Gordonstoun pupils recreate teenage King's 28-mile Cairngorms hike
The teenage Prince of Wales went on a three-day hike through 'rain and stormy wind' in October 1965 for his silver Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) award.
This year students from the King's old school tracked down the archived records of his route before setting out to recreate the challenge, following the King's footsteps across the Highlands in their hike from June 19 to 21.
While handwritten notes detail how Charles ascended 2,788ft peaks to find a view shrouded in mist, the students chose a warmer time of year for their hike. Temperatures reached as high as 27C (80F).
They followed Charles's route from Balachroich, through Kingussie, to Rothiemurchus Lodge in Aviemore, taking in Glenfeshie Forest and passing by Ben Macdui on the way up Glen Dee. Another group followed the same course in reverse.
With the help of the handwritten notes and accompanying map, a team of seven – five girls and two boys – retraced Charles's route to obtain their own silver awards.
Hiker William Griffin, 16, said: 'The most standout thing for me on the expedition was how diverse all the landscape was.
'We started off in dense woodland, going along the banks of a dried-up river that led out into a wide valley with thick heather.
'We then went through the mountains into a massive open plain with the river meandering through it. It was so impressive.'
The records reveal Charles was a member of group two, under its pupil leader Michael Fabianski. The group was found in good spirits when a 'Mr Varney' checked in with them on the Saturday, according to the notes.
Mr Fabianski said: 'My memory from the expedition was camping for the first night on the banks of the River Feshie and wading across the River Dee, while walking up Glen Dee to the Corrour bothy, where we camped for the second night.
' It's very atmospheric walking up Glen Dee, with Cairn Toul on one side and Ben Macdui on the other. I appreciated the steepness of the valley later, when we scrambled up its side to Càrn a' Mhàim during the gold expedition in which I took part the following July.'
Mr Varney's written account talks of 'overcast skies' and 'stormy wind' but suggests the Sunday was 'a fine day' and the prince's group reached their final destination just after group one at 3.20pm.
India Lewis, 16, one of the pupils who went on the expedition, said it was cool to follow in the King's footsteps and she really enjoyed the challenge.
Miss Lewis said: 'In the back of everyone's mind we remembered our motto, 'Plus Est En Vous', and we remembered that you have more in you.
'We do have more in us because even at times when we thought we couldn't do it we were still able to keep going and we all got there in the end. Mindset does really matter.'
The DofE award has its roots at Gordonstoun, where it was known as the Moray Badge until Prince Philip championed the experience. It evolved to become a national programme in 1956.
In the 12 months to March a record 572,802 pupils participated in the scheme at bronze, silver and gold levels.
Peter Green, the Gordonstoun principal, said: 'In the spirit of our founder Kurt Hahn, I firmly believe that students must be regularly challenged to grow, both inside and outside the classroom.
'The recent expedition through the Cairngorms, retracing the footsteps of the King, was a powerful illustration of that philosophy in action.
'Spending four days camping in one of the most remote regions of the UK presented a genuine test of the students' resilience and teamwork, and they responded with remarkable perseverance and strength of character.'
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