I started DofE the bronze award in year 9 at school and it lasted around 12 months of fun and at times with challenging team players, but as a group we created great long lasting memories together. 3 hours of my week were dedicated to hobbies and community service, I found a new passion for cooking which continued, we also did map reading one evening a week. The bronze award was our favourite we navigated very well and met other schools, for instance a girls grammar school from Tunbridge wells at our campsite. We played rounders and cricket with them late into the evening after sunset. after 3 hours we were then separated which was a bummer to be frank as it was the some of the best fun we had. we never formally met other schools again. Each day was different we walked close to the Kent downs and past Charles Darwin’s ancestral home which I visited 4 times afterwards, I do live close by but couldn’t remember it, the visit gave me an avid interest in plants, birds and insects. We traveled around, Farningham, Biggin hill, Downe, shoreham, Otford and Cudham also Farnborough a combination on bronze and silver. I carried a 23 Kg bag and camped in tents for two nights and did three days walking each day we cooked our own food with methylated fluid burners and we made hot chocolate with a convection cup using kindling to heat the water and milk, on silver we camped in an opening in the woods up on a hill with trees tall and imposing towering 360 degrees around us, you could hear tawny owls screeching and hooting ominously we saw deer and badgers. All night long you could hear the sounds of the forest and bird song myself and my mate woke up at 5am to go to the bathroom the condensation dripping off the tent as we left, beams of light piercing through the canopy and between the trees it was mystic. The worst thing about DofE was leaving the campsite at 8-9am and the compasses. I got close to all my friend, I may not have been as close with them otherwise.