Top 30 things to do this summer

From land yachting to finding out what makes flamingos pink, make sure you and your Scouts get the most out of summer with Scouting's Top 30 things to do

1.The Coast to Coast Walk
Wainwright’s classic Coast to Coast Walk is the Branston Pickle of long-distant treks – the original and best. From the starting point in St Bees to smugglers’ cove, Robin’s Hood’s Bay, it takes in three of Britain’s outstanding national parks: the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North Yorkshire Moors. Those who make the journey do so for many reasons, including charity fundraising, self discovery and friendship (it’s one of the most sociable of trails) and there are the pleasures of some fine inns and ales to be had along the way. You’ll need to put aside two weeks to complete the walk, unless you tackle it in stages.
www.coast2coast.co.uk

2. ‘Do London’ at Baden-Powell House
The Scout Association’s international activity and accommodation centre in London’s ‘museum-land’ has undergone something of a facelift in recent months. Under ‘new management’ and with stylishly refurbished single, double and dormitory-style rooms (from as little as £15 a head) it is ideal for Scout Groups or backpackers alike. Why not do your Global Conservation Activity Badge at London Zoo or Astronomer Badge at the Planetarium?
www.scouts.org.uk/nationalcentres

3. The International Bognor BIRDMAN Festival
Date: 1-2 September
Summer madness doesn’t get any better than the annual Bognor Birdman event at this traditional English seaside resort. Contestants, some brave, some foolhardy, are invited to construct and pilot human-powered flying machines and take a leap of faith off the end of the famous pier. With a £25,000 prize for anyone who can fly a distance of 100m, it’s now a serious business with entries from across the world. If your Group, Network or Unit fancies their chances visit www.bognorbirdman.com or just make a day of it to see those magnificent flying machines.

4. Go Totally Wild
Date: 30 June
Where can you see rhinos, elephants and the Cheeky Girls all in one place? Port Lympne Safari Park in the heart of the Kent countryside, that’s where. Hosted by Kent Scouts this unique music festival and safari, exclusive to Scouts and Guides, is sure to be a summer highlight. Book tickets at:
www.kentscouts.org.uk

5. Peddar’s Way and North Norfolk Coastal Path
I tackled this with an old school friend, just before I got married last summer and it was the perfect outdoor tonic to my rather more toxic
stag night. We joined the trail at Castle Acre, admittedly a little later
in the day than was strictly sensible and armed with a poor assortment
of provisions.
The Peddar’s Way is a straight and initially rather featureless trek through East Anglia. However, if its magic is slow to work, it’s pretty fantastic when it does – the sight of hares’ ears in the cornfields, the slow encroaching dark over the hedgerows, the miles of countryside either side of you and skylines littered with the silhouettes of village church towers. We stopped in a lovely pub just shy of closing time and when we explained that we had the Peddar's Way all to ourselves, the landlord said it was because everyone else had already finished. We made camp in Holme-next-the-Sea and after the initial euphoria of thinking we could see the Netherlands (it turned out to be Skegness) we began the North Norfolk Coastal Path, which takes you across gusting sands, towering pines, pretty fishing villages, deserted churches, and acres of marshland. If you like, you can cheat a bit by hopping on the coastal bus towards Sheringham and Cromer, but the whelks at Blakney taste better if you’ve put in the necessary legwork.
Chris James

6. Take part in The Great River Race
Date: 8 September
Join 300 boats and 2,000 participants in ‘the London Marathon on water’.

7. Welcome an international Scout into your home
Home Hospitality (HoHo) offers a great opportunity to make new friends from around the world, and to gain a truly international experience without leaving your home! HoHo will last for three to four days, before and after the World Scout Jamboree (27 July to 9 August). The two different types of hosting are: ‘traditional’ hospitality, where two to three Scouts live with a family in their home, and ‘group’ hospitality, where a whole unit stays in a Scout Meeting Place or similar and are hosted by a local Scout Group.
www.scouts.org.uk/2007/events/august/HoHo.html

8. Watch some outdoor Shakespeare
Date: 7-8 June
Pull up a deckchair, a glass of your favourite pouring stuff and enjoy a little high-brow alfresco fun. Sampling Shakespeare outdoors not only gives you the splendid feeling of being rather cultured, but also gives you a sense of how it might have originally been performed. Just one example can be found at Oystermouth Castle, Swansea, the gothic setting for one of the Bard’s darkest plays, Macbeth, performed on 7-8 June 2007. This is undeniably the more interesting way for the group to work towards the Entertainer Badges or Creative Challenge, and if you’re feeling really ambitious, why not stage your outdoor theatre production and invite along a few local luminaries? And if it rains, there’s also the impromptu chorus of the old Ralph Reader favourite ‘Riding along on the crest of the wave’. Gates open at 6.30pm, performance begins at 7.30pm. Call the box office on 01792 475 715 to book.

