I achieved most of my Gold DofE a few years ago, but couldn't find anyone to do the hikes with. Thanks to social media, I managed to get in contact with someone who was looking for a group to do his hike with. From the people who responded to his post, we ended up being a group of 4 from all 4 corners of the UK! I was based in Devon, another from Essex, One from Glasgow and another from Yorkshire! It was an experience like no other, we communicated online, but never met until we showed up to walk! We all looked at each other and went "so you are real... and we're actually doing this... WOW!"

So we called our team 'The 4 Corners' and went on our way. My favourite part of the entire experience though was probably on the last day of the final hike when we all got up super early, climbed the first peak in the Peak District and watched the sun rise at 7 in the morning! It was absolutely breathtaking and probably the BEST experiences of my life so far! I say so far, because this opportunity and adventure has inspired me and made me incredibly excited for my next challenge! If it wasn't for my DofE, I wouldn't be trying to achieve other awards within scouting as well now.

Thanks to the volunteering and work I did for my community for my DofE, I got a huge appreciation for my community and am now so encouraged to continue doing as much as I can for my community! I want to rebuild an old theatre in Plymouth to turn it into an events space, but also a community hub to help anyone down on their luck and inspire others to do the DofE scheme! I hope it will end up being a scout centre as well so that we can continue to inspire the next generations and challenge them to explore and go on adventures!