I have been inundated with questions about my latest castaway adventure, so I thought I would share my thoughts.
I’ve always loved camping, campfires and nature. Nothing makes me happier than sitting around a campfire with friends and family, cooking, sharing, and talking.
For years I have watched programmes, such as Bear
This year, I decided to concede to my urge to ‘go wild’ and typed the words ‘Castaway Experience’ into Google and up popped The Royal British Legion Castaway Experience… and I booked there and then!
I had to raise funds for the British Legion in order to participate, which was in support of a very good cause.
I’ve just returned from my experience. And I loved every minute. Literally, every single minute!
Prior to the event, we were told to “expect the unexpected” which filled me with even more excitement. I wasn’t disappointed!
Without giving too much away (for next year’s participants), meeting the other participants in a hotel the night before kicked off the first of our many challenges.
We were all expecting a good night’s sleep in a nice comfortable bed in the hotel prior to our departure the following morning. However, much to our amusement we didn’t get it!
The following morning we headed to our secret destination aboard boats from the nearby marina. It was all very secretive and lots of fun.
We had no idea where we were going, we were told to just follow the boat ahead.
Forty minutes later we arrived at our castaway destination, a remote beach surrounded by forest.
Greeted by survival instructors, we discovered that our first task was to build our home for the week.
Divided into teams of two, we each built shelters from logs, wood and bracken.
Working together as a team and watching it all come together was incredibly rewarding.
Lighting the campfire made it more homely and welcoming. It proved to be a very solid structure, which served us well.
Throughout the week, we experienced many ‘mini-lectures’ through which the survival instructors delivered their knowledge.
We learnt to start fires using various methods including a bow drill which I loved.
We prepared partridge, pigeon, and learnt to skin a rabbit. (I apologise profusely to vegetarian’s reading).
Experiencing sea life raft survival was so much fun, (once I’d actually managed to get in it), as was the night navigation exercise.
Lying in bracken, giggling hysterically, waiting to ‘ambush’ the other team was definitely one of the highlights!
Another great experience was cooking bannock , a bread style cake on the campfire.
Hunger led to us foraging crab apples, rosehips and blackberries to eat. Crab apples stuffed with blackberries and roasted on the fire were delicious; I lost count of the amount that I ate!
This experience was a firm reminder that beneath our material possessions we are all just human beings with the same basic needs.
Sat around the campfire at night, sharing stories together, brought home the truth: all we really need is food, water, shelter and people. And that really is enough.
As for what I missed while I was castaway? Salt and hugs.
Seriously. I craved salt and seasoning by day three.
A pack of small pork pies secretly found their way into camp towards the end of the week. We all had a tiny pork pie smeared with smuggled in Branston.
After a few days without flavourings, the taste was truly orgasmic. We were literally rolling around the floor in ecstasy, moaning with delight.
And as for hugs? I craved them more than salt. Never in a million years did I think that I would miss physical touch as much as I did.
Overall, it was a truly wonderful experience, and I learnt so much and I made some amazing new friends.
I would highly recommend a Castaway Experience to all!
