About us

About Us

In 1972 Jim Hogan (of Caley Cruisers) offered the use of some cruisers to Dusty de Ste Croixe (Assistant Venture Scout Leader in Moray) for a weekend event for the Scouts.

Soon after, Hugh Culter (County Comm. for Moray) discussed the idea with Captain George Pound (Chief Comm. for Scotland) and James Welsh at the Scottish Scout Conference. A steering committee was formed, and the first Caledonian Water Rally took place on the 20th/21st October 1973.

Cptn. Pound became the first Camp Chief, and the camp was held in a caravan park on the shores of Loch Oich. Numbers were limited to 250 scouts and 50 guides.

The camp was a success (but the weather was terrible), so the event was moved closer to Inverness to (hopefully) find a drier location.

With the support of Lord Burton and Dochfour Estates, the next 29 events were held at Dochgarroch. The village hall originally housed registration, staff catering and the infamous Rally Disco!

Cptn. Pound retired in the late 70’s and his successor Cptn. Hamilton-Meikle became Camp Chief. Bert Ingles took on the ‘Chiefs’ role in 1982 to be followed in 1991 by Duncan Chisholm. In 2003 Andy Holmes became Chief, then in 2008 James Welsh took on the role followed by Keith Moncur in 2016.

Douglas Munro took the helm in 2018 and is still our Camp Chief to present day!
(James has missed only 2 rallys out of the 48 Rallies, both owing to last minute factors!)

In 2003, with the gradual closure of the camp site at Dochgarroch, a new venue was required. We moved to Tollie campsite in Ross & Sutherland. This campsite closed in 2005 and we returned back to the banks of Loch Ness at Borlum, near Drumnadrochit. In 2006 we made it back to the site in Dochgarroch, where we have returned every year since. In 2020 – 2021, the rally was postponed owing to the Covid 19 pandemic. However, in 2022 we made an excellent comeback, with 325 participants and 150 leaders on-site.

HM King Charles III has been confirmed as our new Patron, a great honour for UK Scouts.

The King continues a long tradition of the monarch giving their Patronage, dating back to 1912. This was when Scouts was granted its Royal Charter and HM George V became our first Patron.

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King Charles III

Our Patron, HM King Charles III