ARCHERY, water slides, tunnelling, raft-building, zip-wiring and ant-infested tents were just some of the delights awaiting Dorset Scouts at their annual camp.

Around 1,700 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers from across the county congregated at Buddens Farm near Bere Regis for the week-long Goose 2010.

But despite the potential logistic problems of catering and caring for this many youngsters aged between six and 18, months of organisation paid off and the camp ran like a well-oiled machine.

The aim of Goose, which stands for Great Outdoor Opportunities for Scouting Experience but is also named after the flock of geese living on-site, is to give Dorset’s Scouting community the chance to make new friends, have fun, learn skills and experience activities that they might miss out on in everyday life.

The first Goose was held in 2007 to celebrate the Scout Association centenary and was such a success that organisers decided to hold a second one.

Scouting spokesman George Lewis said: “The great thing about the site is that it is secure so the kids can wander from activity to activity and don’t need to be led from place to place in a crocodile.

“It is a perfect environment for exploring, having a bit of an adventure and making new friends.”

The 94-acre site had the atmosphere of a festival. There was a field of sleeping and mess tents, an admin area, washing up and shower blocks and a central area that contained an outside cinema, ice cream and donut van and area of bouncy castles.

A lunchtime downpour on Wednesday failed to dampen spirits and it didn’t take long for the sun to come out and everyone to get back into the swing of things.

Beavers, aged between six and eight, spent just one day at Goose and they enjoyed glass engraving and wood burning in the art and craft tent, hurtling down a massive zip-wire and learning the basics of archery.

Cubs, Scouts and Explorers took part in more robust activities, including climbing and abseiling, raft-building, sailing – and sinking – water sliding into a bog, laser clay shooting, hill walking, gliding and microlighting.

Entertainment in the evenings included a costumed Hawaiian night, film screenings and campfire singsongs.

There were also trips to Brownsea Island, the ‘home of Scouting’.

Evan Feltham, a former Weymouth and Portland Mayor’s Scout, said: “Scouting in the UK has 400,000 members and 100,000 leaders and it is still growing. There are 30million Scouts worldwide and I think we are the fastest growing uniformed organisation.

“People of all ages come and join us because they know they will have fun and do something a little bit different. We are basically one big family and something like Goose brings everyone together so they can have fun.”