Starring… (in no particular order)

1. The Trossachs Duke of Edinburgh Assessment Expedition Starring…(in no particular order)

2. Edward Bishop Due to the undoubted pleasure of spending four days in the unspoilt countryside, surviving without help as part of a stalwart team, and the slightly more dubious pleasure of having a companion fall ill, this expedition was one I will honestly never forget. I will always regard those four days fondly. Even the more difficult parts of the expedition were, in hindsight, truly enjoyable; all our toils were more than compensated for by the thrill of burying myself in Kroll’s muscular shoulders at the end. Sam Boaden

3. Luke Bramwell (in the flesh) Mmm… fresh… Definitely the best of all our D of E expeditions, mostly due to the location, the great group and the fact that I didn’t get sunburnt. If anything, Simon Kroll’s mysterious illness brought the whole team together, and made our reunion with him all the more sweet. However, let it not be forgotten that the first night was actual hell (we had to pick our way across highland rivers, only for the heavens to open as night fell on the decidedly unimpressive wild campsite!). Our assessor Tom Shannon made the whole thing very enjoyable with his laid-back attitude, and of course the entire experience was masterminded by Mr Gray, to whom we all owe a lot of thanks. THANKS MR GRAY!

4. Jonny Hartley “ I loved it, one of those experiences you will never forget, filled with stories to tell. And Kroll. ”

5. It’s only in the aftermath of Duke of Edinburgh that you truly begin to appreciate it. I cannot imagine another opportunity to have so much fun with such great friends, with such an amazing sense of achievement at the end! Tom Hyatt Tom Hyatt

6. John Waller It was a minty fresh experience. I loved it.

7. KROLL

8. WaterResourcesintheScottishHighlands A report on the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Expedition to the Trossachs, 2006 Jonathan Hartley/Luke Bramwell/Tom Hyatt/Edd Bishop/Sam Boaden/John Waller

9. Angling is popular in the Scottish Highlands. Within a few minutes of the final night’s camp on the shore of Loch Achray, we saw these anglers enjoying the excellent trout fishing on this particular body of water. Technically, they might be fishing rather naughtily since only fly fishing from boats is allowed on this loch. All permits for fishing are tightly controlled by the Conservation Association. This helps ensure that stocks remain stable in order to maintain biodiversity and ensure the return of anglers. The nearby Loch Venachar offers salmon, trout and pike fishing, and elsewhere in the Trossachs perch, roach and char can be found, in addition to Loch Lomond’s unique species, the powan (a type of herring). Whilst anglers contribute greatly to the local economy, the accidental and deliberate introduction of non-native species into Trossachs lochs can pose a risk to local ecosystems.

10. A picture from the centre’s website This is a view of Lochearnhead Watersports Centre. The watersports centre offers a slipway for the launching of private fishing boats, ski boats, windsurfers, canoes and sailing boats onto Loch Earn. In addition, there is a waterski school known as “Charlie’s”. The provision of this type of facility is key in utilising the many bodies of water in the Highlands to attract tourists and many people choose to holiday here specifically because they can enjoy watersports in an environment comparable to the best in the UK (overall, £288m was spent from 2001-3 by tourists on watersports). In recognition of the lucrative nature of watersports provision, VisitScotland has introduced a “Watersports Welcome” scheme and Tourist Board Training offers courses in extending the tourist season through watersports.

11. This is a view across Loch Earn towards the Drummond Estates Fish Farm. Anglers. According to fishing.co.uk, their stocking policy over the last 9 years has made the Loch into a great place to fish for brown trout – some of the largest in Scotland. Before the fish farm became involved in stocking the Loch for angling, the average size of a brown trout was 5oz; now they can reach 10lb. Fish farms and estate managers have an important role to play in ensuring continuing trade, although their approach differs from the conservation methods employed on Loch Achray. Fish farms can pose problems: non-local strains of brown trout and Atlantic salmon have been introduced to some Lochs through escapes from fish farms, and these present difficulties in maintaining a healthy and natural ecosystem.

