The day began with the sound of sizzling sausages and rashers as our Scout troop gathered around for a delicious fry-up breakfast. With full bellies and high spirits, we set out to face the day’s activities despite the rainy weather.

Fortunately, our morning activity took us to the Boda Borg challenge center, providing us with shelter from the elements. Scouts worked in teams to take on the various challenges in Boda Borg.

To round off an amazing week with a very special group of Scouts, they were treated to a meal in Vittos restaurant in Carrick on Shannon. Some of our Scouts embraced the occasion by donning stylish suits, which they had acquired from a local charity shop for a mere €12. It was fantastic to see all 27 Scouts mixing, chatting and having a laugh over their meal.

We headed back to the site with our bellies full and gathered together in our marquee. We held an award ceremony to recognise the efforts of Patrol of the camp, Senior Scout of the Camp and Junior Scout of the camp, as voted for by the Scouts themselves, as well as presenting other well-deserved prizes and commendations.

We boarded the minibuses this morning at 9:30am and made our way west along the N4 to Strandhill, one of the most popular surfing spots in Ireland.

Under the guidance of experienced instructors, we took to the wild Atlantic waves on our surf boards. We had great craic splashing around and jumping onto/falling off the surf boards!

After we built up an appetite we made our way into Sligo town to stuff our faces with burger and chips.

When we went back to camp we had a surprise visitor on site….. an ice cream van! Scouts excitedly lined up to get their goodies.

We rounded off the day as we gathered around a crackling campfire. We toasted marshmallows and made s’mores. We sang our hearts out and shared stories before heading off to bed.

We awoke in the early hours of the morning to the sound of the dawn chorus…. Not a bad alarm clock to have.

All Scouts made it through the night’s bivvying activity….. Some sleeping better than others!!

We boarded the row boats and made our way back to the main land. The morning was spent back on site, having some down time, recharging the batteries!

The Scouts scaled new heights in the afternoon in the forest….. Tackling ladders, rope bridges, swinging logs and ziplines as they worked their way around the circuits at Zipit highwires.

Back to site in the evening for a chicken curry…. And it wasn’t too long after that Scouts were making their way to bed. A lot of tired heads hitting the pillows tonight!

We spent a lot of today out on the water (and in the water – for the Scouts whose kayaks capsized!)

After breakfast we headed down and got kitted out for our kayak trip on the lake. We made our way through the canal to Trinity Island and explored the ancient monastery. Afterwards we made our way back, playing games, swapping kayaks and finished off with pier jumping.

Soup and sandwiches were on the menu for lunch. After lunch, we prepared our gear for a night on Orchard Island. We rowed our way across to the island in groups of six.

Once we got to the island we cooked our burgers, hot dogs and rashers on fires and trangias. There were a lot of tired heads after an action packed day, so we settled into our bivvy bags and some Scouts were lucky enough to get hammocks and hoped for a good night’s sleep!!!

We kicked off the day with some pier jumping and a dip in the lake. We then made our way back to our site where Scouts got their lunches into them.

After lunch we headed back down to view the Forest Park from the tunnels below the ground to the tree top canopy walkway and enjoyed the amazing views from the top on the Moylurg Viewing tower.

The Patrols then set off to follow the orienteering trail and crack the codes along the way.

We then headed back to site to cook Spag Bol over fires.

We arrived on site around 11am and got stuck into putting up tents and building our sites. All the scouts did really well…. So well that we were well ahead of schedule and had time to go for a dip before dinner. Scouts cooked their tasty chicken fajitas on their fires.