Duke of Edinburgh (Bronze) Expedition
I am Meg Cannell and decided a few months ago that I would do the DofE Bronze. For this I have to have a skill. Well, I play the flute. I also have to have a sport, and I have chosen Pilates, which seemed the best option because I have scoliosis. Scoliosis is curvature of the spine and that means a limit to the sort of physical sports I can play.
The Duke of Edinburgh Awards are designed to give millions of 14 to 24 year olds the opportunity to be the very best that they can be. One of the requirements of the Bronze category is to take part in an expedition.
There is a concessionary backpack weight for those with scoliosis. I have a partial fusion, which means I have rods holding some of my vertebrae in line, and soon will have a full fusion.
We sorted out our kit at Ashridge Estate Visitors’ Centre, before setting off on 1st October in the pouring rain. We had to share out the tent, small gas cookers called trangias, and sleeping bags. Thoroughly cold and wet we set off to walk 17 kilometres that day.
We met marshalls at points along the route, just in case anything was wrong, but nothing was. On we trudged and squelched over fields, and along roads until finally we reached our over-night spot. Then we had to erect our two tents, and cook some supper on our trangias. Then we tried to sleep, going to bed really early because we were so tired. And we did sleep, though we were so cold and wet.
Breakfast the next morning was still not a picnic in the sun. As the rain fell we cooked up some breakfast on the trangias, and then set off on the last 13 kilometres heading for Wendover Woods. Again it was a hike across fields. Once there was a bull, and we didn’t dawdle across that one. In another were alapacas which we all loved.
Finally we arrived at the finish, exhausted, wet, but really excited to have actually achieved our aim.
The expedition taught us the value of teamwork, and sometimes we didn’t get this right, but that’s how you learn. I think it’s a lesson that will be valuable when we do the Dof E Silver expedition (after my final operation). And actually, it will be valuable for the rest of our lives because we know that we have to endure if we want to achieve our goals.