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Explorer Belt – Poland 2025

Between: 26th July 2025 - 9th August 2025 Location: Kraków, Poland Sections: Explorer Scouts, Scout Network Event Organiser: Josh Goodwin

Explorer Belt – Poland 2025

Between: 26th July 2025 – 9th August 2025 Location: Poland

Sections: Explorer Scouts, Scout Network

 

The Explorer Belt is the challenge of a lifetime

It’s a 10-day expedition that will bring you a deeper understanding of one of our European neighbours, its people, culture and way of life. It’s an independent exploration of a foreign country in a small team. It’s Scouting’s most challenging Top Award.

Read on to find out more about the 2025 Explorer Belt to Poland. Then click this link to register your interest and to attend an Explorer Belt Information Session on 28th September, 2nd October or 13th October.

Kraków in southern Poland is the location for the 2025 Explorer Belt

Kraków dating back to the 7th century is one of the oldest cities in Poland and was Poland’s capital until the 1500’s.  Kraków is a major academic, artistic, cultural and historical centre.  In 1978, the whole of the Old Town and the historic centre of Kraków were designated by UNESCO as Poland’s first World Heritage site.

The countryside surrounding Kraków, where you will spend most of your Explorer Belt, is made up of farmland, fields, woods and forest.  Some areas are similar to the UK’s New Forest.  In other areas there is higher ground and historic castles.  There are frequent houses, farms, villages and small towns.

Your Explorer Belt expedition will bring you into contact with many Polish people.  You will find their life experience is often very different from your own.  The oldest people you meet may have grown up during the Nazi occupation of World War 2.  Any person over 35 will have grown up during the Soviet occupation that continued into the 1990s.  More recently the Poles around Kraków have experienced the very significant political, economic and social impacts of joining NATO and the EU.

At the end of the Explorer Belt expedition you will visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former Nazi concentration camp.  The visit will help you learn about some of the most important events in Europe’s history.

Your Explorer Belt expedition

You’ll travel through Poland as a small team of 4 or 5 Explorer Scouts or 3 to 5 Network members for 10 days.

You’ll meet local people, talk to them and complete a series of projects. These will help you gain a deeper understanding of this area of Poland, its people, culture and way of life.

During your expedition, you’ll select your own route and accommodation and cover about 150 km on foot.

After your expedition you’ll make a presentation to gain your Explorer Belt.

Previous expedition members have said the Explorer Belt is the best thing they did as part of Scouts.

Check you meet these important pre-requisites and can make these dates

  • You must be either an Explorer Scout aged 16 or over before the start of the expedition, or a Scout Network member.
  • As a guide, you should have hiking, lightweight camping and expedition experience at Chief Scout’s Diamond / Silver DofE award level.
  • Ideally, you will have formed a team and will register as a team for the first training weekend in November. Explorer teams must have 4 or 5 members, Network teams can have 3, 4 or 5 members.  It’s no problem if you are not in a team for the first training weekend.  Many teams are actually formed during the weekend.
  • You must attend the two training weekends, on 16th and 17th November 2024 and 15th and 16th March 2025. They will be held in Surrey and south west London.
  • You must organise and carry out two independent training expeditions with your team between 1st December 2024 and 30th April 2025. The first of these training expeditions will be 2 days / 1 night and the second will be 2 days / 2 nights.
  • You must attend one of the Explorer Belt one day first aid courses held between December and the end of April or already hold a First Response or equivalent or higher first aid certificate.

 

Register your interest and start your Explorer Belt journey here

If you’re interested in the 2025 Explorer Belt, sign up for one of the three information sessions using this link.  They are on zoom on Saturday 28th September at 6pm, Wednesday 2nd October at 7:30pm. and Sunday 13th October at 6pm.

Click here for additional notes about teams and organisation

Forming your team It’s your responsibility to form your team. We will provide advice at the information sessions about forming teams, but we will not put you into a team or create teams.  Ideally, you will have formed your team ahead of the first training weekend.

