Venture Chill Camp

9 of our intrepid Ventures joined up with 46 other Ventures from Reachra Scout County over the weekend for a Chill Camp. It was supposed to be held in Lough Dan, but unfortunately due to the fact that the roads were still to dangerous and that the sure was under a foot if snow ❄️, the Camp was moved to Portmarnock Scout Den.

The first couple of hours of Saturday morning were spent getting to know each other. There were groups from Raheny, Beaumont, Ashbourne, Sutton, Donneybrook, Donore, Howth and other such far flung places. It was a lot to take in.

Luckily, after lunch the weather cleared and everyone split into groups for different bases. There was Backwoods pizza making, Wood carving, & bracelet making. All the while the music (some of it fairly decent) was blasting out around the hall.

The bases finished when it got dark and then it was time for Ready Steady Cook in teams of 6. Each team had to prepare and cook a meal with 2 pairs tied together at the wrist and the two remaining scouts had one hand tied behind their back. Despite these difficulties, it all worked out and everyone got fed.

After the washups were done, it was time to relax. There was card games, frisbees, chats, music etc. Some hit the hay early on, while others didn’t hit it at all.

Breakfast was a disjointed affair and taken on the move or whenever suited. In the end the hall was left clean and tidy. Everyone had s smile on their face and probably snoozed all the way back to Balbriggan.

It was a great event and our Ventures really enjoyed meeting other scouts and hearing about and seeing how they do things in their group. It was a learning opportunity but in a very relaxed way.

Thanks to James and Sean from Reachra who organised the camp and let us tag along. I reckon we’ll be attending again and possibly trying to get something similar going in Fingal Scout County.