EXPLORER scouts, leaders and instructors from the 1st Watchet Sea Scout Group undertook an expedition to the Bristol Channel island of Flat Holm – 30 years after the last group of scouts from the town went there.
The conditions were chilly and exposed, but their Royal Navy Recognised status meant the Royal Navy provided military ration packs of high calorie food, which the scouts heated quickly on Trangia stoves.
They were also kept warm by a camp fire, made from the assembled drift wood that had been washed up over the last few weeks.
In the morning, the explorer scouts were awake before sunrise, cooking breakfast under the flash of the lighthouse, built in 1737, and packing their equipment up before rejoining the boats to take them back over to the mainland at Penarth with the high tide.
“This was a fantastic opportunity to visit a local landmark that many people look out across to, but very few venture out and experience,” said assistant group scout leader Simon Bale.
“The last time the Scout Group were on the island was 30 years ago, but we hope to return much sooner.
“The weekend allowed those explorer scouts that attended to consolidate skills they have been practising and gain experience in a very rural and wild environment”.
Flat Holm island has a long history of occupation, dating at least from Anglo-Saxon and Viking times.
The scouts were able to explore many of the 19th century Palmerston Forts line of defences as well as buildings from World War Two when the island was armed with both surface and anti aircraft guns.