Jennie Evans

Written by Imogen Young

We were very lucky to have family living near Scafell that were happy to take us in last night, saving us from another journey into the early hours of the morning. This meant our day started at 6am for a 4 hour drive down to our final peak – Snowdon. The traffic was very kind allowing for a quick souvenir stop in Betws – y – Coed.

Lynne dropped us off at Pen – y – Pass car park and after a quick toilet stop we headed up the Pyg Track. Surprisingly our legs loosened up quickly and we got into a steady pace clambering over the rocks and boulders that made up the path. The sun was out however a chilly wind blowing up from the valley kept us cool and luckily it was a day without rain. We soon reached the first ridge and the mountain came into sight looming high above us. The peak was in and out of cloud so we were hoping it would blow over by the time we reached the summit.
The next section of path was fairly flat following the contour of the mountain so we made good progress and the path to the top came into view.
It became steeper and rockier as we scrambled up to the zig zags to the top ridge.
By now a queue was beginning to form in busy and technical parts of the ascent.

The summit ridge was windy and unfortunately in thin cloud so the long queue to the trig point seemed too cold to wait in so we settled for a selfie just below the trig.
We had managed to reach the summit in 2 hours 24 minutes!!

We quickly headed back down the ridge and dropped onto the top part of the Pyg Track which was much harder coming down as it was so steep and quite slippery. After 20 minutes on the Pyg Track we began the scramble down rocks to the Miners Track just below – from previous experience we know this is a much kinder path to descend. After Jennie’s fall yesterday we were very cautious of slippery, wet rocks. When we reached the lake we stopped for a drink and snack to give us energy for the final push to the end of our epic challenge. The Miners Track snakes it’s way around the valley giving many false impressions of how close we were. We pushed hard to keep a fast pace and were soon greeted by the familiar car park gates where Lynne was ready to pick us up.

We have made so many good memories on our adventure and it is certainly something we will never forget. It was such a shame that we couldn’t finish as a team and we wish Jennie a speedy recovery. All that remained for us was to get some much needed fast food and head home after an amazing adventure.

https://wonderful.org/fundraisers/794Vn

Niall Tyler

Part 2 – During the event:

Part-2 – the Event:

I think that we all knew that the Great Woggle JOGLE would be quite hard work, especially in the early days whilst travelling through the more remote parts of Scotland and the North of England, but I think none of us had realised the effort required to get to John O’Groats in the first place!

Google Maps gives a distance of just under 700 miles by road between our starting point at the Scout Hut (#brickfieldsbigbuild), and 680 miles to our accommodation for the night before in Wick; throw in an overnight stop at Nottingham and this proved to be a very long journey indeed.  It got to the point where we all agreed that driving the last couple of hundred miles past inverness and on to Wick in a marathon 5-hour non-stop drive was preferable to prolonging our journey even further by stopping!

At Wick we started to set up our tents in the garden of the Scout Hut, only for one of the leaders to arrive to let us into the Hut – cue much movement of tents and other kit – for which we were very grateful as we then had access to what would become probably the three most welcome things on the journey: a dry space for the tents, kitchen / cooking facilities, and toilets / washing facilities.

This brings me back to the issue of accommodation (see Part-1): during the 9-weeks of travelling the team stayed in many different Scout Huts, plus the odd Girl Guides and Sea Scout Hut, too.  All of these provided the aforementioned amenities, but they also provided something else – a welcoming and secure base for the team. After a very wet day-2 (Thurso to Bettyhill) it became clear exactly how much it helped the team by having a warm, dry space to spend the night in.

We are very grateful to every Group that allowed us to use their facilities and would like to add a special “thank you” to those Groups that provided company, food, and entertainment. Having food provided occasionally made life a lot easier for the support team!  However, we are especially grateful to the incredible families who made their homes available to us, providing food, showers, and laundry facilities to the team. You really have no idea how much having a hot shower and clean clothes can lift one’s spirits until you’ve been without either for a while!

Napoleon Bonaparte is often credited with the quote, “An Army marches on its stomach”, and it’s something that I think applied equally to the Great Woggle JOGLE team.  The provision of food, including shopping and (ideally) cooking the evening meal, plus the delivery of lunch to the team en route, were key deliverables for the support crew, ensuring that the team could focus on the job in hand. Whilst it’s fair to say that the supply of the packed lunches didn’t go to plan on the first day (with the crate containing the packed lunches having been loaded into the van and not the car…), the whole process of preparing the packed lunches is something that the team became very slick at. I’m not sure who out of Ollie, Hattie, or Bethan came up with the idea of a double-decker sandwich, but it certainly went down well with the team. 

