Duke of Edinburgh

Ouch.

I got back from doing my silver Duke of Edinburgh yesterday and I’m in so much pain (as I predicted). For those who don’t know, (for silver) Duke of Edinburgh award involves doing six months of service, sport and skill. On top of that you also have to camp for three nights and walk sixteen kilometers (ten miles) a day carrying all of your stuff. That is your clothes, food, cooker, pots and pans, bowl, cutlery, sleeping bag, sleeping mat and tents – all on your back.

For my service I’m a young leader at Guides, for my sport I’m doing badminton and for the skill, me and my mates are going to make a horror movie (watch this space).

Anyway, we left at seven O’clock on Saturday morning and got to Exford in Exmoor at about eleven O’clock. That day we walked sixteen kilometers which was okay because the weather was good: overcast but not raining or sunny. The campsite was awful when we got there at six. There were no showers and the toilets were filthy. Our tent was on a slope backwards so I couldn’t sleep and there were a lesbian couple next to us which offered us pasta which was kind of them (and gladly accepted). On that day we also picked up a dog named Cherry at a farm and she followed us for about nine kilometers back to the campsite so we had to get the campsite owners to take her back. She was a really nice dog and scared all of the cows away for us.

On the second day, we got up at seven and left the campsite by about quarter to nine. During that day we walked eighteen kilometers, most of which was uphill and hurt. A lot. Best of all, it rained a bit that day too so we got quite wet. My friend almost had a panic attack. She went really faint when we were walking so me and my other mate were basically supporting all of her weight. She then totally blacked out although she was still walking (with all of her weight on us) so we had to lye her down and call our assessor. She was taken to the next checkpoint while the rest of us carried on. On our practice expedition, she had a panic attack everyday but she didn’t at all this one so we were all really happy about that.

Anyway, later that day, we were walking through a field that was probably about one kilometer long and we got to the middle and there were about five cows there. We hadn’t seen any from the gate and you have to understand how shit scared I am of cows. I edged past them and they were all staring at us and then they started walking towards us. As they got to us, they went round and ran off ahead of us. When we got over the hill a bit, I realized they had run towards all of the other cows. There was about forty at least and they were all stood in front of the gate we needed to go through. One of my friends lives next to a farm so she walked towards the cows but they didn’t move. We decided to stay together as a group (there were six of us) and go towards them but they still didn’t move. By this point I was so freaked and then, as if things couldn’t get worse, they started all coming towards us. I started backing off and everyone else did too but we really didn’t know what to do. Surprisingly, I managed not to run away (because that encourages them to run after you) but I was so fucking freaked that I was crying (yeah, I know, I’m a pussy!). The four girls in our group all backed away to a gate at the side of the field and I literally collapsed on the ground as soon as I was out of that field. Then I started shitting it again because the two boys started walking towards the cows! Luckily they managed to get through them safely but they climbed over the gate because they were too scared to open it. Me and the three other girls took a slight detour and met the boys back in the next field and thankfully it was all over. We got back to camp at about six. Camp that night wasn’t too bad and another school (from Bromsgrove – comment if you were there!) offered us marshmallows around the fire!

The third day was pretty bad. We only walked fourteen kilometers but it was all on top of the moors and it was really sunny. Also, at the end of the second day, I injured my knee and ankle so I limped for the whole third day. I got really sunburned on my face, neck and ears which was painful. We got back to camp at about three in the afternoon and found a cat that followed us around for ages. We played catch for ages and sat around talking all afternoon. Then we had to do a presentation which we chose to do on teamwork. We didn’t plan it so we totally blagged it but it went okay. Every day we had rice for tea so I am now so sick of rice.

On the fourth day we had to walk four and a half kilometers just to get back to the coach as it couldn’t come down the small roads. Me and my mate (who had also injured her leg and was limping) left at eight O’clock to get to the bus by ten. Most people left at half eight to nine and overtook us before we were even half way there. The last people who walked by said that the bus was now going to leave at half nine so we were trying to hobble even faster. At about twenty past nine, the school minibus drove by and picked us up and took us to the bus. Then we got an ice cream!

Anyway, now both of my insteps are pulled, my Achilles tendon is inflamed which is causing my bone to swell (on both ankles), my right knee really hurts, on both hips I can feel my bones grinding together, I’m getting shooting pains up my right leg, my hips and shoulders are bruised and my hands, arms, face, neck, chest and ears are all sunburned. And I’m extremely tired – almost to the point of exhaustion.

My advice to anybody] who is even thinking about doing it: DON’T! It really isn’t fun at all. Don’t put yourself through it!

Sorry for absolutely boring you with 1135 words!

Love,

Dagger x

PS Update tomorrow if I'm online XD