Do your DofE expedition with TrekCo, the friendly DofE company! TrekCo run a programme of Open Expeditions at Gold level for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Those participants who can’t, for a variety of reasons, either find a group locally or participate at the same time as their local group may sign up independently for an Open Expedition.

DofE Gold Expeditions are a coming of age event for many - test yourself in a challenging environment, work with your team to overcome the obstacles presented by carrying a big pack over the hills in sometimes good, sometimes bad, weather... but these are the memories you'll take away forever.

The DofE Gold Expedition is 4 days long, camping for 3 nights, and you must carry everything you need with you the whole way, except water. This is called being 'self- sufficient' in DofE language. Essentially it means you can't buy things in shops along the way or eat at the local chip shop, but you must plan your expedition carefully and have all of your clothing, equipment and food with you and carry it all the way.

That's why the Gold expedition is seen as demanding but incredibly rewarding.

You may have heard that you have to walk 50 miles on your DofE Gold Expedition, but that rule changed long ago. You have to spend 8 hours each day in 'planned activity', 6 of which should be walking - but there is no specified distance. You have to devise, with your supervisor, a suitable route which will take approximately that long. The other hours will be spent on your expedition 'aim' - again to be decided as a group.

Gold expeditions should also take place in more challenging areas. These used to be specified “Wild Country’ areas but this definition has been broadened. In England and Wales, where TrekCo mainly operate, this usually means most of the upland areas like the Lake District, Snowdonia, Peak District, Dartmoor and so on. In general Gold should be more challenging than Silver or Bronze.

Your group must have between 4 and 7 people in it; it can't run with fewer people so at Gold Expedition level we group people together - you'll certainly get to know your Gold expedition group as well as you've known anybody after 4 days!

The DofE is a serious commitment - there are four other sections to complete at Gold level in addition to the Expedition, and they all need time, effort and perseverance.

Make sure your expedition preparation is thorough; it really is all important! You need to be fit so you should undertake some practice walks before coming on an expedition - make sure you are used to carrying a rucksack before you have to do it for real.

The idea of an expedition is that you’re not directly supervised by adults - so you need to make your own decisions and conduct yourself sensibly. It’s about teamwork, not each person just getting to the finish line.

People often ask if they’ve passed or failed, and think that if they take a wrong turn or are late then they’ve failed their expedition. It’s about keeping safe and getting back on track, realising where you’ve gone wrong and changing things - not just ticking boxes!

For full information, download the brochure from the link below which tells you all you need to know. Kit lists can be viewed on the DofE website at: https://www.dofe.org/shop/dofe-expedition-kit-list/