DofE Expedition
Your expedition will be one of the most exciting parts of doing your Duke of Edinburgh's Award – there are so many different options as to how you do it.
This year's expedition dates:
Practice |
Qualifier |
22nd - 26th April |
27th - 31st May |
Cost for this year: £408 - which includes training, shared equipment e.g. tents and stoves and assessments.
It’s up to you but at Gold level you must be in “Wild country” e.g. Yorkshire Dales, Exmoor, Cheviots, Lake District….
4 days and 3 nights
You must have at least 8 hours of planned activity during the daytime (at least 4 of which must be spent journeying)
Each team will have between 4 and 7 of you (8 if you travel by tandem canoe or bike)
We use an AAP – Approved Activity Provider – and they take you on a practice expedition a few weeks before you do your qualifying one. During this time they will give you all the training you need from map reading, first aid & even how to pack your rucksack properly. They also provide all your group kit e.g. tents & stoves so that you just need to get your personal kit.
The D of E provide a recommended kit list which you can find here
See the DofE’s advice on rucksacks and packing here.
Unsure about walking boots and socks? For more advice click here.
We’ve just had our first group complete their practice expedition & the have produced some really handy top tips from their experience:
- Walk more in preparation
- Take more snacks – yes you really need to eats lots of calories!
- Take foot tape & talcum powder – your feet are going to hate you
- Take loads of plastic bags to put wet things in & even put inside your boots
- Pack your dinner as a group
- Pack lots of socks then pack even more socks!
- Practice packing/unpacking your bag – there’s an art to it
If you’d like more information about doing your expedition including an idea of what costs are involved email e[email protected]
Case Study - Arran
"As a person who has never done anything like this before, I loved the whole experience, it allows you to learn a whole range of skills while seeing beautiful scenery and having a laugh. Although it isn’t without its challenges; walking for hours in different environments can take its toll which meant having a positive mental attitude towards it was essential from my own experience. In our group we got lost a couple of times, one being in dense fog and heavy rain on a large featureless moor. We used teamwork and our problem solving skills to eventually find our way back onto the path and without these skills it could’ve been very plausible that we would have had to call for help.
Overall the expedition allowed me to enhance my problem solving, communication and team working skills and provided a great experience to learn skills such as map reading and taking a bearing. I would recommend this to anybody."
Case Study - Lauren
"My favourite part of the expedition was reaching the top of one of the three peaks on the practice expedition and the amount of support from everyone in the group when completing the challenge. The most challenging part of the assessed expedition was ending up off course on one of the hottest days of the year. To resolve this we worked as a team to motivate each other by thinking of the end result and solved the problems we were having to get back on track and finish the day. Skills I developed included working well as a team to motivate each other, support each other in areas we found difficult. We solved problems we faced effectively even when frustrated and tired. I communicated with others in the team to agree on routes and resolve disagreements"
Employability Skills
Don’t forget to log your Employability skills on the Skills Log from taking part in this opportunity!
Team Working – to successfully complete your expedition you need to be able to work well as part of a team and communicate effectively with each other.Perseverance and Initiative – the whole Award takes a lot of dedication and motivation, specifically the expedition which is probably the most challenging section.
Leadership – there may be moments where you find yourself needing to step up and lead the way.