9. Visit another country
Sick of never-ending queues, delayed flights and being crammed into a bright yellow plastic seat before you’ve even left the country? Why not explore the UK – it’s made up of very different countries, and offers some of the most beautiful countryside on the planet. Where else can you travel to another country without your passport?

10. Try a new activity
Are you one of the world’s best hang-gliders? How will you find out unless you give it a go? From coasteering (scrambling over rocks, jumping from ledge to ledge and swimming in the sea) to land-yachting, Scouting offers
a world of adventure. Then again, how long is it since you picked up a tennis racket?

11. Be a Day Visitor at the World SCOUT Jamboree
Have you ever wanted to learn how we can all look after our world, to learn more about global faiths and beliefs or to taste new international cuisine? The 21st World Scout Jamboree Day Visitors Experience is a great opportunity for everyone to learn more about the world, its cultures, issues, faiths, cuisine, performance at the biggest ever World Scout Jamboree. This may be your best chance to see and show international Scouting in action – come and share the experience… Visit: http://
eng.thejamboree.org. Tickets are £20 for adults and £15 for three to 14-year-olds. To book call 0845 300 1818.

12. Walk Hadrian’s Wall
It took six years to build the wall, but you can walk the 84-mile trail from Wallsend on the Tyne to Bowness
on Solway in under a week! Find suggested walks and cycle routes at
www.nationaltrail.co.uk/hadrianswall

13. Join the Tour de France – in London!
Date: 6-8 July
Yes, the opening stage of the Tour De France starts in London this year. A ceremony in Trafalgar Square gets the ‘Grand Depart’ underway, three days of cycling action with stages in central London, Greenwich and Erith before the tour winds its way into Kent and towards more familiar Gallic territory. Sample a bit of London Olympic fever a full five years ahead of time with this unmissable event which promises a real carnival atmosphere, fanatical fans and the breathtaking spectacle of the tour in full flow. Those who are having trouble enthusing their Scouts in the cycling and cycle safety requirements may tag along with the world’s greatest cycle race for a day or two for motivation. Visit
www.tourdefrancelondon.com

14. Meet up with fellow Scouters… without your Scouts
Don’t let your Scouts have all the fun! Plan a day, weekend or summer camp away with your Scouting friends. With no Scouts to be responsible for you can plan your own programme.

15. Picnic on an island
There are quite a few in the waters around Britain: Jersey, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, Isle of Skye… Oh, and let’s not forget Brownsea. Anyway, this is basically what it says – arranging a picnic for your Group on an island. Preferably you’d do it on a nice hot day and get all the Scouts involved in the preparations. It’s probably best to take a boat, as possibly not everyone in the Group will be a good swimmer.

16. Imperial War Museum London
Discover the story of those who have lived, fought and died in conflict from World War I to the present day. Highlights include the World War I and II galleries, The Trench Experience, The Secret War and the Holocaust Exhibition. Call 0207 416 5439 for group offers quoting ‘Scouts’ promo’. Imperial War Museum London, Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ.
Train to Waterloo or Elephant and Castle.

17. Have an art attack
Get creative and enter the Art of Scouting competition. It’s a chance to show off your art, photography and writing skills. Anybody in Scouting can send in an entry, or you can work as a group – you just need to be a Member – all ages, all Sections and Leaders can take part.
www.scouts.org.uk/2007/art/

18. Go ‘cool’ camping
It’s official, camping is cool! Of course, Scouts have known this for years. We don’t need Ted Baker airbeds or Cath Kidson sleeping bags to show us how great camping is. Why not try and find somewhere that little bit different to go camping with your Scouts? There are lots of great campsites around the UK, take advantage of them rather than going to the same old place each year. Get hold of a copy of Jonathan Knight’s Cool Camping for some ideas.
www.coolcamping.co.uk

19. Diaspora Music Village at Kew
Date: 28 June to 14 July
Diaspora refers to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands; those who are being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture. The Music Village Festival started in London in 1983 and has taken place throughout the world. This year’s takes place within Kew Gardens, and is a free music festival featuring the traditional music of displaced ethnic groups and is a wonderful opportunity for you and your Scout Group to learn more about different cultures. There will be music originating from Bosnia, China, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Yemen and much more.
www.culturalco-operation.org

20. Go organic – Organic Food Festival, Bristol
Date: 2-3 September
Organised by The Soil Association, the Organic Food Festival is Europe’s biggest organic festival. Taking place on Bristol’s harbour-side, the festival contains a large organic food and drink market, an organic fashion show, a relaxation zone and workshops teaching about the benefits of going organic. Take your Scouts along to give them a taste of the organic lifestyle.
For more information visit
www.thesoilassociation.org
or call 01934 813 407.

