Duke of Edinburgh - Open Gold Expeditions

Our Open Gold Expeditions are held in either the Ashdown Forest Area or South Downs areas.

We combine your Expedition Training & Practice Expedition into a five-day programme consisting of two days training and a three-day, two-night Expedition.
You will be camping at our base camp during the training and at different remote sites during the Practice Expedition.
Your assessed Expedition will also be a five-day programme. Day One will be an acclimatisation and route planning day before you head off on expedition for four days, and three nights, where you will camp at different remote sites each night.

Cost
The cost of our Gold Expeditions are as follows: -

2025 - £205 per expedition event
2026 - £260 per expedition event

The hire of all group kit (Tents, Stoves, Gas, Maps, Compasses etc.) is included in the cost of the expedition. We are also able to provide Rucksacks for participants requireing them.

Participants will need to provide their own transport to / from the expedition as well as provide their own food for the expedition. We can arrange collection from a local railway station if requested at time of booking.

Dates
We are offering the following dates for Gold Expeditions in 2025: -

· 18 – 22 October 2025 – Ashdown Forest

We are offering the following dates for Gold Expeditions in 2026: -

· 11 – 15 April 2026 – Ashdown Forest

· 26 – 30 May 2026 – South Downs

· 18 – 22 July 2026 – Ashdown Forest

· 25 – 29 July 2026 – Ashdown Forest

· 15 – 19 August 2026 – Ashdown Forest

· 24 – 28 August 2026 – South Downs

· 24 – 28 October 2026 – Ashdown Forest

We can accommodate both those requiring a Practice or Assessed Expedition on any of the above dates.

Additional information
Our Ashdown Forest expeditions start at our base camp venue - Adamswell Scout Campsite, Broom Lane, Langton Green TN3 9JL. Collection will be from a car park on the Ashdown Forest.

Our South Downs expeditions will start at South Hill Barn car park, Chyngton Ln N, Seaford, BN25 4JQ. We have access to a neighbouring campsite as our base camp venue. Collection will be from a car park also in the Seaford area.

Please note that if you completed your Practice Expedition in a Lowland Area, you will need to ensure your Assessed Expedition is undertaken in the same terrain.

As these are open expeditions, participants should note the following points: -

there must be enough applicant to make viable teams (minimum fur) for the expedition to go ahead
as an individual, you may be placed in a team with people you have not met before
where friends apply together, we do our best to keep them in the same team. If you wish to request to be with others, please email us at dofe@theeducationpeople.org with the names of who you want to be with once you have made your booking
the maximum number of participants in a team is seven, we will allocate teams of seven as much as possible.