The Scout Border Hike at Gradbach Scout Camp Site

The Farmhouse
- indoor accommodation at Gradbach Scout Camp

Next Event: Friday 19th to Sunday 21st September 2025

	The Border Hike

The 42nd Scout Border Hike at Gradbach

The Border Hike is organised by Gradbach Scout Camp, based on the western edge of the Peak District National Park, nestled in the upper reaches of the Dane Valley on the borders of Derbyshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire.

The Border Hike is a challenging, competitive hike for members of the Scout, Explorer and Guiding sections of the movement from all over the British Isles. The next events will take place on the weekend of:

Friday 19th to Sunday 21stSeptember 2025 and then (provisionally)...
2026 – 18th to 20th September

Run every September, the ‘incident hike’ format is hugely popular with the Scouts and Guides as it adds a number of dimensions to a walk through some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain.

The Border Hike is a weekend event with the actual competition taking place on the Saturday. Distances are 8 to 10 miles for the ‘Border Hike’ event and 12 to 14 miles for the ‘John Bradbury Trophy’. 2010 also saw the introduction of the ‘Johanna Knowles Trophy’ for the highest placed local team from the High Peak District.

The essential 'Border Hike' resources are available to download here. Please take the time to familiarise yourself with ALL documents:

You might also find the following information useful:

Download the 2023 event complete results and orienteering results

In 1981, the first Border Hike at Gradbach created a foundation for a landmark event in the Scouting calendar that has now raced past its 30th Anniversary.

The Border Hike represents Scouting and Guiding at its best; teamwork, exciting challenges, tests of leadership, skill, general knowledge, personal survival and helping others, but most of all fun, friendship and unforgettable memories!

Scouts who completed in the early hikes are still regular attendees and offer support as route marshalls, safety officers, catering or administration staff. Some just turn up to enjoy the atmosphere at Gradbach, where the air is always clean, the mood is always cheerful and the teapot is never empty!

Why not join us next September – we love to welcome new friends as much as we enjoy greeting old ones