By Catherine Arnell – 1st Minster Scouts Leader
Forty Scouts from across Thanet spent Saturday turning the district into a giant Monopoly board, travelling by foot and bus between Ramsgate, Birchington, Garlinge and Broadstairs as they tackled an eight-hour challenge.
Starting in Ramsgate at 9.15am, teams had to navigate their way around Thanet, finding landmarks and hidden QR codes while completing challenges and collecting virtual Monopoly money and Chance Cards.
With free travel generously provided by Stagecoach, the Scouts had to work out which buses to catch and where to get off – adding another challenge to the day.
Melodie Rosette, aged 12, Patrol Leader, 1st Minster Scouts, said: “We got to use the bus, which I have never used around Thanet before. Doing all the extra Chance challenge tasks were most fun, because it was really random!”
The teams were challenged to find pink things, vintage cars, telephone boxes, blue plaques and Scout huts, as well as posing like pirates, becoming human statues, recreating movie scenes and finding an ice cream van.
The Monopoly theme ran throughout the game, with different colours, stations, roads and Scout huts forming part of the giant game board.
Dexter, 1st Minster Scout, said: “We had to use our eyes and our knowledge to find the QR codes and then complete the different challenges. Some of the clues were tricky, but it was fun trying to work them out together.”
For 11-year-old Benji, the Monopoly theme was one of the highlights. He said: “My personal favourite Chance Card was the ice cream van as we found it straight away. “There were also other things referring to the Monopoly game, such as one of the landmarks was a jail and you could find a Get Out of Jail Free card.”
Benji’s team finished 4th out of six teams, finding eight landmarks, four Scout huts and nine Chance Cards.
The day involved some serious walking. Representatives from 1st Minster Scouts recorded more than 17,000 steps, with teams travelling around Thanet for around seven to eight hours before returning to Ramsgate between approximately 4.30pm and 5pm.
Emilee, aged 11, 1st Minster Scouts, said: “It was really fun to do stuff like that and go against the other groups. I would definitely do it again!”
Scout Leader Catherine Arnell, of 1st Minster Scouts, also enjoyed seeing Thanet from a different perspective.
She said: “We caught buses, talked with the community, took photos of pink things, old things and blue plaques, and found different stations, roads and Scout huts around the district. What a fantastic idea – seven hours of running, laughing, moving and seeing a different side of Thanet.”
The event was organised by 6th Ramsgate Sea Scouts, bringing Scouts together from across Thanet for a day designed to encourage teamwork, creativity, independence, problem-solving and exploration of their local area.
Event organiser Matthew Sayer, of 6th Ramsgate Sea Scouts, said: “The idea was to create something completely different that gave Scouts the freedom to explore Thanet, make their own decisions and work together as a team.
“Watching 40 young people travelling all over the district, solving the clues and getting completely stuck into the challenge was fantastic. There was a huge amount of work behind the scenes to make the event happen, but seeing how much everyone enjoyed it made it absolutely worthwhile. We’re already looking forward to making the Monopoly Challenge even bigger and better next year!”
Stagecoach has been thanked for providing free travel and helping make the challenge possible.
After eight hours of walking, running, bus-catching, clue-solving and completing challenges, the Scouts returned to Ramsgate with plenty of stories to tell.
Join Scouts in Thanet
Events like the Monopoly Challenge are made possible by volunteers giving their time to create opportunities and adventures for young people across Thanet.
Thanet Scouts welcomes both new young people and adult volunteers. Whether you’re a young person looking for adventures, new skills and new friends, or an adult who would like to volunteer and help make opportunities like this possible, they’d love to hear from you.
Find more at: www.thanetscouts.org.uk
Leave a Reply