At February half term 8th Holborn Scouts enjoyed their first camp of the year at the new-to-us venue of Boyd Memorial Campsite in Henlow, Bedfordshire.

We’d had our eye on Boyd campsite for a while because of its easy rail access by Thameslink train from Farringdon to Arlesey.

Run by Biggleswade Scouts, Boyd is a friendly, well-equipped campsite on the banks of the River Ivel. 

We started our programme with an archery session before learning about water filtration and purification, a subject some of the older Scouts had specifically requested a session on.

On the Saturday afternoon we took a three-mile hike along the River Ivel to Jordans Mill, former home of the Jordans cereal company, which is now a visitor attraction. 

Whilst the mill museum was closed for the winter, the Scouts enjoyed a pit-stop for hot chocolate and the chance to buy fresh local eggs for the next day’s breakfast.

Our hike turned out to be longer than planned as we were let down by the public bus we’d hoped to catch, but the spectacular sunset was a welcome reward for the extra miles.

We marked lunar new year with a delicious stir-fry dinner prepared by the Scouts. 

On Sunday the Scouts tried tomahawk throwing and explored the Cavebus before packing up and heading back to London.