Mountain Activities

Hillwalking & Climbing

Our District has a history of exploring the mountains going back to the late 1960’s. Over the years, we have sent expeditions out all over the UK and our members have gone on to continue exploring mountain regions all over the World. We have a strong team of authorised leaders but we are continually looking to bring new leaders into our district team. A Scout or Explorer Scout leader with a love of hillwalking and an Activity Permit is the ideal kind of person who should naturally inspire his or her Scouts to get into the hills.

As a district we annually run a very popular trip to Snowdonia for Explorer Scouts and Scout Network. We provide qualified leaders for individual groups or sections that want to explore the wilder parts of our country and we also provide support and leadership for Expeditions for any of the Scout sections. 

 
We are lucky enough to have our own climbing wall which is situated at the 11th Headquarters in Kentish Road, Shirley. We have several leaders that are qualified for climbing on Walls and Towers (on any Scout Owned Climbing Wall) to give Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers a taste of rock climbing.

When it comes to climbing the real thing i.e. crags, sea cliffs etc., we have been introducing Scouts and Explorer Scouts to the world of climbing for many years. Unfortunately, we are currently suffering from a lack of qualified leaders to continue this kind of activity. If you are an active climber and you are interested getting involved and helping us to continue promoting outdoor climbing, please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you!

We are very fortunate to have excellent support from our County in the form of the “Hampshire Scout Mountain Team”. They provide the training and support required to ensure that our leaders reach and maintain the standards needed for an Activity Permit. Their website provides masses of information on the Activity Permit Scheme, the current training courses offered and much, much more. Take a look here:-  http://hsmt.info/index.htm

If you want some help taking a group into the mountains or you are interested in gaining an Activity permit, please contact Ian Rutherford via email:- mountainactivity@southamptoncityscouts.co.uk.

Activity Permit Holders

The District Diretory has a list of Activity Permit Holders for Hillwalking and Climbing. If anybody is missing from this list, please inform Ian Rutherford via email:- mountainactivity@southamptoncityscouts.co.uk.

Also shown are the District Hillwalking Instructors who can help with expeditions that go outside of the boundaries of Terrain Zero. I’m sure that they could also be persuaded to help with expedition planning and training.

To organise any Hill walking or Climbing activity, you can contact anybody on his list and make arrangements directly with them.

Working on your programs for the coming year, please consider the Activity Permit holders within the district and use their skills. The list below shows the instructors that are authorised for Climbing Walls and Towers generally (Fernycrofts, Lyons Copse, Cricket Camp etc.) and those that are authorised to use Peter’s Wall, an indoor climbing wall at the 11th HQ

Are you interested in gaining a “Walls & Towers” permit ? We are keen to have more qualified instructors for Walls & Towers. With a little training, this is an achievable permit for anybody with an interest in climbing. To discuss the process and put yourself forward, please contact Ian Rutherford on 01489 860957 or email at mountainactivity@southamptoncityscouts.co.uk