BCS Pupil Completes Wild Camping Expedition in Scottish Highlands

Year 12 pupil Thomas has completed a 19-day wild camping experience known as ‘The Pinnacle’ with charity Outward Bound, embarking on the journey in the Scottish Highlands, based out of Loch Eil near Fort William, alongside 11 other young adventurers.

Designed for those with previous outdoor experience, the course sees participants navigate through some of the remotest corners of the UK and conquer the tallest mountains in the British Isles, using essential outdoor skills such as navigation, camp craft, and mountaineering.

James Tedham, an Outward Bound instructor who directed this year’s expedition, said: "Thomas and his peers embodied a spirit of adventure and resilience that the Pinnacle is all about.

"Watching these young people conquer their fears and grow in confidence was truly inspiring. They returned as a solid team with memories that will last a lifetime."

Well done Thomas! See below for a blog written about his experience:

"Throughout the early part of my summer break, I joined Outward Bound on their 19 day Pinnacle Adventure in Scotland. I accomplished many challenges including, Climbing Ben Nevis! Our first proper expedition was a canoeing expedition. It was 2 days, 1 night and it was a valuable experience.  We stopped for lunch at to a Graveyard Island in the middle of a Loch, this was a great experience and I even got to talk to a Professor from the University of Highlands and Islands. The wind was in our favour meaning less effort was needed and we could use sails to help push us along. When we got to base camp we put up tents quickly and started cooking our dinner, I was camp chef for all expeditions which was so fun as I got to know what everyone was eating! The next morning we only had to do 2km so the paddle down was relaxing and we did not need to put much effort in as the wind was again in our favour. Even when we took our time we were still early to the pick up point so got another rest then!

In my opinion my biggest achievement was reaching the summit of Ben Nevis, as it is something that I will never forget about. It was truly a once in a life time experience. On day one of this expedition up Ben Nevis we found ourselves hiking up towards the North Face of Ben Nevis and for the first night of this three day expedition we set up our tents half way up the mountain. After some needed rest we took on Ben Nevis, we were lucky enough to be the only group to scramble up the side of Ben Nevis, scrambling is a mix of hiking and climbing typically without rope. When we reached the top we got an amazing group photo before heading back down to camp. The next morning we finished the hike down and met up for a re-supply before climbing.

Climbing was a great experience, we mainly bush whacked our way to this steep cliff edge where we got harnessed up and started getting ready for climbing, it was a free climb which meant we could climb if we wanted to, to say the least I took advantage of that and climbed a lot. We had lunch up there and then hiked to our campsite which was only a kilometre or two away.

Although all of the previous activities were fun, I have to say the Unaccompanied was the best. We gave presentations to the manager and chief Nathan and James which allowed us to actually begin the unaccompanied expedition. The first night we caught tiny fish and fried them for a snack and then played cards around a campfire. The three full days of hiking were packed full of memories which have a special place for my head. However the best bits were holding frogs, seeing multiple snakes and lizards and camping in some of the most amazing places with incredible views. Most of the walking on the Unaccompanied was on double track which is easier both for the legs and also your speed, however the old maps proved to be more of a problem, looking back now it is very funny, but being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a map older than you was quite troublesome. Yet with the power of teamwork and map skills we soon found where we were.

When I got back, I found that my exploits were featured in an article in the Bournemouth Daily Echo and when reading this I was surprised to find that less than 100 children a year get to complete the Pinnacle Challenge."