Duke of Edinburgh Students Conquer Exmoor on Foot

Over 40 Duke of Edinburgh students completed their Gold practice expedition over Easter break, making their way to the scenic Exmoor and lacing up to hike an impressive 80km over the course of four days.  

Mr. Alldrick did a wonderful job of documenting the trip via the Duke of Edinburgh X (Twitter) feed – showcasing the journeys of the 7 different groups. From the packing and preparation for the trip at Alleyn’s, kit checks, briefs, sharing hearty breakfasts and the different groups setting off, to linking with them at different checkpoints, arriving at  camp and setting up tents, enjoying camp breakfasts, finishing hikes in testing conditions, rush hour with local animal crossings, wandering up to Beacon to meet groups, and finally – teams completing their 80km and retiring their sticks for qualifying in July.  

We’d highly recommend checking out the wonderful content detailing the above over at twitter.com/Alleyns_DofE, but before you do that, enjoy the below write ups from DofE students, as they recount their experience at Exmoor.  

---

Esmé and Yarin from the green group were thrilled with their hike, hinting at improved teamwork and understanding, plus enjoyable camp meals. 

The DofE expedition was epic for our group. We had some hard times, including the ups and downs of the SW Coast Path, and a couple of injuries in our group. However, coming back to the same group that had conquered Snowdonia for Silver DofE in the summer meant that we all knew each other, and how best to support each other and work around any problems.  

We walked 80km over the 4 days, miraculously without getting lost at all and without any arguments. Our meals were excellent, with highlights being the innovation of pre-mixed tuna sweetcorn mayo in a tin, and our dedication to having a pudding with each meal. We also bought eggs from a farm and boiled them, agreeing they were the best eggs we’d ever had.  

Overall, we all agreed Exmoor was an amazing place to be walking, with the mix of coastal, moorland, and forested landscape being completely unique and unlike where we’ve done our other expeditions in the past.  

We were fairly lucky with the weather, although it seemed everyone was running short on sleep by the end of the trip, after 3 freezing nights in a row. Waking up to shake ice off the tent was a particularly grim moment!  

Now, we’re all just excited to get back together for the expedition in the Brecon Beacons in the summer, with lots of lessons learnt and hopefully warmer weather.

---

Zara from the purple group talks of her pride and realisation of improved group navigation skills, which have built over time.

Our Gold Duke of Edinburgh Practice was truly a test of resilience, pushing us to our physical limits as we walked 80km over four challenging days. Despite the inevitable exhaustion, there wasn’t a moment amongst my group that wasn’t filled with laughter or joy.  

This year, my group managed to defeat our reputation of constantly getting lost and arriving last back to camp, a feat which fills me with immense pride. Whilst hiking through the rugged beauty of Exmoor, we were blessed with mostly favourable weather, allowing our kit to remain dry for the majority of our expedition. However, the nights certainly brought about a chill, with us waking up to frost covered tents in the morning.  

The afternoons and evenings at camp were definitely my highlights of the entire experience, with various groups coming together to share our stories of the day, and our nightly poker games have quickly become a newfound tradition. Although many returned bruised, broken and blistered, this was certainly an unforgettable experience that I am looking forward to reliving this Summer in Brecon Beacons, although hopefully, the nights will be warmer! 

---

Bella from the pink group recounts a day by day break down of the trip, leaving us with a lovely sentiment on the power of Duke of Edinburgh in forging friendships through the challenge. 

Over the Easter holidays, the Year 12 Gold Duke of Edinburgh students were (somehow) convinced to leave the comfort of their own homes and embark on an 80km adventure on the hills of Exmoor for their Gold practice expedition. 4 days of grit, determination and teamwork! 

Despite the frozen tents, non-existent paths and random sunburn on day 4, the seven strong groups made it and had a whale of a time doing so. 

Day 1 began with a sunny and smiley departure from the hostel. Routes varied from moor and woodlands to windy coastal paths all headed towards Sparkhayes campsite in Porlock. Hills were conquered, and blisters were brewing but the encouraging ‘Bah’s' of new-born lambs and the exciting prospect of a bowl of Uncle Ben’s rice at the end of the day, is what got every group (no matter how late) back to camp. 

Day 2 was met by a stunning sea view from the campsite. Soon after setting off, a core member of Pink Group got into an altercation with the unforgiving rocks of Porlock beach, taking a tumble which resulted in a nasty bump to the head. Thanks to the care and comfort of her fabulous friends (and Mr. Alldrick’s first aid kit) she was back on her feet in no time. But the drama didn’t stop there! A new life was seen into the world as Pink Group also witnessed the birth of a lamb in the final stretch to Cloud Farm campsite. Safe to say that was an idyllic way to end the day. 

And so, day 3 begins! I’m not going to sugar coat this one; it was rough. After a breezy start, there were navigation issues concerning the fact a 2km path shown on the map seemed to not exist. However, this did not stop our groups from getting the job done. Bearings were made and after a couple of hours, check point 2 was in sight. Unfortunately, during the final leg back to camp, morale was at an all-time low. Exmoor threw wind, rain and more invisible paths our way but that was nothing a group handshake and a Taylor Swift sing song couldn’t fix. Soon enough, the sun came out for our arrival at the final campsite! 

Our final day was welcomed by frosted over tents, and the campsite’s resident dog who we, as a collective, agreed to call Graham (turns out his actual name was blueberry). Blue Group decided to utilise the campsite resources and cook up some mincemeat for some mince and mayo wraps for lunch which were apparently ‘revolutionary’. Unsurprising they were the last to leave after such frivolity. There was a unified skip in our step as we narrowed towards the finish line, driven by the idea of a warm shower and the hostel hash browns. After taking in the amazing views from Dunkery Beacon and receiving some shocking sunburn, the groups had made it. 

The trip ended back at the hostel with a tear-jerking slideshow of photos showing all the memories, good and less good, of the week. No one was safe! The combination of unpredictable weather, aching limbs and tough navigation made this experience one of the most physically and mentally challenging things a lot of us have ever done. 

The week taught us the importance of sticking together and keeping morale high, especially when it feels hardest to do so. And who knows what happened to the disappearing paths. Perhaps the true path was found in the friendships and bonds we made along the way!

---

What a superb way to spend some of the Easter break, and a hike very well done by our students. A huge thanks to Mr. Alldrick and the DofE team for supporting students with their outdoor endeavours, and to the above students for their recounts of the experience.  

We certainly look forward to watching the DofE Twitter explode with expedition content come July!