In late June 2023, me (Cora) and a group of 3 other scouts (Ruby, Caitlin and Tristram) from Blackdown and East Somerset, went on an explorer belt expedition to Iceland. We kept a log and shared our trip as we travelled using our scoutsiniceland instagram page.

Our 10 day expedition started in Reykjavík, where we visited some of the important sites around the capital city and stayed with a local scout group, Hafnarfjördur, in their hut which was also a youth hostel. Our main goal was to investigate the local folklore and traditions of Iceland, so during our time in Reykjavík we went to several museums and went on an ‘elf walk’ with some of the local scouts to learn about the folklore of elves in their area.

After Reykjavík, we took the (somewhat unreliable) buses to Selfoss. At the recommendation of some (probably slightly crazy) local scouts, we took another bus to the nearby town of Stokkseyri, visited a ghost museum, and took a little dip in the very cold Icelandic Sea!

The next day we were taken by the local Fossbuar scout group in Selfoss to Strokkur geysir, Gullfoss waterfall, and Seljalandsfoss waterfall which were incredible. In the evening, we shared some of our scout games and cooked a meal with the rest of the scout group.

The next day was probably our most challenging day with about 10 hours of hiking. We started by getting a bus to Hveragerdi where we found the trail to the Úlfljótsvatn International Scout Centre. The trail went via the Reykjadalur hot springs, which was a naturally hot river that we got to bathe in for a bit. After this lovely break, we still about 8 hours of very challenging hiking through the Icelandic wilderness before we eventually got to the campsite at about 9pm. Thankfully, because it pretty much never gets dark during that time of year in Iceland, there was no worries about putting the tent up in the dark. The main thing to contend with was the swarms of flies that had come out because of the rain!

Our next day was spent at the Úlfljótsvatn campsite completing their Elemental Challenge and meeting other international scouts. We met another group from Dublin and had a campfire with their Rovers. They even offered to take us on their Golden Circle tour that they were doing the next day if there was space on the bus! Thankfully there was and we got to visit Thingvellir national park, Gulfoss and Strokkur with the Dublin unit.

The next day we went on a hike with the Dublin rovers lead by a Scottish volunteer at the scout centre, before travelling back to Selfoss where we went on another hike in the local Nature reserve. On our penultimate day, we took a bus to the town of Hella where we visited some man-made caves, and then took another bus back to Reykjavik where we visited the Natural History Museum before heading back to the Hafnarfjördur Scout Group who we’d stayed with before.

We spent our last day learning some more about Icelandic folklore. We were taken on a walk around the town by one of the scout leaders and learned about folklore such as elf rocks, dwarf boulders and merpeople! In the evening we then joined a local Viking group who taught us the basics of Viking weaponry and fighting!

Overall, we had a great Explorer Belt expedition in Iceland, but it definitely wouldn’t have been possible without our supporters and family at home, as well as the incredibly generous scout groups who hosted and helped us in Iceland.

Are you interested in completing your Eplorer Belt or other top awards such as DofE?

We also hold an annual top awards event (normally in the autumn) which is open to anyone interested or partaking in a top award . The event covers the Blackdown and Moors & Coastal DofE schemes as well as earning the chief scout awards and other top awards such as the Explorer Belt and Scout of the World. Details will be published on the website nearer to the event.

Or you can contact Scarlett, our Top Awards Advisor, to find out more on how to get started. They can be messaged from the district team page.