It's been a tough time for running an outdoor business. It's been very hard on freelance instructors, there is a very real prospect that many outdoor education centres in Scotland will close and for my business, an Approved Activity Provider running Duke of Edinburgh's Award expeditions, I'd say we've only just managed to get through …
Category: Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
How to use edofe mapping
This blog is a practical guide to using edofe mapping: software that's available to Duke of Edinburgh's Award participants and leaders to produce maps and routecards for expeditions and training days. In the blog I'll cover: How to find edofe mapping in a participant and leader account Creating a new map Creating the route Editing …
Pyrenees Snowshoe Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expedition
Right now I'm in Barcelona, resting up and taking time to write a blog about a fantastic week snowshoeing in the French Pyrenees with Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award participants from Shrewsbury School. This week's qualifying expedition was the culmination of 18 months of planning and preparation. The expedition team began their training exactly a …
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Recipe Ideas for Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expeditions
Looking for inspiration for your expedition grub, bored of dehydrated meals, unsatisfied with pot noodles? This blog presents three simple recipes for tasty campsite meals, cooked on a stove. There's: Toasted tortilla with cheese, ham and red pepper: 'Speedy Pasta', a simple but delicious pasta based meal with tomato sauce and grated cheese; and, French …
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Packing a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expedition Rucksack
https://youtu.be/2vXoStsZx4E This video explains how to pack a Duke of Edinburgh's Award expedition rucksack. There are items of kit that you'll share with your tent group. These items, things like the tent and stove, are called the group kit. Lay out all the items of group kit and decide with the people you're sharing a …
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Becoming a Mountain Leader
Becoming a mountain leader has been one of the best and most rewarding learning experiences of my life. I passed my Mountain Leader Award in 2004 and then went on to gain the Winter and International Mountain Leader Awards. Together with the Lowland Leader Award and Hill and Moorland Award, these are part of a …
Top tips for keeping dry on expedition
Keeping dry on a Duke of Edinburgh's Award Expedition is a skill learnt through good advice and experience. Once a young person has completed all levels of the Award (Bronze, Silver and Gold) they'll have done 18 days hiking and 12 nights camping. Not surprisingly, by that stage, they'll have some good tips to share …
Murray’s Leader Rucksack
With the onset of Spring and the start of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award expedition season, instructors at Aspen Outdoors Ltd are sorting out their summer gear, thinking through and refining what bits of kit to take when leading groups in the hills. In this blog Murray Wilson talks about the kit and equipment that …
Isle of Raasay
After a quick ascent of Ben Macdui with a client I got back to my car at 2pm, with plenty of time to drive to Skye for a two day, impromptu trip to the Isle of Raasay. I wanted to explore the island for a potential Duke of Edinburgh's Award Gold expedition in April. Ambitiously …
Snowshoe Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expedition
This February six 17 year olds from Shrewsbury School became Duke of Edinburgh's Award pioneers, undertaking the first ever snowshoe expedition. Normally expeditions happen between March and October, avoiding the winter. Our expedition however, after a great deal of planning and preperation, took place high in the snowy Cairngorm mountains in February. Here is an account …
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Aspen Outdoors Ltd 