Page 12 - Cadet Review Autumn 2023

AIR CADETS
CEY Wing ATC
Regional Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expeditions
By Flight Sergeant Abi Salt
We participated in Gold DofE from the 6-11th August in the Yorkshire Dales. Our group was made up of cadets from 110 City of York, 58 Harrogate, 740 Whitby, 1128 Crosby and 146 Northwich Squadrons. It was a Region event and we all met for the first time at the practice expedition in the North York Moors around a month before. We all worked together well as a team and had many laughs and jokes along the way.
On Day 1, we walked about 26km from Middleham to Horsehouse. We went on quite a few adventures including jumping over streams and fences and meeting points. It was a long first day as we didn’t finish until 8:30 in the evening but we had the best meal to finish the day with. We had beans, sausages, tomatoes and bacon. It really was the best end to a very long first day.
From the first day the group morale only went
up. The more check points we got to the more we smashed out the days. On day 2 we walked from Horsehouse to Kettlewell. We had quite a climb at the start of the day but after lunch it was all downhill. We enjoyed each other’s company and smashed out the walk. One of the high points of the day was the showers at Kettlewell as well as the noodles with chorizo and sticky teriyaki sauce. We got chatting to some of the campers and took advantage of the fact they had a fire pit. It was a really nice evening after another long day.
Day 3 the morale was high as we had one day left after today. We had a gorgeous walk from Kettlewell to Malham Cove. The views from the top of the hills were gorgeous as the sun was out and shining over the dales. As we were coming into Malham Cove we managed to overtake the other group. Even though
I would strongly urge all cadets who fancy
a challenge togiveita
go and get it completed
it’s definitely not a competition it was an amazing feeling to get to the campsite on time and before the other group.
The final day came round and we were all ready
to get to the finish line. We had quite a climb and did about 750m of climbing. We finished at Hag Dyke which was quite a challenge as it was a big last push but the feeling of when we saw the flag was amazing as we had reached the end point.
Alice from 146 said “She felt a feeling of achievement and accomplishment as she arrived at Hag Dyke”.
In total we all worked really well together and worked well as a team. Kiyan from 110 stated that we were a “close knit team that helped each other out when the time came and some team members needed some extra support. Because of this we all completed the expedition together successfully with smiles on our faces. At the end of the expedition Ethan from 1128 Crosby “said that it was nice to see the teamwork and leadership from each individual develop over the course of the 4 day expedition.” Following on from that Tom from 740 (Whitby) said “Gold DofE was a very enjoyable experience and would recommend to all cadets who are ready for
a challenge”. I would strongly urge all cadets who fancy a challenge to give it a go and get it completed.
In addition to Abi’s team another team of five male cadets also completed the expedition over similar terrain and where the teams camped at the same sites every night and rarely saw each other during the day though. They too enjoyed the experience and are also pictured here during and at the end of the expedition.
12 CADET REVIEW AUTUMN 2023