October saw Beaver Scouts from across Hampshire come together at Paultons Park in Romsey for our annual visit. Even though they are only aged between 6 and 8, the largest rides were no challenge for the adventurous young people. From the log flume to the dinosaur-themed rides, there was a ride for everyone.
Some groups were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Chip the Beaver, our Beaver Scout mascot. As he wandered around the park, he got to meet many of our Beavers who got to take a photo with him. Even members of the public stopped by to get their photo taken with Chip. He was lucky enough to go on one of the many rides at Paultons, taking on the challenge of the Viking boats. For one young person, it was time to be invested into the Scouts, and the adult volunteers wanted to make it extra special. They were lucky enough to give their promise to Chip, who then presented them with their necker in the presence of their fellow Beavers.
Peter Knott, the lead for programme across Hampshire, said "I spoke to so many Beavers and their Leaders during the day and the Leaders were so grateful for the opportunity, the Beavers just wanted to tell me how brave they were and what colour ride I should go on next!"
Due to the young age of the Beavers, certain rides at the theme park require them to be accompanied by an older person. Every year, we have young leaders aged 16 – 18 sign up to join the Beavers on the ride to make sure they get to do everything. This year was no exception, with 45 young leaders on hand to go on the rides as many times as needed. For many adult volunteers, this helped them tremendously, giving them a break from going on the rides and enabling them to entertain the young people who did not want to do a particular ride.
Michael Collins, the lead for Beavers in West Hampshire and the event organiser, spoke to the volunteers on hand across the two weekends. He said "over the 3 days we had about 1000 Beavers and 1500 of us in total and as far as I can see a good time was had by all. It wouldn't happen without all of you."
