by Ian | Jun 12, 2015 | Cambodia 2016
The HSX Cambodia Expedition will spend a total of four weeks in country undertaking three main tasks; a community project, an adventurous trek and culture touring. We have highlighted our favourite places we will be visiting below.
Siem Reap
“Siem Reap is a fast-growing city with plenty of new hotels, restaurants and 
nightclubs. But chances are, you’re here not because of the city itself, but for what’s nearby: amazingly well-preserved ancient temples” Trip Advisor
This is exactly what we will be doing in Siem Reap; home to the famous Angkor Temples we shall be fully immersing ourselves in the local culture and way of life. It will not be until the end of our trip that we visit this area, but the old saying is best till last… Whilst within the city the participants will have the chance to explore and get to know more about the local people through our links with the Cambodia Scouts. We will be undertaking the local ‘temple challenge’ which adds an element of adventure and competition to visiting the temples.
Phnom Pehn
“Cambodia’s capital can be an assault on the senses. Markets exude pungent 
scents; and all the while the sounds of life, of commerce, of survival, reverberate through the streets. But this is all part of the attraction” Lonely Planet
Our first stop in Cambodia is Phnom Pehn and this seems fitting given its title as capital of Cambodia. During our first initial days in country the team will have the chance to explore the city with the leaders and get their first taste of travel and expedition life. We will be visiting the Royal Palace and National Museum which we believe is vital for our participants to learn and be knowledgeable about during the trip.
Cardamom Mountains
The Cardamom Mountain range appears in the South West of Cambodia and borders of Thailand with the highest peak being Phnom Aural and standing at 1,813 metres high. The largely inaccessible range formed one of the last strongholds of the Khmer Rouge, driven out by Vietnamese forces during the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. Tourism is relatively new to the Cardamom Mountains which is great for us as it provides the expedition team with a chance to see a real wilderness and how it compares to some of the UK’s mountain ranges but also some rare wildlife. This region will be home to us for six days as we undertake our trek.
Sihanoukville
Surrounded by white-sand beaches and undeveloped tropical islands, Sihanoukville is one of Cambodia’s most sought after destinations. Named in honour of the then head-of-state, Sihanoukville was hacked out of the jungle in the late 1950s to create Cambodia’s first and only deep-water port. To the team it will be our Christmas venue! Spending some much needed time after the trek relaxing and having some down time. The team will have the opportunity to go swimming, snorkelling and tuck into the not so traditional fresh fish cooked on an open BBQ for Christmas dinner.
Cambodia will offer everyone on the expedition a chance to indulge themselves in local culture, visit rare and beautiful locations, generating memories that will last a lifetime. For your chance to be involved and become a participant click here: http://goo.gl/forms/8OV6pVz2Ku
by Ian | May 19, 2015 | Cambodia 2016
January
The first training weekend of 2016 will be spent in the snowy Brecon Beacons refreshing the navigational skills learnt in 2015. We will be joining other HSX members on this trip, so again it’s a good opportunity to talk to older members about their journeys and expeditions. Other focuses of this trip will be camp craft, team building, communication and developing fitness. Although Cambodia will not be snowy, managing yourself in the cold conditions will put you in a good position for managing the heat in county.
March
Arguably one of the best training trips is our visit to the Lake District over the Easter weekend. During this trip the team will be staying at Great Tower Scout Activity Centre and will have the opportunity to take part in a range of activities; Rock Climbing, Scrambling, Walking, Abseiling & many more. The main focus on this trip is refining navigational skills and team building with rock climbing as the vehicle. During the evenings of this trip older members of HSX will be running workshops about a range of outdoor topics from flora and fauna to qualifications. These will provide the expedition participants with another great opportunity to learn some more about the outdoors and pathways into working in the environment.
June
Our June weekend is a purpose fundraising weekend. The team will be participating in the Ferny Crofts Scout Activity Centre Open Day, where we will be running a BBQ and other fundraising activities. This weekend will be the perfect opportunity for members to refine their presentation skills as they speak to various members of the public and advertise the expedition.
