It was a summer of adventure as Scouts from across Wales took on the challenge of the Explorer Belt, travelling independently to a variety of European destinations, including Luxembourg, Montenegro, and Bulgaria. These young people embraced the opportunity to experience new cultures, work as a team, and push themselves out of their comfort zones to earn one of Scouting’s top awards. Along the way, they created lasting memories, even when things didn’t quite go according to plan – a true part of the adventure.
The Explorer Belt is a 10-day expedition encouraging young people to discover new places, cultures and lifestyles. Each team is responsible for planning their journey, including organising gear, mapping routes, budgeting, and raising funds to cover the cost of the trip.
Each trip has an overall fact-finding mission known as a ‘purpose’, for example, exploring cultural differences and similarities, planning future Scout camps in other countries, or exploring local places of interest.
Fellow Explorers and leaders also set participants smaller challenges to complete during their travels, for example meeting a local Scout group, visiting local landmarks, flying the Welsh flag somewhere unusual or writing a postcard in the local language.
On their return, participants present their experiences, opportunities and challenges to friends, family, and Scout leaders before they receive a badge, certificate and an actual Explorer Belt, which can be worn with their Scouting uniform.
You can find out more about the award here.
Eryn, Lowri, and Maddie from Cardiff and the Vale, and Gwent spent their summer travelling from Luxembourg to Brussels. Their project focused on visiting castles and stately buildings, blending cultural discovery with adventure. Local Scouts welcomed them to Telstar in Luxembourg, giving them a guided tour of the city. Their visit also made the local news with an interview in the local newspaper, Chronicle.lu, which you can read here.
By chance, they met a group of Scouts from Sweden who were taking part in a similar expedition. They soon realised they had all been at the same World Scout Jamboree in South Korea in 2023 and enjoyed sharing their experiences of the event.
Despite facing challenges, like a broken collarbone, blistering heat, thunderstorms, and language barriers, the group made the most of every opportunity including spending the night in a tent on stilts, a common practice in Belgium Scouting, and meeting new people from across Europe.
Eryn said: “I signed up as an individual which was scary at first because I didn’t know anyone, however, our team was all made of people who signed up as individuals. We had the best time and found out we had a lot in common. We were able to talk about things we do in Scouting, and we all went to the World Scout Jamboree so we could share our own experiences.”
The group presented their trip back to local Scouters, family and friends at the end of August and were awarded their belts at this event.
Benedict is a Network member from Gwent and took part in an Explorer Belt run by Scouts UK with participants from all over the country. His journey took him to Bulgaria, where he explored cities such as Sofia, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, and Sliven, concluding with a relaxing night on the beach in Nessebar. His main project was to compare Bulgarian and UK religious and cultural practices, but he also learned to play table tennis, a favourite game of many in Bulgaria, met the mayor, mastered a Bulgarian dance, and milked a goat. Benedict said: “The highlight of the trip was visiting a local Scout group. When we arrived, they treated us like their own. They cooked for us, we had a water flight with the children, and they took us on guided tours of the area.”
However, not everything was smooth sailing. Benedict nearly missed a crucial train due to a bus issue and had to scramble for a taxi on the last day. Despite these obstacles, Benedict said: “It has given me experience to go and explore different countries and given me more independence.”
He added: “It has got me one step closer to gaining all the top awards in Scouting.”
Alys, Joe, and Emma from Eryri a Môn and Cheshire travelled to Ireland to build connections with local groups and gain a better understanding of how they could plan a trip to Ireland for their local Explorers. They wanted to explore potential camping sites and discover how they could make international opportunities more affordable.
Highlights included meeting a friendly Scout group in Mallow, where they learnt a lot about Scouting in Ireland. Alys said: “Overall it was all quite similar, but they have a really good focus on knot tying, navigation using different methods, making fires from scratch to cook, pioneering – proper back to basics Scouting and that was a consistent thing with all of the groups we met.”
The group were lucky enough to enjoy some exceptional meals prepared for them by local groups. Alys says they had expected to be making their own meals wherever they stayed, but the generous hospitality meant they were well catered for. She laughs at the fact they carried a stove across Ireland, which they didn’t actually end up using.
They faced challenges with walking routes that turned out to be unsafe dual carriageways, forcing them to rely more on public transport. The experience taught them the value of seeking help, and the kindness of locals. It turns out that when you’ve got a necker on, people are always happy to help.
Reflecting on their adventures, Alys said: “It was such an amazing experience and helped my confidence massively. The three of us were a bit nervous to begin with because we were a long way from home and if something went wrong, we couldn’t necessarily ‘just go home’ but it meant that we had to think on our toes and learn how to deal with issues as they came up.”
Daisy, Emily, Georgia, and Sophie from Llangollen District completed their Explorer Belt in Montenegro. Their journey spanned 100 miles across the country, visiting cities and towns including Podgorica, Bar, Budva, Kotor, and Herceg Novi. The group travelled by foot, train, boat and bus with a mission to explore cultural differences and similarities between Montenegro and Wales.
They quickly realised the importance of flexibility when expensive food, not enough trees to set up their hammocks and bad weather, forced them to alter their plans and move to a new campsite. The group learnt a lot about the local culture and history including a myth involving a giant who once carried buckets filled with rivers, oceans, mountains, and trees but accidentally dropped them, creating Montenegro. A story that seemed fitting given the breathtaking landscape and historical sites the group experienced, particularly in Kotor and Budva.
A highlight was their interaction with the Podgorica Scout group, where they enjoyed a traditional meal and exchanged neckers. The group also met the Chief Scout of Montenegro while hammocking in Kotor, an experience they say they will never forget.
Daisy said: “The Explorer Belt has helped me gain confidence in myself and many life skills that I can use daily. I’ve learnt to budget, which will benefit me in the future, I’m definitely more confident in my decision-making and planning abilities, and I’d now like to plan more adventures in the future with my friends.”
If you’re inspired to take on your own Explorer Belt challenge, find a team, register your intention with UK Headquarters here and begin planning your adventures.
