Derwen College Students paddle their way to Gold!

July 2015:

A group of intrepid students from Derwen College in Oswestry set off on a trip of a lifetime in July to canoe 120 kilometres through Scotland as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award project.

The trip for the students was funded by several local organisations and they received a cheque for £500 from the Basil Houghton Trust, presented by the Chair of Trustees, Julia Baron.

The youngsters, Simon Milner, Wes MacIntyre, George Raffle and Matthew Taylor, together with staff members,  set off from Aviemore to paddle approximately 30 kilometres each day along the River Spey, camping each night on route, before reaching the Moray coastline some four days later.

Team member Simon Milner, said: “We were so excited and looking forward to this adventure.  We trained hard and practiced our outdoor skills and survival techniques just in case we capsized, so we were really grateful to all the kind people who supported us to make this happen.”

Julia Baron, added: “This was a tremendous once-in-a-lifetime experience for these boys.  It is an extremely hard challenge and the Trustees hoped they would have a fantastic time together and reap the many educational benefits of this exciting expedition.  It is exactly the kind of project Mrs Houghton had in mind when she asked us to set up the Trust.”

“They compiled a full photographic journal during the trip, looking at wildlife, bridges and the countryside in general.  We could not imagine a better or more rewarding project to present this money to.”

Pictured are:  Julia Baron (Chair of Basil Houghton Trust), Simon , Wes and George, with Andrew Harris, Principal of Derwen College.