Our First Council Estate Cub Camp — Chaos, Courage & Cooking on Fire

This weekend, we took our Cubs off the estate and into the wilderness, and by wilderness, we mean a proper Scout campsite with actual trees, actual mud, and an actual forest that some of our kids didn’t fully believe existed.

It was our first ever Council Estate Cub Pack Camp,
and oh my goodness me?
It was everything we hoped for and ten times more chaotic.

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“I’ve never seen a real forest before.” – Tommy

The moment we arrived, the kids exploded out of the minibus like feral pigeons being released back into the wild.

Then Tommy wide-eyed, silent, taking it all in whispered:

“I’ve never seen a real forest before.”

And suddenly, every stressful permission form, every late-night planning meeting, every existential crisis about risk assessments…
felt instantly worth it.

Because THIS is why we camp.

For kids who’ve grown up surrounded by concrete, sirens, and tiny balconies, walking into a forest is like stepping onto another planet.

And Tommy absolutely loved it.

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Cooking on Fire – A Cultural Experience (Smoke Included)

We cooked on a real fire.
Not the metaphorical “life is difficult” fire
a literal, spitting, smoky fire that tried to blind at least three leaders.

The Cubs learned:

• how to chop wood (after being repeatedly reminded the axe is not a toy),
• how to light a fire without burning their eyebrows off,
• how to cook sausages that may or may not have been “crispy” in places,
• and that smoke loves to chase people who scream the loudest.

One Cub proudly said, “This is better than McDonald’s!”

We are taking that as a Michelin star.

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Dan vs. The High Ropes (The Rope Won)

Ah yes, Dan.
Brave, confident, fearless, until he got halfway across the high ropes course and froze like someone had hit the pause button.

He clung to that platform like a cat stuck on a wardrobe.

No movement.
No progress.
No reasoning.

He said, “I can’t move or I’ll die.”
We assured him the high ropes were designed not to kill people.
He remained unconvinced.

Enter Alice.
Small. Determined. Chaotic Good energy.

Having climbed up behind him, patted him on the back and said:

“It’s okay, Dan… I’ll help you.”

And then she pushed him off the platform.

Gently-ish.
Firmly.
Decisively.

Dan screamed.
Dan swung.
Dan lived.
Dan is fine.
Dan is now referring to it as “the moment I became a real Cub.”

Alice is now banned from performing rescues unsupervised.

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Star of the Camp: Mohammed

Every camp has one kid who unexpectedly becomes the absolute hero of the weekend.
This time, it was Mohammed.

Why?

Because Mohammed:

• helped every single Cub who was scared,
• kept spirits high when it rained,
• made his bed properly on the first try,
• comforted a Cub who missed home,
• helped leaders without being asked,
• didn’t complain once (not even during washing-up duty!),
• and somehow managed to keep track of his water bottle, a feat unmatched in Cub history.

If we had badges for Camp Legend, he’d have earned three.

He left on Sunday taller not physically, but in confidence.
We all saw it.

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100% Attendance – And One Incredible Moment

Every single Cub came.
100% attendance.
Not one child missed the camp.

For a brand-new Pack on a council estate, where money, transport, childcare, anxiety, and life’s unpredictability can stop kids from joining in, that’s HUGE.

And on Saturday evening, in the glow of the campfire,
we invested every single Cub.

All of them.
In full uniform.
With their neckers, badges, and that look of pride that makes your chest tight and your eyes sting a bit.

They stood in a circle, right there in the woods,
and became part of the worldwide family of Scouting
a movement bigger than our estate, bigger than our City, bigger than anything they’ve ever known.

For some of them, it was the first time they’d ever been part of anything official or celebrated for who they are.

One parent later said,
“I never thought my child would be in uniform for anything.”

That hit home.

The Real Magic of This Camp

For kids on our estate, life can be loud, stressful, unpredictable.
Some have never left the city.
None of them have never slept in a tent.
Some have never seen stars properly because estate lighting is basically a permanent false dawn.

But this weekend they:

• toasted marshmallows,
• climbed things they didn’t think they could,
• looked after each other,
• learned they are braver than they knew,
• and discovered that the world is much bigger and much kinder than their postcode.

Cubs gives them a place to belong.
Camp gives them a world to believe in.

And for our first ever camp?

We couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Except maybe slightly less mud and rain.