A large group of 11 students spent 3 days and 2 nights on their Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition in the South Downs. The terrain was tough and the backpacks heavy, but the groups were in great spirits whenever we met them.
We camped in an idyllic spot in the Cuckmere Valley, near the beach, where there was not another person on the campsite. However we were joined by about a thousand sheep in the neighbouring fields! The next night was in Alfriston, where the groups cooked up all the noodles that they had carried there and enjoyed toasted marshmallows around a campfire.
The students are now looking forward to their qualifying expedition in the New Forest.