Activities we did that week:

• Canoeing
• Hill walking
• Map exercises
• Mountain biking
• Orienteering
• Two day Expedition for Duke of Edinburgh award
• Swimming for RAF Proficiency certificate
• Barbeque by the lake
• Shopping in nearest town
• Ghyll scrambling
• Rock climbing
• Abseiling

What was it like?

Overall, the camp was excellent! We participated in a various amount of activities, which were fun! My personal favourite memory of Windermere was ghyll scrambling; it was such a laugh watching people trying to not fall in and them pushing you in when you laugh at them! I also enjoyed meeting lots of new people from all over Essex Wing. You never think at the time that you will miss that one annoying person winding you up all week with stupid quotes – but you do! Also, the people from different squadrons you share the room with all week become friends you will never forget.

The two-day expedition began before we left the Adventure Training Centre. A lot of preparation went into this, with route plans the days before as well as kit checks but it was all worth it as we set off for our two-day journey. We had to be prepared for any weather and any situation; our kit consisted of tents, waterproofs, food etc. The expedition was strenuous with the packs on our backs all the way and only short breaks in between each checkpoint but the hard work was worth it because the views were stunning. As we stopped overnight we put our tents up - which we must admit, we were quite scared with all them sheep around especially with a cadet who has Dennis the Mennis socks, winding us up with all the stories about sheep stampeding the tents at night! But we soon forgot about that when we settled down for dinner. But we were soon unsettled when we accidentally burned a hole in the tangier stove - oops! But luckily the officer in charge was very forgiving. The two-day expedition soon came to an end having widened our abilities to work as a team.

To get to know other cadets we went shopping in the nearest town and had a barbeque near the lake: this was good for team building and forming new friendships.

What I liked that was different about this camp was there was no uniform to be worn. This meant that there was no ironing and polishing, which meant more free time to get to know the other cadets on the camp!

Make sure you put your name down for camp this next time Windermere comes up!