It sounds like an ideal solution for time-pressed parents who want to see a
little more of each other: send the children to a summer camp.
You get to have your kind of summer holiday (or a peaceful week at home),
while they have a whale of a time with their peers. Or do they?
We sent two volunteers to find out just what a kids’ camp is like.
PGL
Madeleine Wickers, 15
I went to PGL’s Little Canada camp, on the Isle of Wight. We – my friend
Phoebe and I – travelled on the escorted coach from London. There was a lot
of confusion and waiting around at Victoria coach station, then even more
time spent hanging around in a car park somewhere on the way while we waited
for coaches to arrive from other parts of the country. Not a good start.
The welcome: there were about 60 kids, with eight or nine instructors,
who were all smiley, welcoming and not at all patronising. But I think I
would have found it hard to be on my own on the first day. You’d think you
were never going to make any friends, especially if you were quite shy.
After the first night, though, you would be fine.
The staff explained the rules and how the week would work. They encouraged us
to try lots of new activities. Basically, there were four sessions each day,
including one optional chill session, when you don’t have to do anything.
You can spend all four sessions doing the same thing, if there’s space. And
you can repeat your favourites on other days. Everyone clear on that?
Anyway, I managed to book everything I wanted.
The accommodation: we shared our cabin with two other girls who were
really, really nice. It was in the forest, with a porch overlooking a lake.
It had bunk beds, a shower, a toilet and a bath with hot water. But no soap.
It also had a mirror, a carpet, curtains and chests of drawers, and everyone
had a key. It wasn’t as done up and polished as a hotel, but it was fine.
The teens were in a different area from the younger ones, which was good news.
We also had our own common room, with snooker, ping pong, a projector for
films, a DVD player, a sofa and a drinks machine.
Every morning, at 7am, a staff person would bang on the window, and wouldn’t
stop until someone got up and opened the door. (Tip: don’t sleep on a bottom
bunk, as you’ll be expected to get up first.)
The food: apart from the first supper – vegetable lasagne, which wasn’t
good – the food was much better than I expected, and way better than school
dinners. Note for parents – it was also quite healthy, with fruit,
vegetables, yoghurt and cereals for breakfast, and there was a salad bar
with main meals. One bad thing was the toast, which was always soggy.
The activities: my all-time favourite was the giant swing, which I
booked for three sessions. It even made the 17-year-old boys scream. I also
liked the trapeze, rock-climbing, abseiling and the high-ropes course. A
word of warning: when you are harnessed up, waiting for your go, the
instructors give you “wedgies”, suddenly lifting you up into the air and
leaving you hanging with your knickers stuck in your bottom.
There was a giant maze of rooms and tunnels, each with a puzzle you had to
solve. Jacob’s Ladder was fun – we had to use a ladder and lots of
imagination to cross obstacles, ditches and so on. All about team-building,
apparently. And archery was also really good. We were given big bows and had
lots of turns each.
The last day, Champions’ Day, was a highlight, with lots of organised games,
including a camp-wide hide-and-seek and a dragon-boat race. It was the first
time we were allowed in the sea. I now wish I’d picked the Wet’n’Wild week
that PGL offers. Whenever we saw the watersports group – after water-skiing,
banana-boating, sailing and so on – they looked like they’d had a great
time.
The not so good? Fencing was boring, but that’s because I’m not very good at
it. Circus skills sounded great, but was a bit dreary, as mostly it was
spent learning to, or failing to, juggle. Snorkelling in the camp’s own pool
would have been a lot more interesting if the pool had been deeper. Or if
we’d been in the sea. We went quad-biking, but it was just a circular
course, with only one person allowed at a time, so it wasn’t particularly
thrilling and there was a lot of waiting around.
The social life: in the evening, we played games, watched films and
signed up for the next day’s activities. Karaoke was just as you might
imagine, with a lot of pop trash. It was a bit of a disaster at first,
because nobody wanted to sing, but then some got into it.
They organised a casino one evening, followed by a Blind Date game – and guess
who was picked? Me. So embarrassing. The instructors said the boy and I
would have to have dinner together, but they were kidding.
I thought bedtime would be silly, but it was reasonable: 10.30pm, then lights
out at 11pm.
On the last night, there was an awards ceremony. Everyone got something,
usually for a joke reason. Mine was for “climbing skills and storytelling”,
because I got caught climbing out of the hut one night when I bumped
straight into one of the instructors. I pretended the door was broken.
The last event was a disco, but it wasn’t very lively. Nobody bothered to
dance, but we stayed up late, which was probably not a good idea, because we
had to get up at 6am to catch the coach and ferry home. Everyone was crying
when we left.
Would I go again? Definitely. We had such a great time, and I made some
good friends, although they live all over England, so I might not see them
again. I would recommend PGL to all my friends, or at least all those who
like being outdoors. Those who like to challenge themselves would get the
most out of it.
The details: a multi-activity week at PGL’s Little Canada camp costs
£449 per child during the school summer holidays. The company has nine other
centres for unaccompanied children across England, Wales and Scotland.
