PGL Dalguise

Little She Bear and I took eighteen Cubs and Scouts (8-12 year olds) to PGL Dalguise for an adventure weekend. We did the same thing last year at the same time, the third weekend in March. Last year we had beautiful, warm, spring weather. This year we had beautiful, cold, spring weather, with snow and biting winds. So what's new? British weather as usual. We were glad of the underfloor heating in the lodgings though!

The first evening, after supper, we played ambush in the forest. Some kids are not good at keeping still and quiet. ;-)

Next day, Saturday, we all went on a forest hike with stories. It was great. The PGL leaders used local myths and stories and told them with wonderful relish and encouraged the kids to act out some of the drama. I loved the story about Timotei – a love story between Tim and Otei. She fell into a stream of freezing water. This is not what Wiki will tell you!
       Unfortunately I had to take a scout – Toadlet as it happens – back to the lodge so that we could thaw out her feet. The snow boots had been forgotten and the feet were suffering in trainers. The tepid water, cool to my hand, that I told her to put her feet in felt hot to her and the warm-up was painful. When life was restored to the feet, I tucked her into my duvet with handwarmers – well, footwarmers.

Spanish Chestnut in the forest of larch and firs

Some more of the Spanish Chestnut

The icy stream in which Otei washed her hair!

Winter larches

In the afternoon we divided into two groups, and while one group did a challenge course, the other did quad biking. Then we swapped. Everybody got to do everything and everybody got cold.


Sunday saw us wrapping up warm again. Well, some of us did, and some had to be led back to the lodge and told to put on three more layers. We did a sensory trail with a chap whom the kids called Shaggy after the character in Scooby Doo. They were fascinated by his size thirteen boots. We all had a go on the giant swing and the zip wire, and we tried, while shivering, to learn how to survive in the wild. While the survival instructor was talking, I saw a red squirrel – my first sighting – just a little uphill in the forest from where we were.

The Cubs and Scouts did really well in challenging conditions. The hardest thing for me is being kept up past my usual bedtime by romping, chomping kids!

Driving home on Sunday evening, Toad, who had come back for us in the Rattletrap, said he had nearly run over an otter at Mussel Kate's Brae when driving home from delivering Toadlet and me to Dalguise on the Friday. Mussel Kate's Brae is a wee hill in The Road a mile or so north of the Boggy Brae. Kate lived in an upturned boat on the slope not far above the high tide mark, selling mussels that she collected from the loch. He had also spotted a merlin in Glen Fruin on his way to archery practice on Saturday.