The biggest challenge, however, was logistics. Physically moving the vehicles and kit between stopping points was a real issue, especially when there was only one support person and there were two vehicles to move.  The issue was exacerbated in Scotland by two things: 1: the distances involved – up to 60km on some days – and 2: lack of direct roads between the start and finish points.  However, with much to-ing and fro-ing and the occasional lift by third parties, the vehicles always made it to the finish point. A special mention to Dan for his efforts with the vehicles: moving one and then hopping on to his folding bike and cycling all the way back to collect the second. Well done, Dan!

When Emma and I again took on the role of support towards the end of the adventure, Sarah and Dan plus Elaine and Phil were around to help, too. This made the whole process a lot easier, especially when cooking for larger numbers of people – curry in a barn for 13, anyone?

Looking back on my time spent with the team I’ll remember many things, but these are just a few: 

– The incredible beauty of the Scottish Highlands – especially when the sun came out after the rain

– The wonderful sunset over the Beauly Firth that I witnessed from Clachnaharry  

– The strange familiarity of Scout Huts across the country – including the somewhat variable facilities

– The gentler beauty of the Gloucestershire / Somerset countryside

– The kindness of strangers to other members of the Scouting family

– And the rugged coastal scenery of Cornwall, including an incredible sunset at Porthtowan Beach.

But the team themselves also provided many abiding memories – some of them are:

– Witnessing Phil’s ever-improving skills at packing innumerable boxes into the van and multiple bikes onto the car

– Seeing Hattie’s confidence when riding a bike growing considerably

– Bethan quietly getting on with things (and having a “Yoga Brick” in her Crate…)

– Cara suffering with a painful knee but pushing-on anyway – and coming back for more

– I didn’t see Ollie taking a dip in the canal, but it sounds like something he’ll remember

– James applying for a job whilst “on the road” and, with a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, being interviewed and being offered said job (well done!)

– And watching Jennie continue to be the driving force of the adventure. Leading from the front and being up late most nights route-planning and Blogging, despite being obviously very tired.

When I left the team in Inverness at the end of the first week of The Great Woggle JOGLE (a day later than planned – thanks EasyJet!) I think that the enormity of the task ahead of the team had finally become clear, to me at least!  In that first week they had all shown incredible resilience and had achieved much more that I thought they might (52km through the Highlands on bikes in the pouring rain – no problem!).  Collectively they showed a determination to achieve their goal and they demonstrated the capabilities to do it, whatever the weather and terrain could throw at them. I was proud of them then and I’m very proud of them now. What they achieved is remarkable and I hope that they all remember their adventures for a very long time.

When we finally arrived at the Land’s End signpost to be greeted by John, ex-District Commissioner for the Scout Group, it brought the journey to a fitting end. John and I had both been at the start of the adventure in John O’Groats to see the team off at what seemed like an age ago and here we both were at the finish.  The support team’s job was complete.

The support team: Niall, Emma, Dan, Sarah, John, Paul, Jayne, Neil, Jan, Christian, Olly (& Ethan), Phil, Helen, Elaine, and Phil – my apologies if I’ve forgotten anyone (Abi and Moby get an honourable mention, too). Thank you.

The end.

Niall Tyler

Part 1 – Before the event:

When my younger son announced last year that he, a couple of other Scout Leaders, and some of the Scouts were planning to cycle and walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End during the then next summer my first thoughts were “really?!”, followed by “that’s a long way!”, and then rounded off by a “how’s that going to work, then?”.

But with the overall plans gradually taking shape and the route becoming clearer (avoid the A9!), thoughts turned to the logistics of the 8-to-9-week journey and the support that would be required throughout.

I was one of a collection of parents, grandparents, and the ex-Scout District Commissioner who, with some juggling by Jennie and Phil, managed to agree a schedule of at least one support person being with the team for the whole of the journey. Somehow, I found myself agreeing to be the support for the first week – so from Chandler’s Ford up to John O’Groats and then with the team as they made their way by bike and foot to Inverness.  It all sounds so simple written down like that…

The support work started well before the journey itself did, with many of us and our wider families helping to seek out suitable accommodation en route, assisting Phil in identifying the local Scout Groups and contacting them to request use of their facilities for a night along the way. I’ll come back to the accommodation later.  Other questions such as “how many spare inner-tubes will we need” came down to a finger in the air guess and a hope for the best!