September
After some hard fundraising over the summer the September weekend will be spent working on survival skills and climbing. We will be spending the weekend rock climbing on the cliffs of Swanage and wild camping out over night. Drawing on their past experiences from training, participants of the expedition will be planning this weekend; everything from transport to food and climbing equipment. This is the first step in developing a participant into a future leader.
October
This weekend will see the team gain their first outdoor qualification. We will be undertaking a 16hour Rescue & Emergency Care (REC) Level 2 First Aid qualification run by a local provider. The weekend will be based out of Ferny Crofts Scout Activity Centre, and will be specific to our in country schedule making sure everyone is prepared for any incidents that could come up during the expedition.
December
On the weekend of our departure we will be holding a final weekend; this will be a opportunity to finalise any packing and ensure the team are fully prepared and briefed on the next few days of travel and expectations in Cambodia. We will be joined by the heads of Hampshire Scouting and there will be a final parent’s presentation by the team outlining procedures for when the team are in country and answering any remaining questions.
To keep up to date with expedition developments check out our social media or to request a information pack click here: http://goo.gl/forms/8OV6pVz2Ku
Facebook: /HampshireScoutExpeditions
Twitter: @HSXOfficial
Youtube: /HSXOnline
by Ian | May 7, 2015 | Cambodia 2016
Unlike other expeditions, participants of HSX get 18 months of training prior to departure. This is to ensure you get the most out of the experience and help develop you for the future and maybe leading future expeditions. HSX are arguably the most active provider of International Scouting expeditions and hold regular training trips throughout the year to ensure our skills stay fresh and sharp. Amongst the 212 members we have a British Mountain Guide (BMG), Winter Mountain Leaders (WML), Mountain Instructor Award holders (MIA), Mountain Leaders (ML), Single Pitch Award holders (SPA) & Kayaking Leaders; with this great range of qualifications we can cater for any outdoor experience and we use this to provide fast paced, exhilarating experiences for all involved. Whether you’re attending a first aid training weekend, abseiling down a 100metre waterfall, or scaling Idwal Slabs, you’re sure to have an adventure you won’t forget.
For the Cambodia 2016 Expedition, we have developed a unique training plan to suit our trip, making sure participants have the skill set to make their in country experience the best it can be.
September
After a taster weekend in July, the team will hold its first official training weekend at Ferny Crofts over the 5th & 6th September. The weekend’s aim will be for the team to meet each other and get to know the leaders more, it will provide us with the opportunity to learn more about everyone’s past experience and what they want to get out of the expedition. All of our training weekends will focus around skills needed for the final expedition and the skills we will be focusing on over the September weekend are survival and bush craft. We will be making fires, preparing and cooking food outside, hammocking, looking at first aid and the team will have their first PT session.
October
For this weekend, we will be heading up to the mountainous region of Snowdonia where the focus will be on walking and navigation – Vital skills to master for our trek in Cambodia. We will be departing Hampshire Friday night before making the journey up to North Wales ready to start activities Saturday morning. For many of the group this will probably be their first time in a mountain environment and the pace of the weekend will put participants in a good stead for more trips in 2016 and potentially completing such awards like Summer Mountain Leader.
December
This will be our final training event of 2015, and once again we will be heading to Ferny Crofts in the heart of the New Forest. This weekend will be based around the traditional HSX Christmas format. On the Saturday the team will be taking part in the infamous HSX Adventure race around the new forest, were the navigational skills learnt in October will prove handy. This will be followed by cooking the Christmas meal. Sunday will be spent presenting to HSX about what the expedition has been up to and our future plans and the leaders will present to the parents. This weekend is an excellent opportunity for the participants to meet other members of HSX and here about their journey through Scouting and expeditions.
Our training blog for 2016 will be released in the next few weeks, in the mean time, if this has whetted your appetite and you would like to know more, click here: http://goo.gl/forms/8OV6pVz2Ku
To keep up to date with expedition developments check out our social media
Facebook: /HampshireScoutExpeditions
Twitter: @HSXOfficial
Youtube: /HSXOnline
by Ian | Apr 19, 2015 | Cambodia 2016
Since HSX was founded in 1986 they have run over 20 international Expeditions for Hampshire Scouts to over 10 different countries on six of the continents. In 2016 to celebrate 30 years of exploration we are heading Cambodia.
