Hike report - 1969

Although the full Venture Scout programme included trips in 1968 to Scotland and in 1969 to Switzerland, it was not until December 1969 that the next hike occurred, this in fact being the first ever Winter Hike.

We went back to Surrey with a target of climbing Box Hill, one of the best-known summits of the North Downs and 634 feet in height.

We took the train down on the Friday evening and spent the night camping at Walton Firs, a National Scout Campsite located near Cobham.

On the Saturday the weather turned cold and our route took us through Stoke D’Abernon, Fetcham and Bookham.

As the sky got darker we came across a cricket field and decided to pitch the tents by the boundary. We cooked our meal and after clearing up stored some of our gear in the score hut, thereby providing a bit of extra room in the tents.

After some refreshment at a local pub we returned to the tents and tried to settle down for the night. The two Grahams and Bruno shared one tent while Phil M & John and Phil K & Peter paired up.

It was not until that night however, that we finally realised the real disadvantage of camping in winter – the cold. None of us got much sleep and in the morning someone shouted that it was time to get up. The response from Phil and Peter’s tent of ‘But we’ve only just found out how to keep warm’ will live in the memories of many of us forever.

Again Phil K recalls the event:

‘The Saturday night was bitterly cold and we camped on the edge of the cricket field behind a pub. Next morning the water in the billies was solid and we had to melt ice to get a cup of tea. The tents were so frosted they stood up on their own when we took the poles away.

Peter and I shared a tent and, having spent an uncomfortable night with towels, pyjamas, etc wrapped around our heads and fully-dressed, we got out of our sleeping bags and laid on top of them, thereby achieving better insulation from the cold ground and giving rise to the immortal quote!’

After breakfast we packed up our gear and headed south on our way to Box Hill. We eventually joined the North Downs Way and turned east. The path that would lead to the top of Box Hill included, at the lower edge, the ‘Stepping Stones’ over the River Mole.

From then on it was a climb up the hill to the viewpoint, where we were able claim that we had achieved our goal.