Hendy Ford had been kind enough to lend us a Transit Van for the adventure (even wrapping both it and Phil & Jennie’s car with Woggle Joggle logos, QR Codes, and, of course, their own business name) and Phil did an amazing job constructing some wooden racking in it to hold the many and various crates and boxes that seemed to keep growing and growing in number.  The whole event would have been impossible without this, and we are very grateful to Hendy’s for their support.

As the day of departure grew nearer, and the mountain of kit grew ever larger, thoughts turned more to food and other essentials.  With various dietary requirements to cater for shopping was a bit more involved than perhaps it might have been, but I think that we managed to provide suitable food for everyone so we must have done something right.

Eventually, the early evening of Friday 7^th July arrived and the Great Woggle JOGLE team, accompanied by their support team (me) assembled at Brickfield Lane, to be seen off by a large gathering of family, friends, and other well-wishers on our way to our overnight stay near Nottingham.

The Great Woggle JOGLE had begun.

End of Part-1.

A few of Jennie’s thoughts on the last few months..

Last summer we had a different mad plan in mind. We were about to embark on a self build; something that we knew would take over our world for a few years and possibly bankrupt us in the process. Despite the underlying fear of such a massive project it felt exciting and risky. Then, due to several factors completely outside of our control, our build project fell through and I was left wanting to find a new something to fill the gap that had been left.

Last August bank holiday we helped at the Hampshire Scouts stand at Carfest South. The stand was visited by thousands of people, including Chris Howard, aka Chris the Coast Walker, who has completed several big challenges including walking the coast of the UK to fundraise for Children in Need. We got chatting, and I told him about our Scout groups mission to replace our Scout hut with a community building and new HQ and he offered to help.

Over the next 24 hours my brain started whirling.. maybe we could do a big challenge as a fundraiser for our Brickfields Big Build project. I lay in bed unable to sleep, when the idea of the Great Woggle JOGLE hit. It felt right. I did a little 2am research and it didn’t seem impossible even for the kids. I finally fell asleep with a head full of new plans.

In the morning I shared my idea with Phil. He paused for a few seconds, then smiled – 1 down 2 to go! I headed downstairs and found the kids in front of the TV. I told them my plan and Ollie was instantly on board – “Mummy I can easily walk 5km so this will be fine” (bless him!). Hattie however was not so convinced, but gradually over the next 20 minutes she started to see what an amazing adventure it could be.

Family onboard, we next needed to check with the kids schools and with work. By the time all of this was in place we were already into 2023 and time was running away from us.

I’m quite good at planning, and had a systematic order in my head that each step of the project needed to be done in. First planning a route, then looking at which Scout and Guide groups may be near so we could explore potential accommodation and see if they would like to join us. It sounds so simple – look on a database and send a few emails, only there isn’t such a database, and we didn’t have a list of contacts let alone email addresses. Trying to work out the names of Scout Districts in each County was a big enough challenge. Each evening became a routine of sorting the kids, sorting any Group admin, then doing Woggle JOGLE planning.

With a couple of months to go it suddenly dawned on us that we ought to leave the static planning and do some training. However, with 2 busy full time jobs, many different after school clubs and a Scout group to run we didn’t find much time for training. In fact I only got a bike at Easter which totally speaks for itself!

The last few weeks before we left felt like chaos. I was working a lot, and therefore felt totally out of control. I had no spare time to pack, and literally threw bits into a box the night before we left, hoping Phil had looked at the lists we’d made. I therefore ended up having only packed 3 t shirts, but about 25 pairs of pants as I really had packed in a rush!

The night we set off I finished work and had 10 minutes at home before we headed to the hut to meet the rest of the team. It didn’t feel real and I certainly didn’t feel ready. There were loads of little things I’d planned to sort but simply hadn’t found the time to do. I was desperately tired, and all I actually wanted to do was have a weekend off. When we finally set off the enormity of the journey in the car really hit home. What had we done?

But then we started cycling and walking, and after a few initial hiccups (like a lunch stop with no food, and apples left on the car roof), we all settled into a routine where the only things to think about were getting up and ready, walking or cycling, moving the support vehicles, making dinner and setting up camp again. It was lovely. Very few external stresses, just quality time with my family and adopted extended family for the summer.

