Thousands of Scouts had the opportunity to meet Bear Grylls at the weekend as the Chief Scout himself made a flying visit to Cheshire.
450 Scouts from the Alderley District were amongst the crowd who met the famous adventurer, writer and television presenter.
Bear was visiting as part of a tour of the North West counties and got the chance to sample Cheshire's Adventure weekend.
Cubs and Scouts from the county travelled to Tatton Park where Bear went walkabout through a crowd of more than 4,000 people and was inundated with requests to sign scarves, books and shirts.
Two lucky Scouts from Alderley District got the chance to personally meet Bear; Robert Croston-Stiegler from Alderley Scout Troop and Sam Niven from 1st Wilmslow Scouts.
Both entered a competition named 'Why do I want to meet Bear?', which was only open to Scouts that have achieved the highest 'Chef Scout Gold' award.
Robert said "On finding out I had won the chance to meet Bear, I was amazed that I would get to see him. On the day I felt nervous about meeting not only our Chef Scout but Bear Grylls, after watching all his shows I felt honoured at the chance to see him in person. On meeting Bear he asked about my scouting experience before signing his autograph."
Earlier the youngsters had the chance to learn survival skills, go bellboating, use the climbing wall and zip wire, and visit a traditional fun fair.
Another of stopping off points was in Runcorn where Beavers from across Cheshire gathered for a party with an international flavour.
More than 1,000 young people and their leaders were on hand to greet Bear as he arrived by helicopter at the Heath business centre.
Explorer and Network members had their event at Forest Camp in Sandiway where Bear had time to join in the fun activities as well as meeting the young people.
Explorer Calum Rimmer who attended the Forest Camp event said "It was an awesome experience getting to meet Bear Grylls and a highlight of my time in Scouting."
County Commissioner Graham Phillips said: "It was an extraordinary weekend and we had more than 6,000 people in total attending the events and getting to see our Chief Scout.
"The excitement at each venue was absolutely incredible and we were delighted to be able to include so many people at three such memorable occasions."
Mark Toombs, Assistant District Commissioner, said "The event has been in the planning since last year. We wanted as many to to see Bear as possible. There were separate events being run in Runcorn for our youngest section the Beavers, they got to have a party with Bear as the guest and, not missing out our older section, the Explorers got the chance to party all night at Forest Camp, Chester before Bear arrived to meet them Sunday morning."
Mark added "For Scouts in our District this has been one exciting big party."
Photos: Bear with Sam Niven (1st Wilmslow), Robert Croston-Stiegler, (1st Alderley Edge), Dominic Aston (1st Lindow) and Taran Holmes (1st Alderley Edge).
Bear with Beavers Edwin Hardisty and Jensen Redhead.
Max Lumsdon, who has had his neckerchief signed by Bear Grylls.
