Backpacking the Balkans 2019

Last weekend, the three leaders were let loose on the Isle of Man for a planning and bonding weekend that may or may not have included far too much food and a very competitive (and wet!) round of glow in the dark mini golf. Hopefully this won't be the weather every time we get together! None of us had met prior to the first briefing weekend - apart from a brief introduction between Alice and a poorly Tory at the Region International Evening - so it was good to spend the weekend getting to know each other. Ellie also decided to tell us that she's an unlucky charm when it comes to transport - not great news when our trip revolves around jumping on and off planes, trains, buses, cars, bikes and even rafts. Thanks to the terrible weather (why does it always rain when we have planning meetings?!) we managed to get a lot of planning done on Saturday. We made plans for our first few days - including going through three border checkpoints in 36 hours - based on what the girls ...

Hello! We're Backpacking the Balkans 2019, a Girlguiding North West England trip. We're six girls and three leaders who are making the journey through Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro in Summer 2019, and completing a few challenges along the way. This blog will track our journey from now, through the trip to our debrief and Region International Celebration evening in November. We'll be sharing details from our briefing weekends, fundraising events, our top packing tips, and of course the trip itself. Remember to subscribe for updates on our trip, and follow our Twitter and Instagram @BalkansNWE2019!