King’s 1965 schoolboy Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition recreated by students

Students at the King’s former school have recreated the 28-mile hike through the Cairngorms which he completed as a teenager for his silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

Pupils at Gordonstoun School in Moray completed the four-day trek in June for their own Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards, after discovering the log of the original 1965 expedition in the school archive.

Seven students – five girls and two boys – retraced Charles’s steps from Balachroich to Rothiemurchus Lodge, taking in Glenfeshie Forest and passing by Ben Macdui on the way up Glen Dee.

To be, quite literally, retracing the footsteps of the King was so cool, and something we can always say we have done

India Lewis, student

Another team of seven completed the route in reverse.

India Lewis, 16, was one of those taking part in the expedition, which saw the students spend three nights camping in the wilderness, navigating along the route and cooking their own food.

“To be, quite literally, retracing the footsteps of the King was so cool, and something we can always say we have done,” she said.

“I really enjoyed the challenge of it, especially on the second day.

“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.”

Sixteen-year-old William Griffin, who also completed the route, said he had been struck by the diversity of the landscape it covered.

“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,” he said.

One of the students taking part in the trek said he was struck by the diversity of the landscape it covered (Gordonstoun/PA)

“We then went through the mountains, into a massive open plain with the river meandering through it. It was so impressive.”

Charles was 16 when he and four other pupils set out on the hike in October 1965, spending four days trekking through forests and mountains in winter weather, and ascending to heights of 850m.

According to the written log, when the then-prince and his fellow students started out it was raining and there was a “stormy wind”, and the following day the weather was “overcast” with showers and “low mist”.

Despite the conditions, Charles and the other four adventurers were said to be in “good spirits”.

Former Gordonstoun pupil Michael Fabianski, who completed the original expedition alongside Prince Charles, recalled the journey.

“My memory from the expedition was camping for the first night on the banks of the River Feshie and wading across the River Dee, whilst walking up Glen Dee to the Corrour Bothy, where we camped for the second night,” he said.

“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 Carn a’ Mhaim during the Gold expedition in which I took part the following July.”

The Prince of Wales, with his father the Duke of Edinburgh (left) and Captain Iain Tennant, chairman of the Gordonstoun Board of Governors, arriving at Gordonstoun for the prince’s first day at public school in 1962 (PA)PA Archive/PA Images - PA

Gordonstoun principal Peter Green said it was “deeply encouraging” that the “resilience and determination” shown by the King were continuing to inspire young people today.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Gordonstoun is the birthplace of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, after Mr Hahn first set up a scheme in 1936 called the Moray Badge, which then evolved to become a national programme in 1956.