TREGADILLETT Brownies have recently returned from this year’s Pack Holiday, travelling over the river into Devon and staying at an education centre near Two Bridges, on Dartmoor.

The group travelled together in a minibus with the luggage following in a van, kindly driven by one of the parents. As they couldn’t get into the centre until the afternoon, they enjoyed a picnic on Dartmoor before arriving there.

This year, the Brownies took advantage of a supermarket delivery with all the groceries turning up within an hour after their arrival. Brown Owl was very impressed with both the delivery service and the way the girls made a chain to get all the food up two flights of stairs to the larder in the kitchen.

After everything was put away, they decided to go for a walk and do a bit of exploring on the moor. By the time they got back to the centre, everyone was hungry. The other leaders, who had to finish work before they could come along, arrived just in time for tea.

The first night is always exciting, so it was quite a long time before everyone was asleep. They awoke to a glorious, sunny day and off they went on the first of the day’s activities.

The two instructors took them to a tor not far away, where everyone had to get kitted out with a helmet and a harness. After the safety briefing, everybody managed in turn to climb and scramble to the top of the rocks, and then eventually back down again.

It was a great achievement that all the girls and leaders — except Brown Owl, who was busy holding the camera — managed to do.

Following this, the group returned to the centre for lunch before going up the hill for the afternoon’s activity. This was an archery session, which turned out to be an individual competition for points. They all had to have a practice run to make sure they were doing it correctly before the challenge began.

The evening remained sunny and warm, so it meant that they could enjoy a barbecue outside at the picnic area next to the stream.

The following day was a little easier for everyone after a good night’s sleep because of all the activity during the daytime.

As this year’s theme was Royalty, in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday this year, everyone made a crown.

Brown Owl has expressed thanks to the other leaders who came along to help with the Brownies, including Beth Martin, Emma Boucher and Hannah Stagg. Without them, the Brownies would not have been able to go away on holiday.

For those who would like to find out more about volunteering as a leader, please call Brown Owl Sara Fuge on 01566 782630 for more details.