Swansea. The site is two miles from the West Glamorgan Scout Activity Centre at Parkmill. A path leads from the site to the beach. |
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Facilities: |
The site is fully equipped for six patrols and staff. Cooking equipment is available for either patrol or company cooking. A concrete shelter is provided for the use of gas stoves. There is a large wooden hut which stores the equipment and provides alternative accommodation in bad weather. The site is newly equipped with electric showers, flush toilets and wash hand basins. Two trek carts are available in the hut to transport kit from the car park to the site. A flag pole is stored in the hut. Campers are required to bring their own flag. |
Activities
Activities will be a mix of Scout based advancement and paid activities provided by a professional activities company – The Scout association in the UK has agreed rates with a number of local companies.
I would suggest the activities be based on those that cannot be done easily out of Switzerland – i.e activities that are coast based :-
Surfing
Low-pressure way out in the Atlantic winding its self up, the swell rolling thousands of miles to our beautiful clean beaches. The swell feels the beach floor; it changes shape and steepness until it crashes over to produce a clean white wall of water and a pure green shoulder to ride…….
You just have to feel the force and speed to awaken the senses and bang! - you're hooked for life. The first time you catch that wave and stand up the sensation will never leave you.
Coasteering
Imagine all the things you have been told not to do!
Scramble on the rocks, play in the waves, be washed around by the sea, jump from cliffs into clear water, explore caves and adventure swimming. Well that's coasteering – all done as safely as possible.
Kayaking
On the Gower you can chose from your first paddle in a kayak on a peaceful sheltered lake to paddling down the river, ripping it up in the surf or leisurely paddling around the fantastic Gower coastline, the choice is yours. It's all good fun.
This is always a favourite with all the boys. The boats come fully licensed by the local authority with all equipment needed for a pleasant few hours fishing. This will also cover the evening meal, where the boys will be taught to prepare a fish supper over a wood fire.
For boys who do not appreciate the fine taste of freshly caught mackerel then other food options will be provided, including vegetarian.
Hiking a part of the Gower Coast Path
The Gower Peninsula is both beautiful and unspoilt, there are many historic features located over an area that measures just sixteen miles by seven miles wide. Notably, Gower was one of the first places designated 'An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' under the Act of 1949. This website aims to highlight and promote the main features and attractions of Gower and the surrounding area, whilst also giving guidance to visitors, helping them to maximise their enjoyment of South and West Wales.
Bushcraft and Survival
Nearby the Penmaen Scout/Guide site is the Boy Scout Association site at Parc-le-Breos, where the boys will undertake a survival course, building bivouac’s for shelter overnight and cooking on wood fires – started the old fashion way (no Petrol or matches !).
Troop 130 Advancements
The summer camp will be planned with a mix of core activities from those detailed above, to time spent mastering the core Scouting skills and advancement. The program will be developed based on the advancement needs of the troop with the Scout Leaders; Venture Patrol and Senior Patrol Leaders.
Parental Support
Troop 130 and the BSA require 3 adults to be at the camp at any given time. In previous years the burden of support has been spread between a number of the ‘dads’, with 2 groups of 3 dads splitting the week into 2 shared slots of 3 or 4 days respectively.
1 leaders (Geraint Thomas) has already committed to the full 7 days of the camp. This means that we need an additional set of adults/venture’s to support the air travel/coach travel.