Cambodia is rich in culture, with incredible sights, beautiful beaches and a fascinating history. All elements that we wish to explore as well as meeting warm and welcoming people. The expedition aims to 20 participants with five leaders on this four week expedition over the winter of 2016/17.
There will be 18 months of training prior to the expedition focusing on teamwork, personal development and leadership to ensure that members gain as much as possible from the experience. The hope that as well as being a life changing experience for those involved, such experiences and contacts will bring greater understanding, and therefore tolerance, of the multi-cultural society in which we live today.
The expedition aims to continue the HSX tradition of being a life changing experience for all involved and inspiring the next generation of expedition leaders.
To find out more contact: matt.prince@hsx.org.uk
by Ian | Apr 6, 2015 | Belize 2011/12
Another jam packed weekend of adventure in the Lakes! Over 40 participants descended on Great Tower Activity Centre for the annual HSX trip.
Day 1 (Good Friday) saw the hills shrowded in mist so a day of walking on Wetherlam, Old Man of Coniston and Kentmere Ring was enjoyed by three groups with lots of navigation skills being tested. The Antartica team spend the morning together discussing plans before mountain biking on the other side of Lake Windermere.
On day 2 a team of climbers headed over the border into Yorkshire for some single pitch climbing whilst the rest headed into the Langdales with one group multi pitch climbing on Gimmer and Raven Crag and a group of athletes representing TeamHSX in a FRA Fell Race to the top of Harrison Stickle and back.
On Saturday evening a team camped out under amazingly clear skies a Grizedale tarn and woke up to an awesome sunrise above the clouds before waking the Hevellyn ridge. 
The rest of the group split on Sunday with some exploring underground caving in Yorkshire; a group walking the Fairfield horseshoe and others multipitching on Castle Rock.
Lakes 2015 saw everyone have an amazing time with lots of varied adventurous activites!
by Ian | Apr 1, 2015 | Antarctica 2018
So after months of training, on Sunday, three of the team (Joe, Ollie and Dave) completed the Clarendon Way marathon dragging a tyre in a time of 5 hours and 48 minutes! This was the first of the four extreme challenges we set ourselves back in January to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and certainly made all the cold and dark nights training over the winter worthwhile!
This was definitely a baptism of fire for us, since none of us had ever run a marathon before, and although they said it couldn’t be done, it just proves that with a bit of grit and determination you can achieve anything when you put your mind to it. We’d like to thank everyone that supported us along the way; to the friends and family that turned out in the wind and rain to provide a cheer or to fill us up on energy drinks, to those that have sponsored us on our challenges, in which so far we’ve raised over £700 and to those who followed us on Facebook and twitter – Thank you. The Scout leaders at South Winterslow were fantastic, even offering to make us tea (although we didn’t have enough time to drink it!) and so too was HSX’s very own Chris Slater who ran with us for 20 miles.
It really made the miles fly by knowing that there were people willing us along, and although that may sound a bit cliché, it is the honest truth! The achievement was probably best immortalised by Ollie at the finish line, proclaiming: “I’ve done a few stupid things in my life, but this takes the biscuit! Never again!” It seems hard enough to run a marathon, so it’s probably safe to say none of us will be repeating it with the added weight of a tyre ever again – but what a thing to say you’ve done!? Essentially, the reason for dragging the tyre was to show how difficult the lives are of people with Motor Neurone Disease and although difficult, we have only understood a little of the daily struggle that a sufferer must endure; we also hope that a pulk slides easier over ice, than rubber does over tarmac!
Although we will be aching for a week or two, the training doesn’t stop there, as we are already preparing for our next challenge in June; climbing 200 outdoor trad climbs in the Peak District in 24 hours. That’s right, non-stop – without sleep. Keep up-to-date with the blog or go to Twitter and Facebook to see how we’re getting on. There’s time to sponsor us for any and all of the challenges throughout the year at: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/antarctica, but for now, please enjoy the photos of the marathon day.
[Photos courtesy of David Robinson]
nightclubs. But chances are, you’re here not because of the city itself, but for what’s nearby: amazingly well-preserved ancient temples” Trip Advisor
scents; and all the while the sounds of life, of commerce, of survival, reverberate through the streets. But this is all part of the attraction” Lonely Planet