There were certainly moments when we all questioned whether we wanted to keep going. For me my sheer stubbornness just wouldn’t let me stop. My left knee massively started to play up just as we were leaving Scotland, and I had a few weeks when I walked each morning like my legs hated me, but with some very out of date ibuprofen gel I was able to keep going hopefully without causing too much lasting damage.

I honestly cannot say enough how utterly moved we have been by the pure kindness and generosity we experienced from people who were complete strangers, but now have a place forever in our hearts. Yes the scenery across the country was stunning, and yes the physical exercise was a challenge, but it was the people who made this experience truly special and I honestly can’t thank you all enough.

Finishing is in many ways quite a shame. I’m already missing our JOGLE routine, and hate that we are already slipping back into some of our pre-adventure habits. I love being able to shower when I want and having access to a washing machine as needed (although I have used it far to much in the last 48 hours). I’ve lovely seeing friends, and I’m also quite enjoying the cuddles our cats they keep giving. But I’m itching to go back out on the bike (something I never thought I’d say!), and I am very aware I can’t go completely back to the life we had before this. There will be another big idea that pings into my brain soon..

Day 57- Sennen Cove to Lands End!

Actual distance 2.8km or 1.74 miles

Total Ascent 29m

Today was a celebration of our journey and the weather joined in too!

Just like any morning we packed away and had breakfast but happily we didn’t have to worry about ensuring we had enough food to sustain prolonged activity as we knew we had less than 3km left. Before heading off from the Penzance (Madron) Scout group we caught up with Jeremy, the DC for Penzance and the Isles of Scilly on his way to run a Silver DofE expedition.

We arrived at Sennen Cove to find a huge crowd in the car park waiting for us ready to join us for the final leg. After some photos we boldly headed off (before confirming which of the two routes we should take- the costal path or cycle route 3!) Following a brief consensus we opted for route 3 and off we went with flags waving in high spirits.

We soon saw Lands End in the distance and headed for the complex which is significantly more developed and touristy than John O’Groats. We found the start/ finish point and then were temporarily confused as to where the iconic signpost was so we took the scenic route (aka aimlessly wandered) to find it (not that it really mattered after over 1,750km!)

Signpost located we also spotted John Leeks, who saw us off from John O’Groats all those weeks ago, and who had travelled all the way down to Lands End especially to see us finish. As we approached the post we discovered just how lucrative a sign is to an area as you are only allowed near if you pay to have an official photo taken. We posed for the essential photographic proof on the poor mans side of the barrier, but John was an absolute legend and paid for an official photo as a present for us which we are very, very grateful for. Now looking at the photos the amazing blue sky behind us makes it look suspiciously like CGI – we really did make it we promise!

We were then surprised by being given not one, but two specially made medals to commemorate our adventure, along with individual certificates of achievement- an amazing and unexpected surprise from our families.

Obviously we then headed to the gift shop to buy a blanket badge and essential fridge magnet, before immortalising our adventure and our status as ‘end-t0-enders’ (the technical term for doing the JOGLE or LEJOG!) by signing the official record book at The Lands End Hotel.

It was then time to go our separate ways and for most of us to head home as quickly as possible for school and work, though James and Cara are going to stay in Cornwall for a few days to relax and finally celebrate their exam results! On the way home we listened to a radio interview we had recorded a few days ago with the lovely Matt Shepherd from BBC Radio Cornwall that was on air at about 13:20 today that you can listen to here https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gb2vkm

Over the next few days we will reflect on the massive adventure we have had (possibly after doing a few loads of washing and a little unpacking!), but for now here are a few silly numerical facts about our journey –

Days away- 59

Days active- 55

Distance travelled- 1757.08km 0r 1091.8 miles (or 4.96 times the length of the River Severn)

Total ascent 22,667.16m (or the height of 2.56 Mount Everest’s)

Moving time- 171h 32m (or 10,292 minutes, or 617,520 seconds)

Total average speed- 10.2km/h (that’s an average of the walking and cycling combined)

Number of Birthdays- 3

Number of punctures- 6

Number of counties- 18 (which is 22.2% of all the counties in Scotland and England combined or 16.5% of the counties in the UK)

Number of falls- no idea but quite a lot! (none from Bethan or Jennie though!)

Number of memories made- far, far too many to count!

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Day 56 – Hayle to Sennen Cove

Actual distance 37.89km or 23.5miles

Total Ascent 464m

Staying at Penzance (Madron) Scout HQ

This was the morning of our final riding day for the JOGLE so we were up early and tucking into an awesome cooked breakfast courtesy of our hosts the 5th Redruth. A final flurry of packing saw our penultimate day starting in good time with us heading back to Hayle to tackle the final leg of our adventure.

