Money from yearly Big Dip helps pave the way for Wittering scout group's vital new facilities

Ray Nye, acting chairman of First Birdham and Witterings Scout Group said work on the new facility is expected to start later this year, and has been made possible by Big Dip fundraisers over the last few years.

Taking place on New Year’s Day from 11.30am onwards, the annual event sees several hundred swimmers brave the freezing mid-winter waves in a bid to raise money for the scouts. This year’s event was an especially big hit, with 385 swimmers taking part – up by more than forty people compared to last year’s event.

Mr Nye said the Big Dip is one of the biggest and most significant fundraisers on the scout group’s calendar, and has helped raise money for a range of vital initiatives, but the new scout hut is one of the biggest and most important.

"Our current scout hut is sixty years old, with a really leaky roof. It was due to come down years ago. We’ve got planning permission for the new building now, and this money has allowed us to move forward. Besides, we have loads of kids on the waiting list, so we need a bigger building so we can provide for more children.”

The new hut will allow the scout leaders to continue to do what they do best: giving young people throughout the Witterings access to lifestyle forming training, experiences, instruction and opportunities that many local children would need to do without otherwise.

But beyond the money, and beyond the good cause, The Big Dip is an incredible amount of fun. Mr Nye said that, after several months of hard work and planning, the atmosphere on New Year’s morning was electric.

"It was absolutely buzzing,” he grinned. “The whole area down here was swarming with people. I think there were more than 2,000 people here. You could see both sides of Shore Road were full up, and there were more people that couldn’t get down on to the beach because there were just too many people there.”