The Wild Wolf Explorer Scout Unit left for the Peak District on the last day of November, ready for the weekend. It was a long journey there, but we passed the time with much banter, unfortunately however we were also subjected to our Leaders’ terrible jokes. When we arrived we were given our keys to the rooms at the Youth Hostel and set our bags down for the night before opening up our maps to plan the next day of hiking.  

We were split into two groups, one going to Kinder Scout, and the other group, my own one, would hike around Ladybower Reservoir and up to the top of Win Hill. After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast we set out for our walks. The route that I went on began with a fairly calm walk on a road along the bank of Ladybower Reservoir, which gave for some impressive sights, such as the plughole-like overflow of the reservoir. After what was more or less a stroll along the side of the reservoir we went up the slope leading South-West from the waters, navigating our way towards Win Hill. After a slight problem of about 200 meters, we found our way to the top of Win Hill. which offered some remarkable views of the reservoir, and also of the surrounding valleys. we had our lunch on the rocks at the top of the hill, before making our way back down towards our end point, us Explorers navigating all they way.

Our trip was followed by another short walk to pass the time before meeting up with the other group back at the hostel. After a good dinner and some games, including me beating the Leaders at table tennis, and another involving climbing around the underside of a table without touching the floor, we went out for a night hike that led us up the hill behind the hostel, where we looked for the remnants of an old plane crash.

Unfortunately we didn’t find it, as time was against us and it had long gone dark. However, the hike was still very worthwhile, and it ensured that all of us would sleep well that night. On the next day, we got all of our personal kit stowed away into the minibus, and had another good breakfast before setting out on our next hike, the Unit as one group today.

We hiked up to the top of Mam Tor, and traversed the ridge going East. We got some amazing views of the Peak District from the top of the ridge, such as being able to see our Youth Hostel and also the route of our previous night’s expedition. At Hollin’s Cross, we took a break, and witnessed a high-stakes JetBoil-Off, won by our leader Marlon, before continuing along to Back Tor. We had our lunch at the next peak, sitting down on the hillside facing the sun, discussing Christmas presents.

After this, we began our descent, leading us towards our destination: a cafe in the village of Hope, but an unfortunate navigation mishap resulted in us being marginally lost on the way, only to discover that we were just 3 metres off course, on the wrong side of a hedge-row! Once this had been resolved, we arrived in Hope, where we enjoyed a rest in the bar of a hotel. When we had finished “helping” our Leaders finish their food. Finally we set off on our return journey to London, worn out but satisfied, at the end of our weekend.

By Will Biddell