Latest News
Morrisons Bag Packing
Congratulations to everyone who worked one or both shifts at the Morrisons Bag Packing in Greenock. We managed to raise a grand total of £1502.36
towards Scout Funds. This allows us to buy and maintain the equipment
we need for camps and activities, as well as subsidising our
activities. We are now looking forward to our next bag packing event
which we hope will take place later this year. March 2010
Ben Donich
The snow line's a bit higher, and the snow's harder packed that it was a month ago, but it's every bit as cold and the paths are much icier now. Keeping in the spirit of the last couple of hillwalks, the latest walk up Ben Donich was chosen because the group could spend much less time wading through mud before they got high enough to be in the snow. That's because, although Ben Donich is high enough for snow (just short of a Munro), the bus is parked almost 1000ft up it's slopes at the Rest and Be Thankful.
The group set out without knowing if there would be any snow to speak of - all they could see was clouds above the lower slopes. But once they reached the clouds, they found the snow line and plenty hard ice to contend with too. That meant they put on their crampons for the first time this year.
On the way back down from the top, they found a good slope where they could practice their Ice Axe Braking. You can see pictures in the Scout Gallery and some videos including the Ice Axe Braking by to the left.
February 2010
Orienteering Competition
The orienteering competition at Everton was a great experience for all who came. There were two different tea
ms, a senior team and a junior team. None of the 85th entrants were old enough to get into the senior team but they all had fun and most would like to try it again. They had to try and find as many orange clippers as possible by using a map. They clipped the clipper into their sheet of paper and left to find more, all the clippers had a different spike arrangement on them so that the examiners knew if they found them all or not. They all had lunch at the lodge to warm them up for the long 2hr competition, the 85th didn't win anything but it was the fun that mattered. One pair thought that they might have had came fourth.
903m Glencoe
Below it to the West lies Sron Garbh. On its East side it looks down on Stob Mhic Mhartuin and the Devil's Staircase. Its North and South slopes dip into Kinlochleven and Glencoe. Even the shoulder route on the way up has it's own name - Sron a' Choire Odhair-Bhig. But for some reason, no map or guidebook sees fit to give the hill we climbed in January a name. One of it's craggy slopes even gets it's own name - A' Chailleach. Maybe that's been punishment to the hill because - at 903m (2962ft) it falls just 38ft short of being a Munro. Instead it seems to be just known as "903m, Glencoe".Whatever, it was a great hill to climb in the
snow and the weather held dry, even with the odd spell of sunshine. And on the way down it had wide smooth slopes that made for some good sledging as well. Well done to the 14 Scouts and Explorers who waded their way up through the snow to get to the summit. You can find the photos here and a video clip above.
Hawk and Kestrel Patrol Camp
In December, most people are either getting in the last minute Christmas Shopping or 
they're snuggling up in front of the telly with a warm mug of cocoa. Not the the Hawk Patrol and the Kestrel Patrol who had their joint Patrol Camp at the bothy on the weekend before Christmas. A total of 8 Scouts and 2 Explorers braved the cold to try out their Scouting skills including building a bivouac and fire lighting amonth others. 3 of the group even braved temperatures of -2 degrees and slept out in their bivvy, waking up to a blanket of snow in the morning. Well done to everyone who took part, and thanks to Alison for providing yet another masterpiece for Lloyd's Corner.
Kayaking at the Daff Dam
As the summer weather starts to take a hold, 18 Scouts had a great time trying out their kayaking skills for the first time. Thanks to the ex-school and Ardentinny boats kindly made available to us by Inverclyde Council, we are now able to run kayaking as an activity for Scouts and Explorers. The aim is to take Scouts through their kayaking badge, which means taking them through emergency techniques such as capsize drill, through to safety strokes and boat rescues. Eventually we hope to build up enough 
experience in our Scouts to have some of them earn their Expedition Challenge by going on a kayaking expedition as an alternative to the more common hillwalking or cycle trip
This time around all Scouts managed to try out their first capsize demonstrated by one of the first timers in the picture on the left. As usual we have posted this and more photos of the kayaking trip here.
We are now looking forward to some time kayaking on Loch Lomond during this year's Minibus Expedition.
