In 1907 Baden Powell performed an experimental camp on Brownsea Island. In 2010 Bear Gryll's Chief Scout of Scout Association UK chose 8 Scouts out of the whole of Scout Association UK to partake in a Survival Weekend.

The Scouts abseiled off a cliff, learned to fight fires and skinned dead rabbits. During the evening, they gathered round a campfire and swapped Scouting stories. 

Rowan from Edinburgh said it was ‘an amazing adventure – the Gold Award was great but this is massive!’ Truro Scout Hannah echoed that sentiment: ‘I’ve had so much fun- I can’t believe it went so quickly! The Gold Award was hard but this was really exhausting."

Rowan, who is a member of 82nd Inverleith Scouting Group, qualified for the expedition after achieving the Chief Scout's Gold Award - the highest accolade in Scouting.

The youngster, who will start second year at Edinburgh's Royal High School after the summer break, said: "Bear Island was an amazing adventure. The Gold Award was great, but the survival camp is massive."

Bear, 36, who is known for TV shows such as Born Survivor as well as once becoming the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest, picked a group of eight Scouts to take part in the extreme survival event and put them through their paces last weekend.

Rowan's dad Grant, 47, said: "It was great that Rowan was selected out of so many Scouts, especially when this was the first time that the survival camp had been done.

"It was a knock-out when we were told that he had been picked.

 The Chief Scout himself was hugely impressed with their efforts: ‘All the Scouts who joined me this weekend showed great energy and commitment in learning some real adventure skills in outdoor survival,’ he said.

The lucky eight were chosen from hundreds of applicants from all over the UK. Each had proven themselves worthy of the experience by completing their Chief Scout’s Gold Award. The winners were chosen based on personal testimonies on completing the Award and recommendations from leaders.