12. Loch Earn is also home to Lochearn Water Aerodrome, and we spotted their Christen Aviat A-1 Husky amphibian taking a spin (or hopefully not!) over the loch. The centre caters for novices to experienced pilots, and contributes to bringing tourists to the Trossachs. www.neils-seaplanes.com

13. BREAK! High Medium Altitudometer A local history site informs us that, originally, a water supply to replace the traditional wells and burns about the town of Callander was taken from the River Leny just above the Falls of Leny in 1872 (this supply is still used by a certain part of the town). The insufficiency of this was soon realised, though, and over the coming years there were many complaints about the pressure of the water supply. However, on the 18th May, 1932, the Earl of Ancaster opened the new reservoir north of the town, at Arivurichardich. The new scheme cost £33,000. It was near to this reservoir that we camped on the first night – and its outlet rivers were the ones that posed terrible difficulty in crossing, owing to the bridges having been washed away in a previous flood. Fortunately, we were warned of this by a man in a farmhouse lower down the valley, and given some good advice on how to cross: keep left, and you might want to take your trousers and shoes off! This particular farmhouse took water straight from the outlet burn – no need for treatment with that pure Scottish water…

14. “Basil? This beverage tastes like bogwater.” “It is bogwater, John.” Boaden’s seal of approval …as we soon discovered! Where we could see livestock grazing, we boiled and used purification tablets, for lower-level springs we used purification tablets… and for higher-level springs, as John exemplifies here, we drank the water as God intended. In a sports bottle.

15. Geographical background Frost shattering occurs when water enters a crack in a rock; it freezes and expands by 9-10%. Frost shattering slowly widens the joints and, in time, causes pieces of rock to shatter from the main body, leaving angular rocks. Abrasion is the sandpapering action caused by particles being carried in the river’s load rubbing against the channel sides and bed, breaking pieces of rock off. This is only effective when the particles in the load are at least as hard as the bedrock and is most effective when the river is fast and turbulent. The amount of load is also an important factor. These processes contribute to the formation of waterfalls such as the Little Fawn. These spectacular natural features then attract tourists to the Trossachs, who come to see their beauty. Canyoning is also popular in the area, and it is these waterfalls and gorges that make it possible. The Waterfall of the Little Fawn…

16. Luke Bramwell’s thumb There is a dam situated on the south end of Glen Finglas Reservoir with a hydroelectric power station. Hydropower produces essentially no carbon dioxide or other harmful emissions, in contrast to burning fossil fuels or gas, and so is not a significant contributor to global warming through CO2. Recent reports have linked reservoir construction to methane, which forms out of decaying submerged plants which grow in the dried up parts of the basis in times of drought. Methane is a greenhouse gas. Hydroelectric power can be far less expensive than electricity generated from fossil fuel or nuclear energy. Areas with abundant hydroelectric power attract industry with low cost electricity. However, environmental concerns with the effects of hydropower reservoirs may prohibit development of otherwise economic hydropower sources. The chief advantage of hydroelectric dams is their ability to handle seasonal (as well as daily) high peak loads. When the electricity demands drop, the dam simply stores more water. Some electricity generators use water dams to store excess energy (often during the night), by using the electricity to pump water up into a basin. The electricity can be re-generated when demand increases. In practice the utilization of stored water in river dams is sometimes complicated by demands for irrigation, which may occur out of phase with peak electrical demands.

17. Path that can be used by the public to walk or cycle round the mass of water, for leisure.

18. This charming, informative display on the shore of “The Horned Loch” describes how the Loch provides a great opportunity for bird watching! There’d be no “bird watching” for our group, however, as we were all far too busy worrying about one Simon Kroll…

19. The Story of Simon Kroll After the halfway point of day 2, it became alarmingly apparent that Simon Kroll was not at all well. Having uncharacteristically struggled with the first major climb, his conversation decayed into little more than grunts. Anyone who knows Simon Kroll may not see this as odd, but it prompted us to stop and force him to drink some water, eat and generally get better. When his water bottle slipped from his ever-weakening grip without a glimmer of realisation, we knew we were in trouble!

20. After the rest of the group exhausted themselves sharing Kroll’s legendary JAGUAR VI rucksack suspended from walking poles, a hasty camp was made (somewhat illegally) just off the road in a patch of woodland. The consensus from the group was to review at dawn, and unfortunately Kroll decided to drop out for the greater benefit of his friends. He never left their hearts… and upon arrival at the finish he was greatly hugged. Luke breaking the news of Kroll’s need to drop out to Tom Shannon, our assessor.

21. Until next time… Thanks of unimaginable proportions to Mr Gray, without whom the entirety of our experiences with Duke of Edinburgh could never have happened. We are all indebted to him for providing the opportunity to create such happy memories! THANK YOU MR GRAY!