Ben Lomond Trip
Hail Stones in June? Swimming in Loch Lomond? It must have been another 85th hillwalk on Loch Lomond. Last time we attempted this hill, the weather closed in on us, and we had to beat a hasty retreat after reaching as far as the half way point. This time round there were no such problems other than the freak hail shower which came with its cold wind. Our first timers not only managed to complete their first hill, but it was their first Munro as well. Our regulars even managed to find time for some swimming and diving in the loch before home time. Well done to everyone for a good
day out. The picture gallery is available here.
Bag Packing Tesco
Permission forms are now available for our Bag Packing event at Tesco on 15th August.
This is earlier than we would normally issue these forms, but it because we need to confirm numbers before we split up for the summer holidays. Please make sure you return your form by Wed 24th June. If you've lost your form, you can print a spare here.
Laser Planet
As an extra activity for everyone who turned out at the Annual District Parade, we will be going to Laser Plant in Clydebank on Wednesday 17th June. Permission forms have been given out to everyone involved. These need to be returned promptly by Friday 12th June.
Kayaking Event
We are holding a kayaking event on Sunday 14th June. Permission forms are beign distributed. To book your place on either the mornign or afternoon session, complete your permission form and return to your leader as soon as possible. If you have lost you form, a copy is available in the forms section. You will also find a kit list there.
Alton Towers Trip - Permission Forms Now Available
Great News! We will be joining the Greenock & District trip to Alton Towers on Saturday 20th June. The plan is to leave on the coaches late on Friday night, travelling over night and arrive at the theme park around opening time for a day's fun. We'll return on Saturday night. The cost is £40. Permission forms are available in the Forms section.
Rucksack and Boots Buying Guides
Thinking about buying a rucksack, or a new pair of boots? Have a look at our buying guides first for some tips on what's needed, and what's not. These guides are aimed at the typical scout and also have some advice for older scouts or explorers who may be considering some more advanced equipment. You can find the guides in our Forms section.
Beinn Dhubcraig Hillwalk
At the end of March 12 Scouts and one adventurous Cub took part in a hillwalk up Beinn Dhubcraig. The mountain is just over 3000 feet tall a
nd was very windy at its peak!! They got to try out the ice axes while on the mountain, which is near Tyndrum.
Two groups set off up the mountain, one group pushing on towards the peak, while the other group managed to reach the snow line, where they decided to stop and practice using their ice axes.
Although they didn't manage to reach the top the second group had great fun and managed to get in a good amount of ice axe practice. They all hope to reach the peak of the next mountain they set their eyes on.
Morrison's Funds Boost
Congratulations to all Scouts and Explorers who took part in our bag packing day at Morrisons in April. Our first Bag Packing event of 2009 raised a total of £1768.91. These events are what allows us to continue Scouting and maintain all our equipment at such low cost. In the last year we have been able to buy 9 patrol tents, 6 hike tents, repairs to another 3 patrol tents, a chainsaw (leader's use only), hillwalking , caving, kayaking and First Aid leader training course subsidies, stoves, activity subsidies, a ceremonial Explorer Flag, gas lamps, camp tables, camp benches, bothy shelters, crampons, ice axes, safety ropes and lots more. Our most recent addition is a new generator to provide electric lighting for the bothy to replace the old permanent gas lighting as spares for that are no longer available. The next bag pack will take place in August during the summer holidays. It'll be hard to get hold of everyone at that time, so we will be looking for early commitment from everyone to be able to take part in that. Look out for details in the next 2 months.
Ben Lomond
They might look nice and dry in this photo, but they soon got much wetter and more windswept. Our contact in the Met Office made sure we knew exactly how long we had after this photo was taken before we could expect the bad weather to arrive, and as usual he was right. Despite that our 2 parties managed to get onto the plateau on Ben Lomond shortly before the final ascent in strong winds and driving rain by the time we decided we had achieved enough. Photos can be found here and a video of the 2nd party sheltering for lunch in their bothy bag can be found here.
Pioneering Camp
It was a weekend and a half, and the reservoir's in the country took a good filling if ever that was needed. But we managed to defy the rain and learn some pioneering skills - from heaving a landrover up a hill, to building a suspension bridge and an economy prison camp (pictured). Well done to all who took part. The photos are available here.