Hopehill 75 - BOOKINGS OPEN!

Hopehill 75 - BOOKINGS OPEN!

The Hopehill 75th Birthday Camp is fast approaching, and we are excited to announce bookings are OPEN!

First and foremost, we would like to point out that all bookings must be done via the form linked below. Please do not book directly via Hopehill as this booking will not be accepted.

So, what are we planning?

As mentioned in the ‘Save the Date’ blog last month, we are working on a timetabled set of activities, appropriate for all ages during the Saturday daytime, a campfire for all that evening and additional entertainment for Scouts and older post campfire. Then Sunday’s main focus will be a District Challenge (to be revealed in due course!), which will of course be accessible to all ages to take part in!

We are still working on our set of timetabled activities, but currently we are looking to run 4 Zones titled;

·  Adventure

·  Target

·  Bounce

·  Skills

Each zone will be jam packed with fantastic activities for all the young people to take part in.

The Campfire

The Saturday night Campfire will be led by none other than our District Lead Volunteer, Fraser Patrick! However, he won’t be doing it all by himself. Once booked, we will be asking groups to supply a ‘piece’ for the campfire… that piece can be a song, a skit or a yarn (story). It can be led by an individual (Young Person or Adult), a small group, a whole section or the whole group… it’s down to you! However, all pieces will need to be submitted to Fraser beforehand to ensure no duplication.

Timings

Final timings are yet to be confirmed for the bulk of the event. However, we can confirm that arrival on the Friday night can happen from 5pm for young people (however, please set an appropriate time with your group based upon when YOUR leaders will be on site in order to support them, and we will ask you to book a slot to help manage the car park).

Saturday, we will be setting a time block for day visitor arrivals (this will be confirmed with groups pre-event and once again assistance will be required with managing the car park), and then the zones will run from mid-morning until just before dinner time,  with the campfire happening post dinner.

We are aiming to finish the activities before lunch on Sunday afternoon, with groups leaving at times to suit them.

Costs

The cost of the event is £20 per young person camping and £10 per young person day visiting. All groups/units will be invoiced by the District post event.

Do remember that these costs of £20 and £10 only covers camping and activities – as well as a birthday badge! All groups/units are responsible for supplying and charging their attendees for food, gas, etc….

NAN Forms, Risk Assessments and Ratios

Please note that all groups/units will be responsible for submitting their own Nights Away Notification and risk assessments for camping and cooking as per POR.

All activity risk assessments will be completed by the event team, and these will be made accessible to all groups/units for reference prior to the event.

This also means that groups/units will need to make sure that they are covered for ratios at the event. If a member of your leadership team is also supporting the running of any of the activities at the event, then they can count towards your required ratios.

If you do not have a permit holder attending from your group/unit, then we recommend you talk with another group/unit and make use of the Buddy System in order to facilitate the nights away experience for the young people of your group/unit.  (If you are camping with another group - ie using one kitchen for cooking - then please submit one NAN form covering both Buddys)

Buddy System

We want to make this camp as accessible to all as possible. The Buddy System is there to help more groups get involved and remove some of the 'stoppers' that may be present.

We are looking for groups that are willing to support other groups with catering during the weekend, and to help spread the workload.

If you need support with this as a group as you don't have the means to run a camp kitchen for your group as whole, there is a field below to tell us this.

You might have already found a Buddy. If this is the case, then please let us know who in the relevant question on the booking form  - please note that even if Buddying up, both groups must complete a copy of the booking form for our reference.

Squirrels and Beavers… where can they sleep?!

As part of the event we will be offering the opportunity of indoor accommodation to Squirrels and Beavers who are staying for the weekend and you can request this on the booking form. If any of your Squirrels or Beavers are staying in the building, then some of your leaders must do so as well to support any needs in the night. However, if you want them to camp under canvas instead then that is absolutely fine!

So how do we book?

BOOK HERE

Bookings close on June 15th 2025

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Any questions, please email dave.norris@graveshamscouts.org.uk

Dave Norris

District Programme Team Leader