A few weekends ago, I embarked on my Duke of Edinburgh Award practice expedition. After having experienced the expedition, I had learnt many things- the most important of which being that you can never be too prepared. Here are some reasons why I believe everyone who gets the opportunity should attempt to complete this challenge. 

Arriving at the meeting point, my group and I met our team leader and she explained the way the weekend would look. For the first day, she would accompany us on the walk and help us navigate the route. For the second day, we would be on our own and she would meet up with us at certain points to ensure we were on the right track. After that initial brief we set off, thinking that it couldn’t be that bad. 

The first few miles were easy, aside from a few hills. Then it began to rain, and after a long and painful encounter with some mud, we were all soaked, covered in mud and freezing cold. Luckily, a kind farmer spotted us and generously offered to help us by lending us her hose to get some of the mud of our dirty clothes. Then, we headed to the campsite, hoping the rain would ease off.  The walk seemed longer from there, as all our boots were soaked but I still enjoyed it, as the countryside was beautiful and talking to my group took my mind off my wet feet.  

When we arrived at the campsite, I realised my only pair of trousers were soaked, I had no spare shoes for walking around and that tents were a lot harder to put up than they had seemed on the training day. Still, we banded together, got the tents up and lent each other clothes depending on what we were missing. After cooking dinner in a way that impressed even ourselves, we headed to bed. We got used to the relentless rain and fell asleep almost immediately. 

 In the morning, we quickly had a breakfast of pastries and cereal bars, packed away our stuff and left as fast as we could. It had stopped raining, so we were ready to tackle the walk and complete the practice. Five minutes later, we were lost, but we quickly found our way again. Before we knew it (and after having lost our way a few more times) we were at the car park and had finished.  

So, what did I learn from this practice. Firstly, I learnt you can never be too prepared- whether that be through bringing an extra pair of socks or a teabag. Secondly, you need to help your teammates out- offer to help them pack a bag or pull them out of some mud. Finally, try to enjoy the walk- even when things don’t go exactly to plan. To conclude, I would advise to not fear doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award – as you have plenty of support- and to just go for it if you have the opportunity to take part.