It started relatively easily with a fairly flat run south out of Hayle towards St Erth then continuing along the water front, meaning we were able to reach Penzance in good time and before the heat of the day peaked. We’ve often struggled to meet up with our support team for lunch, but today this happened exactly as planned, with us all congregating in a lovely sunny park near the beachfront. We spent almost an hour lunching with Sarah, Abi and Moby, Phil and Elaine, and Jan and Neil who have driven down to join us for the last few days of the journey.

We could put off the hills no longer and so headed towards Mousehole and the tough, tough steep climb out of the village. However, the boys both managed to make it to the top without stopping! With water running short we decided we would stop in the pub in Lamorna Valley and so headed down a really steep section which required hard braking all the way (we dropped by over 60m in just 0.5 km!) We stopped at our final pub whilst on the JOGLE and cooled down with a soft drink.

With only 11km left we continued onwards and upwards quickly completing the final climb of the day (and of the whole journey!). We were then on the home straight. Sennen Cove came into view and we spotted multiple vehicles of ours, our support crew, parents and grandparents in the car park and gratefully stopped in front of a spectacular view of the bay. It felt difficult to stop with such a tiny distance left, but essential so we can all finish as a complete team tomorrow.

We loaded the bikes and the kids were desperate to head to the beach to paddle (or swim!) in the sea, and so we headed down the steep dunes to the bay. We found Paul and Jane (who have also travelled down to join us for the last stretch) on the beach with Sarah and Abi and joined in with the fun on the sand and in the rather cold water. Having dried off we headed back to Penzance for our final stay of the trip- with Penzance (Madron) Scouts courtesy of their DC Jeremy.

This evening we had a tasty chilli (thanks to Elaine and Phil) with everyone all together. It was great to chat around a campfire and for the kids to toast marshmallows before settling down for our last night away on the JOGLE.

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Day 55 – Truro to Hayle

Actual distance 39.11Km or 24.30miles

Total Ascent 619m

Staying with 5th Redruth Scout Group

Today was sort of our penultimate day. We’re very aware of the need to try to get home for the start of the school term, but are also conscious that we have a fantastic group of people joining us on Sunday for our approach to Lands End. We therefore decided to re-plot our journey from Truro to Lands End, splitting it in to two good cycles and a very (very) short final walk that everyone can join us for.

This morning started with our usual routine of packing up, breakfasting (consisting of pasties and cake for Phil and James!!!), and making lunch (pasties for Phil, James and Bethan!). Just before 10am we were joined by Scouts, Cubs, Leaders and Leaders children from 18th Truro (and Sarah, Abi and Moby) to walk with us for the first 5km of todays route. Having people join us is always such a boost.

However, today was slightly complicated by a scheduled interview with Lou Hannan from BBC Radio Solent that was planned to start about 25 minutes after we set off, so we wandered down as far as BBC Radio Cornwall and paused at a picnic table just outside their building. Aware that the larger group was getting restless we split up, with a few of us staying to do the interview, whilst the rest continued on the walk.

We sat listening to Lou Hannan’s show (with Jennie playing along with a name that theme tune game, and the kids giggling at the that fact that certain names are associated with people who moan a lot!), then it was our turn to be on air (you can listen here.. ). Once we’d finished chatting we headed off to try and catch up with the others, reaching them at the point where the 18th Truro and the Woggle JOGLErs were due to part ways. Sarah and Abi (with Moby) also left us at this point, although we were rejoined by Moby 5 minutes later who merrily ran down the hill to join us as clearly our walk seemed more entertaining than theirs!

After a reasonable climb into Playing Place we met up with Niall who had brought our bikes ready for phase 2 of today’s journey. We hopped on and set off along the national cycle route number 3. The route quickly lead to the Bissoe Trail, an off-road path through the old mineral tramway that takes you passed several old tin mines and quarries, passed picturesque pools filled with lilies and purple hillsides covered in heather. The path itself was rough and stony in places, and littered with fairly sizeable puddles from the persistent rain this week.

We reached Saint Piran Cafe at lunch time and paused to eat and have a coffee. Jennie was very excited to chat to a guy who was delivering cakes from his daughters bakery business, BB’s Bakery, that only make gluten and dairy free goods. She therefore had to buy a little something to sample and can vouch that the ‘Brookie’ slice was utterly delicious!

