Expeditions and explorations
What’s the difference and how do I plan and run them?
Expeditions
An expedition is a journey with a purpose. The expedition should involve travelling for at least four hours on each day, by foot, cycle, canoe, horse or other agreed means. For more information on using all these forms of transport in Scouting, check out our rules and guidance for adventures.
Group size: Four or more
Time: Two days (at least four hours travel per day)
Night away: One night away
Accommodation: Campsite, bunk house, hostel, or similar
Location: Countryside or suburban area, ideally not well known to team
Transport: Foot, cycle, canoe, horse, or other
Route planning: Rest and meal stops, and timings
Equipment: Appropriate for terrain, mode of travel, and to deal with emergencies (If camping, Scouts are not required to carry camping equipment)
Navigation: OS map, compass, GPS
Emergencies: Emergency plan
Catering: Cooking and eating at least one hot meal themselves (using kitchen, lightweight stove, campfire, or similar)
Purpose: Task or small project
Permits needed: Nights Away; plus possibly Hillwalking, Cycling or Canoeing
Event passport: May be issued to a Scout who will lead the rest of the team during Nights Away (Overnight venue should be aware and agree to this if the Scouts are to be unsupervised)
Report back: Report, performance, video, presentation, blog, website
Explorations
An exploration is a purpose with a journey. The exploration should involve travelling for at least ninety minutes to reach the destination, by foot, cycle, public transport or other agreed means. Scouts could explore somewhere in the UK or abroad. Having reached the destination, at least five hours of investigation should be carried out over the two days, following up on previously undertaking research.
Group size: Four or more
Time: Two days (90+ minutes travel to destination and at least five hours of investigation over 2 days, following previous research)
Night away: One night away
Accommodation: Campsite, bunk house, hostel, or similar
Location: Countryside, town or city area not well known to team
Transport: Foot, cycle, public transport, or other
Route planning: Rest and meal stops, and timings
Equipment: Appropriate for terrain, mode of travel, and to deal with emergencies (If camping, Scouts are not required to carry camping equipment)
Navigation: Timetables, street map, A-Z, compass, GPS
Emergencies: Emergency plan
Catering: Cooking and eating at least one hot meal themselves (using kitchen, lightweight stove, campfire, or similar)
Purpose: An investigation of an area
Permits needed: Nights Away; plus possibly Hillwalking or Canoeing
Event passport: May be issued to a Scout who will lead the rest of the team during Nights Away (Overnight venue should be aware and agree to this if the Scouts are to be unsupervised)
Report back: Report, performance, video, presentation, blog, website
For either option, Scouts must have appropriate adult supervision bearing in mind their age, experience, the terrain and activity. As a minimum, such supervision should involve a visual check at the beginning and end of the day, and an adult being available in the local area. It would not usually be an appropriate challenge for the Scouts to be accompanied at all times by an adult.
The level of supervision should be considered as part of the risk assessment and Scouts should have a clear plan for if things go wrong, including knowing how to contact one of the leadership team and emergency services if necessary. Why not plan an incident hike into your programme, to help Scouts prepare for challenges they might experience.
You should ensure that you follow the rules and guidance for running Nights Away experiences, such as relevant activity permits and nights away permits, InTouch, parental permission and first aid arrangements. Guidance can be found on our Nights away and camping page.
If appropriate, Scouts can stay by themselves overnight, if an Event Passport is issued to the whole group or a named young person. Further information can be found in chapter 9 of POR. The Nights Away permit holder must provide support during both the preparation and the event itself and be satisfied that the young person has the required abilities.
If Scouts are completing their expedition or expedition abroad, refer to the guidance on the visits abroad page.