Gordonstoun pupils recreate King Charles' DofE trek, 60 years on

Times

5 hours ago

At the age of 16 the future King Charles set off on a three-day character-building hike across the Highlands in 'rain and stormy wind', according to logbooks unearthed at his Scottish boarding school.
In pursuit of his silver Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) award, the young heir to the throne trekked almost 29 miles in winter weather, including 'eight miles up Glen Feshie'.
Over the course of three days, the prince ascended 850m peaks to find, the records reveal, a view cloaked in mist. He is listed as a member of group two, under its pupil leader Michael Fabianski, who were found in good spirits when 'Mr Varney' checked in with them on Saturday October 2, 1965.
It was Gordonstoun students preparing to undertake their own DofE expeditions this year who tracked down the records of that adventure in the school archives.
With the help of the handwritten notes and accompanying map, a team of seven retraced Charles's route 60 years on to obtain their own silver awards.
Fabianski, who successfully completed the walk alongside Charles, 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, whilst 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.'
Despite the 'overcast' skies and 'showers' that overshadowed their journey, Varney's written account suggests the Sunday was 'a fine day' and the prince's group reached their final destination just after group one at 3.20pm.
The 2025 team completed the same route from June 19 to 21 in heat and sunshine, temperatures reaching as high as 27C.
India Lewis, 16, one of the pupils who went on the expedition, said it was 'cool' to follow in the King's footsteps, adding that she really enjoyed the challenge.
She 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 do keep going and we all got there in the end. Mindset does really matter.'
A fellow 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 DofE award has its roots at Gordonstoun, where it was known as the Moray Badge until Prince Philip championed the experience and 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.'
The route took Charles and today's adventurers from Balachroich, 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.