Welsh cakes all round! 

WINGS 2026 might be drawing to a close but for many of you, these are memories you will share for a lifetime. For the ten young people who have attended from Tŷ Hafan in South Wales, WINGS has not just been a fun adventure, it has been an important period of respite and enjoyment.

Tŷ Hafan Scout Group launched in 2008 and is the first-ever Scout group based in a UK children’s hospice, supporting young people with life-shortening conditions, their parents, and their siblings.

“We go in once a week, on a Wednesday evening, delivering Scouting activities for whoever is in the hospice at that time,” explains Tŷ Hafan Scout Group volunteer Fran. “This week, we have brought with us ten siblings of the children, some are young carers themselves, some have experienced bereavement, and this was a week to have just for and about them, a chance to have some fun and get stuck into things they might not otherwise have had the opportunity to do.”

Incredibly, seven of the ten had never been on a camp before, so imagine their reaction when faced with the WINGS set-up at Windsor Great Park. “They couldn’t believe it,” said Fran, “they thought it was like a mini festival. They couldn’t believe that they could go off and do all these activities. They were coming back every two minutes to tell us what they’d been up to.”

The group enjoyed a special guest on Tuesday when Chief Scout Dwayne Fields popped in for a surprise visit. “I was going to make some Welsh cakes for him,” said Fran, “but I’d only just started making them when he arrived. So, he joined in, it was perfect.”

13-year-old Dee was impressed. “Dwayne was so good, I got a signature on my necker and my actual phone!”. Fluent Welsh speaker Lottie, 11, was equally impressed: “Dwayne came to our camp, and it was really interesting; I got him to sign my WINGS band. He spent time learning all our names.”

There was equally lots of fun on the activities. Bowyn, 13, said “going on the water was the best, rafting and boating. I’d never done this before and it’s been fun.” Sophia, 11, said “it’s been a really good experience, although it’s hard to find your way around sometimes.” Oscar’s summary was “very fun, adventurous, but tiring.”

“We had a few on the first day who were a bit shy,” said Fran, “so to see them coming out of their shells, thriving, has been so lovely. We are sending home different young people. We are sending home changed individuals.”