It was an early start for the Cubs (and the leaders!) who attended ‘Trooping The Colour’ on Saturday 17th June 2006.

We arrived at the place that we have been allocated, just on the corner of Horse Guards Parade (where the ceremony is held) which is reserved for the Scouts and Guides.

We waited patiently and before long were rewarded by the start of the parade at 10.30am. Several battalions of guards marched past, all in very heavy and thick uniforms with shiny buttons.  The day was very hot and the guards were extremely hot even before the parade had started. The Cubs were amazed and surprised to see how shiny their boots were and that they all carried large heavy guns or daggers as part of the uniform.

The Welsh guards carried the flag and marched past just before the Queen and Prince Philip came into view in an open top carriage. Everybody cheered and waved as she went past and she waved to the crowd. The Cubs also saw the rest of the Royal Family including Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Prince Harry, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

As the weather became even hotter, we decided to leave a little earlier than planned and we made our way towards Westminster Pier where we boarded a cruise boat to Tower Pier. The breeze on the Thames was much welcomed by everyone. We arrived at Tower Pier at 12.45pm to find that the pier landing had been closed. The Captain of the boat moored our cruise boat in the middle of the Thames so we could enjoy a fantastic view of the 52 gun salute at the Tower of London and then the flypast at 1pm.  This spectacular sight ended with a fly past by the Red Arrows who displayed their traditional red, white and blue vapour trail.

We finally got off the boat and sat by the Tower of London grounds and enjoyed our packed lunch.

After we had finished eating, we were amazed to be approached by two Japanese ladies who asked if they could take our picture and then had one taken with us. We now know that it is true that the Japanese will take pictures of anything!

After a pleasant wander around the gardens we made our way back to Westminster via boat.

On the return journey we walked through Covent Garden which the Cubs found really interesting and enjoyed the street entertainers.

When we finally reached the parent pick up point, several of the Cubs were falling asleep with exhaustion.

It had been a truly wonderful and interesting day albeit a very hot, sticky and tiring one!