Cityscapes Adventure: a weekend to remember

On 21-22 March, Cityscapes Adventure took over the streets of 5 cities across the UK, bringing over 11,000 Girlguiding members together.

Teams headed to Manchester, Glasgow, York, Portsmouth and Cardiff for a city-wide scavenger hunt full of challenges, teamwork and fun.

This amazing urban adventure simply wouldn't have happened without the dedication of our amazing country and region teams who worked together to bring it to life.

A huge thank you to everyone who was involved in the event, whether you were organising, volunteering, attending or championing it. And thanks to all of our fantastic partners at each event too, including PGL and GO Outdoors, as well as local partners and venues, who helped make the weekend memorable.

Pioneer, our adventure and international youth panel, were right in the heart of the action! They joined in the fun in Cardiff and Portsmouth, ticking off challenges and diving into a mix of activities.

They also helped to design and plan the event from the very beginning - from choosing the ‘Cityscapes Adventure’ name to creating the design for the badge.

We caught up with Pioneer to hear all about their highlights from the weekend.

The best bit of my day was...

• ‘Walking through the city, going around to all the challenges on the way to the bases and ticking off some of the smaller tasks, like the photo ones.’
• ‘Being able to explore a new city and we even renewed our promise.’
• ‘Vlogging the day for the region and singing ‘Thunderation’ at a tram station was so much fun.’
• ‘Doing improvised parachute games with a unit that was nearby.'
• ‘Exploring a new city!’
• ‘Eating ice cream and playing card games.'

The highlight for me was...

• 'All the badges!’
• ‘When we did our promise in the Haribo shop. It was a special moment.’
• ‘Seeing the castle was a massive highlight!’
• ‘Meeting the other members of Pioneer and others from across the country, but also the rock climbing!’
• ‘When we were running down from the castle to the park to complete the last 2 activities with only 10 minutes left, and then we all fell onto the grass once it was all over!’
• ‘Just sitting on the beach.’

My favourite challenge or activity was...

• ‘The planetarium at the school was my favourite. You could spot constellations.’
• ‘The Civil Engineering station. I found it quick and enjoyable, and we managed to complete it in good time.’
• ‘The LEGO building activity was great, especially doing it as a team.’
• ‘Silver Racing, because motorsport isn’t usually included in anything.’
• ‘The rock climbing Everest activity because I felt truly challenged.’
• ‘Playing dodgeball. It was a great opportunity to meet a region ambassador, release some energy and get a badge!’
• ‘The photo challenges. We got the chance to see famous places and landmarks. It was fun to spot different ones and capture memories.'

What made me laugh was...

• ‘Volleyball made the whole group laugh!’
• ‘Our volleyball playing skills were definitely an ‘oops’ moment!’
• ‘When we realised we didn’t have a map!’
• ‘We saw young leaders pressing the wrong button in the police car. It set off the sirens and made the officer jump!’

I felt proud when...

• ‘I reached 20,000 steps!’
• ‘We told everyone about Pioneer. Girls and leaders came up to our group and asked about Pioneer and we explained it them. Talking to them about who we are and what we do felt really good.’
• ‘I had the opportunity to explore somewhere I wouldn’t usually go.’
• ‘We met members of the London and South East Region (LaSER) and South West England (SWE) chief commissioner teams. Especially when they knew who we were and what we do.’
• ‘We found different challenges along the way to bases and collected points.’
• ‘We managed to complete the knowledge activities really quickly.’
• ‘I was interviewing the deputy chief guide. It was a huge moment for me.’

And check out highlights from across the weekend from our countries and regions

My favourite activity has been making the motion picture. We got to make a film.' - Brownie

My favourite was the climbing wall and the finger print keyring in the heritage centre.' – Guide

We’ve had a great day and the rainbows have really enjoyed everything. It’s been amazing. Thank you to the event team!' – Rainbow leader

I wish something like this happened when I was a Ranger or Guide. I would have loved it. It's great because leaders can do it on their own too.' - Rainbow leader

Trying Welsh cakes was the best thing!' - Guide

The silent disco at the university was really fun.' - Ranger

I liked petting the wellbeing dog with the police.' - Brownie

I touched a real space rock.' - Rainbow

I got to see X-rayed chocolate bars and had to try to match them with the real one.' - Brownies

I've never been to Cardiff before, so everything's been an adventure!' – Guide