Separate Explorer Scout teams and Network teams Teams must be either 4 or 5 Explorer Scouts (aged 16 or 17) or 3, 4 or 5 Network Scouts (aged 18 to 24). Explorer teams follow the under 18s activity rules. Network teams have greater flexibility and operate under the Scouts’ adult rules.

We do not support teams containing both Explorer Scouts and Network members. If you are an Explorer team, please consider carefully when each member turns 18 and whether this is before the expedition departs.

Who can apply? We welcome Scouts from all parts of the UK. Because the number of expedition places is necessarily limited, we give some preference to teams containing Surrey Scouts and Greater London South West Scouts.

Explorer Belt organisation This Explorer Belt is being organised by Surrey Scouts in partnership with Greater London South West Scout County.  Surrey Scouts is the lead county and is responsible for governance and approval. The Explorer Belt will be run based on the Scouts’ safety policy and rules.

Further information You can find further information about the Explorer Belt award on the Scouts website at https://www.scouts.org.uk/top-awards/explorer-belt/ including the Reach Out and Explore guide to completing your Explorer Belt.

Explorer Belt Leader Team

The expedition will be led by an experienced team of Surrey Scouts and Greater London South West Leaders.  This team runs an Explorer Belt expedition to a European country annually.  Recent Explorer Belts have been to Sweden, Spain and Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg.

The leader team will be in-country during the expedition. They will remotely supervise you and be able to assist you.  The two main leaders from Surrey Scouts and Greater London South West are the Counties’ Explorer Belt Leaders: Josh Goodwin and Ian Tombleson.

 

Josh Goodwin

Explorer Belt Leader (Surrey Scouts)

Josh is the main leader for the 2025 Explorer Belt.  Josh is a deputy leader on the 2024 Explorer Belt to Sweden; was the main leader for the 2023 Explorer Belt to Galicia; and was deputy leader for the 2022 Explorer Belt expedition to Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

Josh has led multiple Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions, and other Scout expeditions in the UK and to Kandersteg.

Josh says that “the Explorer Belt is different from the other Top Awards in Scouting. Participants engage with the residents of the area they are visiting and they find out a lot about themselves as well as about the people and places they visit”.

Ian Tombleson

Explorer Belt Leader (Greater London South West Scouts)

Ian has been a member of the GLSW Explorer Belt Team for the last three years.  Ian is a deputy leader on the 2024 Explorer Belt to Sweden; was a leader for the 2023 Explorer Belt to Galicia.

Ian has been an assessor, leader and supervisor for Scout and Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions for 15 years.  He has been DofE Expedition Leader-in-Charge for GLSW Scouts for the last 5 years.  Ian is a qualified Mountain Leader.

Ian says that the Explorer Belt “really allows participants to get under the skin of a country” and is “the perfect antidote to the package holiday”.

Jon Emery

Explorer Belt Leader (Surrey Scouts)

Jon has been a member of the Surrey Explorer Belt Team for the last three years.  Jon is a deputy leader on the 2024 Explorer Belt to Sweden; and was a leader for the 2023 Explorer Belt to Galicia, and the 2022 Explorer Belt expedition to Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

Jon has been an leader and supervisor for Scout and Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions for over 10 years.  Jon is a qualified Mountain Leader.

Andrew Carvell

Assistant County Commissioner (Explorers) Surrey Scouts

Andrew is a hill-walker, mountaineer and canoeist, who has led expeditions for young people to Scotland, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland among others.

Andrew has been an assessor, leader and supervisor for Scout and Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions for 10 years.  He has been DofE Expedition Leader-in-Charge for Surrey Scouts for the last 4 years.  Andrew is a qualified Mountain Leader.

Andrew is supporting Josh, Ian and Jon to organise the 2025 Explorer Belt expedition.

Kraków, Poland

HM King Charles III has been confirmed as our new Patron, a great honour for UK Scouts.

The King continues a long tradition of the monarch giving their Patronage, dating back to 1912. This was when Scouts was granted its Royal Charter and HM George V became our first Patron.

Find out more
King Charles III

Our Patron, HM King Charles III