IT brought chaos to travellers all over Europe when it erupted earlier this year.

The Icelandic volcano send clouds of ash into the skies above Europe for weeks.

But now a group of fifty Scouts from across West Yorkshire are embarking on a 13-day adventure to Iceland, which they hope will make headlines for all the right reasons.

The mix of Explorer Scouts and Scout Network members, aged 14 to 25, set off next week to explore the country as well as meet other Scouts from small European countries.

They have each raised £1,200 to pay for the trip, which overlaps with an international gathering of Scouts called Euro-Mini-Jam.

The jamboree is designed for Scouts from countries with fewer than one million people, such as Iceland and Liechtenstein, to meet and learn from each other.

Becky Wilson, a member of Lindley 16th Huddersfield Scouts, raised the cash by packing bags in supermarkets and getting sponsorship from getting ‘gunged’.

The 15-year-old from Lindley said: “I’m really looking forward to the ice climbing, dog sledding and visiting a lagoon at the end of the trip.

“There’s lots of people going that I haven’t met before, so I’m eager to get to know them too.

“After all the news about the volcano it will be interesting to see what’s happened to it and what the country looks like now.”

The group of intrepid adventurers hope to come within 90km of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which caused misery to millions of travellers when it erupted in April grounding planes as its ash drifted across Europe.

The young people – from units in Kirklees, Calderdale and Bradford – have been on team-building training camps for the trip, which will see them travel between four different campsites in Iceland.

They will learn how the country is making use of its geo-thermal resources and discover aspects of marine conservation. Chris Storey, county Scout network commissioner, said: “The group will discover what’s really going on in a small country that made such a big impact in recent months.

“The added irony is that the economic crisis in Iceland is precisely what has made such an ambitious adventure affordable.

“We said that at least £300 of the £1,200 had to be raised, not just given by family and friends, so all the Scouts have put hard work, sweat and tears into the trip.”

Between them the young people have planned menus, chosen activities and set up a small media team, whose work will include writing a regular blog so friends and family can keep track of their time there.

Planned activities include white-water rafting, hiking in the volcanic mountains, caving through lava tubes, glacier walking and ice climbing.

Eight adults are accompanying the Scouts to Iceland for the West Yorkshire network’s first organised trip abroad in the past five years,

At the end of the expedition the Scouts will have prepared and eaten more than 2,000 camp meals, camped nearly 650 nights and travelled about 5,000km.

For more information about their visit go to www.wyscouts.org.uk/iceland.