There were two potential routes from the cafe, and without realising, the team chose to take the wetter of the two! We headed off with James leading, cycling through muddy puddle of increasing size until we watched him pedal through a puddle that was so deep that it came half way up his wheels! At this point Jennie insisted on the rest of the group turning back and taking the alternative path, leaving James to negotiate the last couple of puddles before we rejoined him.

At the end of the Bissoe Trail the route 3 climbs and climbs and climbs along winding country lanes leading up to Redruth. The hill appeared to go on forever, but impressively we all managed to keep going. With the knowledge that we had conquered the biggest climb of the day, we continued through town. There were a few more steep ascents and a rather blocked single track road to negotiate before the day was through, and we did have to pause for an ice lolly break before the end, but we reached Hayle in good spirits.

We were met in Hayle by Niall (whose birthday it is today – Happy Birthday!), and he drove us all back to the lovely holiday apartment that Emma and Niall are staying in on the outskirts of Redruth. Emma had been busy baking scones so we could all join them for a birthday cream tea, Cornish style. A fantastic treat!

We then headed to 5th Redruth’s HQ, our home for the night. Paul (Group Scout Leader at 5th Redruth) and his lovely wife have looked after us fantastically, treating us to a fish and chip supper, inviting us to their home to use the shower and providing us with ingredients to make a cooked breakfast tomorrow. We are beyond grateful (and clean!).

It’s an odd mixture of emotions reaching the last few days of this journey. It has been so heartwarming to experience the utter kindness and generosity of strangers. The unity in Scouting is phenomenal. We have met so many adults with a real passion to ensure our young people can continue to learn, grow and have fun new experiences together outside of school. Grass root Scouting is so successful thanks to the dedication of amazing teams of volunteers throughout the world and we have been honoured to have met a some of these amazing people during our travels.

We have felt a real want to bring Groups together, and with this in mind we are thinking of arranging ‘Woggle JOGLE Jam’ for some point next year. We would love to meet up again with all the fantastic people we have met on our journey, so a massive camp seems the most appropriate way forwards. Watch this space..

Tomorrow we will be cycling almost to Lands End, leaving only a 3km walk to complete on Sunday. We really can’t believe it’s nearly over.

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Day 54- Newquay to Truro

Proposed distance 23.98km or 14.9miles (or the length of 95,920 hedgehogs)

Total Ascent 428m (or the equivalent of the 87.88 times the height of the spring tide in Truro today)

With an improving weather forecast and a short ride planned we didn’t rush to leave the 1st Newquay (though we still managed to leave by 11 so pretty normal for us!). We left in warm grey cloud and headed down a lovely hill only to be seriously tested by a big ascent out of the town!

Stopping to remove layers (in summer!), we pushed on through some fairly busy traffic until we reached smaller lanes that wound towards our first stop for the day. The mizzle quickly progressed to rain but the steep hills meant we kept warm despite the conditions!

We arrived in St Newlyn East slightly ahead of our 12pm ETA to meet up with Rachel who runs the local shop, and James, her son, who is a Beaver with 1st Newquay Scout Group. They ensured we were refreshed and well fed with very tasty pasties and hot coffee. We chatted before reluctantly getting back on our bikes for the push on to Truro.

More steep hills were in our way, but the months we’ve been travelling have made us stronger and we dispatched with the 12% gradients with ease without getting off (mainly)! The final 10km was ‘generally down hill’, with the exception of the scattered sharp climbs. We also met a fun road diversion and relatively heavy traffic due to this.

We made it into Truro and headed to the 18th Truro St George’s Sea Scout HQ, arriving ahead of schedule. We stopped for a drink and ice cream at the cafe next door to celebrate being another day closer to the finish. Whilst we were waiting for the day hire of the hall to finish we decided to chance our luck and head to the BBC Radio Cornwall studio we passed on the way in to see if they would help share news of our adventure. Happily they said yes and we had a quick impromptu interview which will hopefully to be aired on Sunday! Stardom sorted we headed back and met the team at the 18th who treated us to hedgehogs- a Cornish delicacy of (yet more) ice cream with frozen clotted cream on top dipped in nuts and decorated with chocolate buttons and sweets- very yummy!

We settled in and started cooking tea whilst the kids headed out to the amazing local park. An evening of blogging, games and chatting followed. Only 3 more days to go!

The ‘amazing’ playground by the 18th Truro

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