Llangollen Dragon Explorers have taken home the John Bradbury Trophy after coming out on top in this year’s Border Hike competition in the Peak District.
The team travelled from North Wales to Gradbach Scout Camp for the annual event, which brings together Scouts and Explorers from across the region for a challenging weekend of navigation, teamwork, problem-solving and adventure.
Llangollen District was well represented, with 1st Llangollen entering two Scout teams alongside the Llangollen Dragon Explorers team. Both Scout teams successfully completed the demanding challenge, although they did not finish quite high enough to place in the competition. For the Dragon Explorers, however, the weekend ended with the John Bradbury Trophy in their hands.
The Border Hike is no ordinary hike. Teams navigate their way around a changing route through some of the Peak District’s most beautiful countryside, while tackling a series of secret ‘incidents’ along the way. This year’s challenges included team games involving rolling balls through a gutter course, building a pyramid of cups using strings, first aid and a memory-testing Kim’s Game. Alongside these challenges, teams also face ongoing observation tasks, puzzles and general knowledge questions throughout the route.
A major part of the challenge is navigation, something the Llangollen teams have been building through their regular Scouting activities. Scouts Team Leader Joel Rees-Jones said, “A lot of the navigation preparation is practice from Duke of Edinburgh’s Award training, as well as training, practice and final expeditions”
For the Explorers, that preparation clearly paid off, helping them navigate their way to victory and secure their place in the history of the competition.
The Border Hike itself has a long history. The first event was held at Gradbach Scout Camp in 1981, after members of the Buxton Scout Fellowship felt that there were not enough competitions specifically for Scouts. What started as a new challenge has now become a landmark event in the Scouting calendar, celebrating its 45th year in 2026.
The John Bradbury Trophy was introduced in 2002 following the creation of the Explorer section. It runs alongside the Border Hike, with Explorer teams taking on an additional orienteering challenge to test their navigation skills. The trophy was donated by the family of John Bradbury in his memory. John was a lifelong supporter of Scouting, having been a member of 17th Buxton Scouts as a child before becoming Chairman of Buxton Scout District for many years.
Today, the event is organised by a dedicated sub-committee alongside the team at Gradbach Scout Camp, with many friends and volunteers helping to make the weekend happen. Around 45 teams took part in this year’s Border Hike and John Bradbury Trophy, with teams travelling from Leicestershire, Bolton, Derby, Stockport, Timperley and High Peak — as well as Llangollen.
The event is limited to 50 teams and Llangollen is currently the only Welsh group taking part, having competed in both 2025 and 2026. The organisers would love to see more Welsh teams taking up the challenge in future.
The name ‘Border Hike’ comes from the unusual location of Gradbach Scout Camp. The site itself is in Staffordshire, the land across the river is in Cheshire, while the camp is owned by High Peak Scouts in Derbyshire. Just two miles away, the three counties meet at the famous Three Shire Heads.
Held every September, the Border Hike is designed to test far more than a team’s ability to walk. It challenges leadership, teamwork, navigation, general knowledge, first aid, observation, problem-solving and personal survival — all while encouraging friendship, fun and a sense of adventure.
For Llangollen Dragon Explorers, this year’s event provided the perfect opportunity to put all those skills into practice.
And they came home with the trophy to prove it.
Explorer Scout Myah Rees-Jones said, “Having come second a couple of years ago, we were really happy to win the John Bradbury trophy this year. Scouting has really helped us to learn navigation skills, and I’m able to use this as part of my GCSE PE. It was a brilliant team effort and we’re already looking forwards to going back as a team next year to defend our title!”