21. Let’s go fly a kite – International Kite
Festival in Sunderland
Date: 30 June to 1 July
A free event with a spectacular programme of national and international artists from the world of kites, from as far away as Japan, China, USA, Austria, Malaysia and Ghana. Talented kite flyers fill the sky with unique and magnificent kites of all shapes, colours and sizes. It is the biggest event of its kind in the country and is recognised internationally.
More information can be found at www.sunderland-kites.co.uk

22. Pretty Flamingo – Llanelli, Wales
Date: 28-29 July
Have you ever wondered what makes a flamingo pink? What makes them flap and dance? Then Saturday the 28 and Sunday 29 July is the perfect time to find out, as the Llanelli National Wetland Centre Wales will be dedicating a whole weekend to these beautiful birds. You’ll also learn about the work the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust is doing to protect these wonderful creatures. It could be the perfect way to get your Scouts working towards their Global Conservation Activity Badge. More information about this and other events held at the Wetland Centres across the UK can be found at www.wwt.org.uk

23. Change your world
For a week anyway. Did you know that if everyone made one less car journey per week it would reduce traffic by at least 10 per cent? 1-7 July is a chance to make a real difference by pledging to switch one car journey a week to a more environmentally-friendly way of getting around, such as walking, cycling or using public transport.
Find out more at:
www.changeyourworld.org.uk

24. Music response – All over the UK
Most people know of the large music festivals, but in recent years the UK has seen an explosion in the amount of smaller and more intimate festivals going on. In Leicester there is Summer Sundae on 10-12 August. Brighton has The Great Escape from 6-8 April, which focuses on the best new bands, Oxford has Truck on 21-22 July, which has a booking policy simply of ’anything-goes-as-long-as-it’s-good’. Previous years have included acts as diverse as Brakes, Youthmovies and Lady Sovereign. Your Scouts could just go along to one of these festivals, or you could offer your services with the running of the event. Scout Groups have been known in the past to help with keeping festival sites clean and tidy, preparation and packing away after it’s all over. www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals

25. Quaff, Scoff and jog at the Marathon
Du Medoc
Date: 8 September
Quaff and scoff as you jog your way through the south-west of France. The Marathon Du Medoc is a 42km race where every 2km you are given yet another dish or drink to taste. The event started in 1985 and now welcomes more than 8,000 participants a year. Maybe you and your Scouts could join them this year?
www.marathondumedoc.com

26. Become an outdoors instructor
Don’t just take part in outdoors activities – lead the activity while learning a new skill. It could be a great opportunity to change your career and become the next Rhys Jones, the Network member and youngest Briton to climb Everest. Darlington College offers a two-year Outdoor Leadership course, and covers all the main outdoor disciplines, including British Canoe Union and Mountain Training England. www.darlington.ac.uk

27. EUREKA!Laugh, learn and play all day both indoors and out at EUREKA! the UK’s much-touch museum for children. Discounts for groups of 10 children with one free adult for every four, plus priority entry and free car parking.
Contact: 01422 330069, bookings@eureka.org.uk or www.eureka.org.uk

28. Get on your boat and ride!
The Thames Clippers are a cheap and different way of seeing London, but of course you could take any boat ride
on any river you choose. It’s probably best to pick one nearby. If you wanted to, you could tie this in with your picnic on an island (see item
number 16).

29. Visit a zoo
Chester Zoo is the UK’s number one charity zoo, with over 7,000 animals and 400 different species, including some of the most endangered on the planet. With more than one million visitors every year, the zoo is an
all-year-round favourite for groups of children.
Scouts can enjoy the Elephants of the Asian Forest enclosure – a new home for the zoo’s elephants and see elephant calf, Raman. Young giraffe ’Molly’, is also a firm favourite and everyone loves the high-swinging orang-utans. Leaders can then enjoy a well-earned refreshment while your Scouts enjoy a scramble on the ark. For more details on group bookings call 0870 720 1507, www.chesterzoo.org

30. Join 28 million Scouts celebrate the dawn of a new century of Scouting
Date: 1 August
Exactly 100 years since Baden-Powell held the experimental camp on Brownsea Scouts, nearly every country in the world will celebrate our anniversary. It will be the biggest gathering that has happened in the world of Scouting. Get involved and help make it even bigger.
http://eng.thejamboree.org