Group Sponsored Hike
The 28th On Safari to Ely

We will be making a sponsored hike from Cambridge to Ely to raise much needed funds for the group. The whole group will be taking part: Scouts, Young Leaders, Cubs and even the Beavers, with different distances of the walk arranged to suit varying capabilities.

The theme for the hike is On Safari, so participants will be encouraged to dress up a little by wearing a headress or hat based on a safari animal such as a lion, giraffe or rhinoceros or just as a classic African expedition member. Full blown animal costumes are also welcome for those who really want to go to town, but we'll otherwise be in uniform. We will be keeping an eye out for wild animals from our environment around us but they will probably be seeking safe refuge from our noise long before we get close enough to see them.

We start at Jesus Green Lock in Cambridge on the banks of the Cam and follow the river 16½ miles to Ely and return by train. The Beavers accompany the group from Jesus Green across Midsummer Common past The Fort St George (St George's day is around a month after this hike), under Elizabeth Way bridge and along Riverside, across Stourbridge Common and over the footbridge to Chesterton, about 1¾ miles. The Beavers meet their parents here on Water Street near the Penny Ferry pub (used to be called the Pike and Eel). Someone should be selling cakes here, for those who remember some money.

From there the rest of us take the towpath past Baits Bite Lock to The Bridge at Clayhithe (not far from Waterbeach railway station) where again we should hopefully find someone selling cakes. At The Bridge the plucky Cubs who have managed these first 5¾ miles will be collected by their parents and the second set of Cubs join us for the next leg, about 4½ miles. This takes us along the Riverbank National Walkway, past the sluice gates where the Cam meets the Ouse and alongside fields to the aptly named Five Miles From Anywhere Inn.

At the Five Miles pub we change over to the final third of cubs (with more cake sales assuming there are any left) for the last 6¼ miles to the station at Ely. This takes us past Wicken Fen and across the classic flat fenland farm landscape. Once they reach Ely the Scouts and Young Leaders will have managed a healthy 16½ mile hike, which will count towards their Hikes Away badge.

We will return from Ely by train to Cambridge. Parents of Cubs are advised to work out which of the three legs of the hike are best for them: the first is easy for drop-off but collection needs to be arranged by train or car from Clayhithe/Waterbeach; the second is hardest from a logistics point of view but could perhaps be co-ordinated with other parents collecting or dropping off at the two end points; the third drop-off point is famously at least five miles to get to but the return is by train so collection from Cambridge station is all that is needed.

This is a sponsored hike to raise funds for the group, sponsored ideally by the mile, half-mile and quarter-mile (for Scouts, Cubs and Beavers respectively). If a Scout were to get sponsorship that added to a total of £1 a mile, that works out to be £16.50. If a Cub were to manage £1 a half-mile that would be £11.50, £9 and £12.50 respectively, and Beavers who managed the impressive £1 a quarter-mile figure would raise £7.

Sponsorship forms will be given out but copies are available to download from this page by clicking here. Permission to hike forms are available online for Scouts, for Cubs and for Beavers too.

Good luck!