Teenager expeditions

Inspiring, adventurous expeditions for teenagers in Dartmoor, Peak District and Lake District

As an alternative to my full, through-the-year youth programmes like Wolf Pack, I also run one-off expeditions for teenagers, for boys and girls.

These wild camping hiking trips deliver all the benefits of an authentic, committed outdoor journey:

Builds self-reliance and confidence
Sustained escape from screens and other distractions
Develop life skills and practical outdoor skills through managing themselves outdoors, navigation, and the physical challenge of a hiking trip
New friends and shared experience with a group of similar age
Valuable in and of itself, but also great practice for Duke of Edinburgh Award: generally more demanding than the DofE expeditions themselves will be, with lots of experience to take back and apply

These expeditions can also be treated as a progression over time

Dartmoor expedition

Guideline age 12-14.

Walk the moors, carry all you need on your back, wild camp by the beautiful Dart river.

2 nights out in Dartmoor, Devon. Also excellent practice for Silver or Bronze DofE.

2027 dates: Friday 4th – Sunday 6th June (summer half term)

Peak District expedition

Guideline age 14-16.

A more challenging trip in the peaks and moors in Yorkshire, with 3 nights of wild camping and longer distances than the Dartmoor trip.

Participants will pick up significant outdoor and expedition skills, very useful also for DofE Silver and Gold.

2027 dates: Thursday 29th July – Sunday 1st August

Lake District expedition

Guideline age 14+.

An utterly memorable trip through the best routes and the best sleeping spots that the stunning Lake District has to offer.

Mountains, ridges, valleys and tarns, and a very formative experience for any participant.

Accessible for anyone who has a bit of experience (ideally one of my other expeditions), and if you are doing DofE Gold, will make you feel like you already have it in the bag.

5 day trip including travel up to and back from Cumbria.

2027: currently no Lake District trip scheduled.

FAQs

What equipment do I need?

You’ll need hiking gear: backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, waterproofs, walking boots, and suitable layered clothing. I’ll send a detailed kit list once you’re booked, and I’m happy to advise on what to buy/borrow.

For sleeping, in Dartmoor and the Peaks we wild camp in bivvy bags, and in Lake District we sleep in tents. All sleeping equipment provided by me, unless you want to take your own (as long as it is fit for purpose).

All cooking equipment and food is provided. You can bring extra snacks, but more snacks = more weight!

Full details on kit and logistics will be provided after booking.

What might we learn?

As well as doing this for the sake of having a great adventure together, the other aim is that you will feel more confident and able to go on your own trips.

Hillcraft involves lots of subtle skills: what to pack and what not to pack, what to wear, how and what to cook, where to sleep (and where not to!), how wild camping is acceptable, water purification, map reading, route planning and pathfinding skills, reading the weather, dealing with the elements, managing your energy…

A little bit of knowledge goes a long way – you’ll be surprised how much you pick up, simply by participating.

Will we be in good hands?

Yes. Chris is a qualified Mountain Leader, and is licensed by AALA (the Adventurous Activities Licensing Authority) to provide hiking trips. This means he has attained a high bar of standards and has been fully inspected by a government authority.

In practice, Chris has led numerous expeditions over the last 10 years, in Dartmoor, Peak District, Lake District and Snowdonia.

He is also DBS checked and has an Outdoor First Aid certificate.

Can you provide any references?

Overnight events for children require parents to have a large degree of trust in the leader.

I never take ‘blind’ bookings. Hopefully you can get an idea of me from the videos and content on this website. After that it always begins with a conversation so you and your child can get to know me, and build plenty of trust.

I, and all my adult staff, have the necessary Enhanced DBS checks in place, and first aid qualifications – this is a minimum.

For some external validation, I have also asked a group of parents who have put their children in my care to write references on me, and these are available for you to view here whenever you wish.

Any of these parents would make themselves available to speak to you directly, if you decided you wanted to in due course.

Are there any bursary / partially funded places?

Yes. If one of these trips appeals to you, but feels out of reach financially, then please do not turn away. I have a patron, the Spayne Lindsay Foundation, who supports my work, and we can have a conversation about how we might be able to help. Get in touch with me and we can talk about it.

Here is a one page sheet describing how it works:

What about food?

All meals are provided and cooked by the group together. Hearty, simple food that tastes great after a day on the hill. Meals will cater to any dietary requirements.

What are the other people going to be like?

The is the question that everybody asks themselves. It is very normal to be nervous ahead of meeting a new group of people, wondering what the others are going to be like… so everyone’s going to be a bit nervous. That normally lasts for the first 30 minutes of the first event, and then it’s past.

Turning up despite being nervous is a necessary hurdle for most things, and we’re good at making the awkwardness disappear very quickly.

Do people take phones?

Almost everyone finds that it is a relief not to have their phone with them.

Away from the distraction, there’s a lot of other stuff to notice and get involved in, especially outdoors. With your phone in the woods, you are not in a building but you might just as well be indoors.

Plus it’s dead weight, might get wet or broken, and the battery doesn’t last.

So no, people don’t take phones and it’s found to be a plus, even if they didn’t think it would be.