Duchess of Cambridge visits Scout camp in Cumbria

THE Duchess of Cambridge showed she was fully prepared when she braved severe weather to visit a Scout camp in the Lake District today.

Kate, who is a volunteer in the Scout Association, joined fellow adult volunteers as they trained to work with Beaver and Cub Scouts at the Great Tower Scout Camp near Newby Bridge in Cumbria.

She will use her training to help look after a group of Cub Scouts from Cumbria and Manchester taking part in a pack holiday event at the 250-acre activity centre close to Lake Windermere.

As part of their programme, the Cub Scouts will get a chance to try outdoor cooking, fire-lighting and tree-climbing under the guidance of Kate and the other volunteers.

But the Duchess, being five months pregnant, will keep her feet firmly on the ground.

The Scout Association is hoping the visit by one of the country’s most high-profile figures will encourage other young adults to get involved in Scouting.

More adult volunteers are needed for the 35,000 young people currently waiting to join the movement, which already has well over half a million members.

Kate, who is keen on volunteering, helps out occasionally at a Scout group close to her home in North Wales.

UK Chief Scout Bear Grylls said: “The Duchess has an incredibly busy life yet, since she joined the Scouts, she has so generously managed to volunteer some incredible time to help out and get involved with her local group.

“Over the last few years it has been our mission to make it easier for adults to give as much or as little as they are able - it is how we change our society: many people doing a little bit.”