At this location you will discover a statue of Lord Robert Baden-Powell 1857-1941. He is sat as he might have been around a campfire, looking across to Brownsea Island, where he famously camped with 20 Boys in 1907 for the first camp of what became the Worldwide Movement known as the Boy Scouts. Today this is where you embark to travel to Brownsea whether as a camper, as a day visitor, or even to see one of the open air plays put on during summer evenings.
Baden-Powell (B-P) was famous nationally before Scouting when he successfully lead the 1899 defense of Mafeking when the town was under siege during the Boer War in South Africa. Whilst in the army he wrote several books and texts on the subjects of reconnaissance and scouting (as in small groups of soldiers undertaking clandestine missions to discover the lie of the land or the strength of the enemy). This required the troops involved to live off of what they could find and forage. Ultimately some of these skills and knowledge (and much more) lead to his most famous book "Scouting for Boys". This was first published in 1908 and the Boy Scouts Association created in 1910.
The statue was sculpted by David Annand, and unveiled on 13th August 2008.
Mr Annand was a Scout, as I was. I suspect many of the men and women who wander past B-P were also members in one form or another in younger days; or are younger people who still are. I'm sure the pleasure I get from geocaching stems from similar activities and learning I did in the Scouts when much younger.
When you log the cache I only ask for a photo of yourself or GPS with B-P, or if you prefer with Brownsea in the background - or both, to accompany your log! It would also be nice if you feel inclined to add any Scouting experiences or background. As for me I was in the 1st Lytchett Matravers in the Purbeck District. Purbeck District is technically the district of Brownsea (though I am sure there are those in Poole who will disagree!)
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.