Escorted coach pickups are available, with prices from £32 to £84. Call 0870
050 7507 or visit www.pgl.co.uk.
CAMP BEAUMONT
Bella Ryan, 13
The Camp Beaumont we chose was Pinewood Sands, for 7-to 16-year-olds, on the
north Norfolk coast, not far from Cromer. We were given the choice of being
driven there by my friend Nina’s mum or getting the coach. We chose to be
driven, but most people seemed to have taken the coach from somewhere in the
country, and they said that, although it was often a long journey, they did
get to know other campers.
The welcome: arrival was quite chaotic. There were five huge queues of
people waiting to register. We had to sign in and then get forms ticked by
lots of different people. It seemed to take ages. We were all right, but
some of the foreign girls and boys seemed a little lost. Once we had
registered, one of the instructors offered to show us our rooms and explain
how everything worked. The instructors were generally very good, very
friendly, especially the male ones. (One or two of the females seemed a
little grumpy in the mornings, but then so were we – it was a 7.45am start,
which is early for a “holiday”.)
The accommodation: after registration, we were shown to our dorms,
which were basic, with metal bunk beds and a cupboard with very little
space. Our dorm mates all appeared to be very nice and friendly (although
the girls across the hall were even nicer), but I noticed straightaway that
two things were absent – no mirrors in the toilets and no plug points in the
rooms. I suspected that could cause problems when it came to hairdrying
time, and I was proved right.
After dinner, we played basketball or football in the hall and, after being
told it was too late for the scheduled cinema show, went to bed, which
didn’t bother me, as we were quite tired by then. Lights-out was at 10pm,
although most people talked on after that. I must mention that I found
having glass shower cubicles embarrassing – I thought I would go dirty all
week until someone showed me how to hang the towel over the door to get a
little privacy.
The food: not bad, not brilliant. It might be tuna pasta for lunch,
roast chicken in tomato sauce with potatoes and (soggy) broccoli for dinner.
But face it, the camp has to feed 200 kids, so it isn’t going to be anything
fancy. Anyway, after a day of activities, I found myself less and less fussy
about what I ate.
The activities: our day was set up so that you did two activities in
the morning, then, if you had opted for one, a specialist activity in the
afternoon. I had chosen Movie Maker, but I have to say I was disappointed.
First, you aren’t making a movie, you are making an advert for the camp.
That was annoying, because I’d written a story I wanted to film and had to
do theirs instead. Second, I thought the groups were too large, so you
didn’t get enough time filming. You then edited your film on the computer.
The instructor chose one film at the end of the show – and he picked mine!
That was nice, but it didn’t make up for not being able to do my own script.
So, my advice is to find out exactly what is involved in the courses (they
include riding, motor sports, music and Star Maker, which is singing, acting
and dancing) and the maximum number in the group.
Having said that, I thought all the other activities were excellent – we tried
abseiling, aeroball (trampoline basketball), quad-biking, rock climbing,
swimming, water games and, my favourite, the zip wire. Next time, I would
just do a multi-activity course, where you get to try even more activities,
or specialise in a sport such as tennis.
The social life: this was very successful. There were movies and games
and so on, but we often just sat and talked in each other’s rooms, even
though we weren’t really allowed to visit other dorms. (There was one nice
German boy who didn’t have many friends, so he came in sometimes, but we had
to hide him from the instructors.) We got on well with a number of the girls
and we have met up with some of them three times since the camp.
The last-night disco was good, but there were lots of tears, as many of the
other girls were leaving early. Then, at 11.30pm, after we were in bed, the
fire alarm went off – but we didn’t mind, because we got to say goodbye all
over again.
Would I go again? Yes, I would, although some of the girls had been to
a Camp Beaumont on the Isle of Wight, which sounded worth trying. And I
wouldn’t do Movie Maker again, but as an overall experience, I can recommend
it.
The details: a multi-activity week at Camp Beaumont’s Pinewood Sands,
in Norfolk, beginning July 21, costs £447 per child, full-board. It has
three other centres: one on the Isle of Wight, one in Staffordshire and
another in Norfolk (for 15-to 17-year-olds only). An escorted travel service
is available from pickup points across the country, costing £40-£50 return.
Call 0870 499 8787 or visit www.campbeaumont.co.uk.
More kids’ camps across the country
Adventure and Computer Holidays (01306 881299, www.holiday-adventure.com):
based at a prep school in Surrey, with a wide range of outdoor activity
holidays – camp-building, a rope course, fishing, pedal go-karts, a heated
pool – and the option of computing skills.
Do it 4 real (0870 118 8018, www.doit4real.co.uk):
a branch of the Youth Hostel Association, with kids-only weeks at 23 sites
across the country.
EAC Activity Camps (0845 113 0022, www.eacworld.com):
two residential centres, in Kent and Surrey, with more than 40 sports and
adventure activities.
Exsportise (01444 444777, www.exsportise.co.uk):
specialist sports holidays in West Sussex and Dorset, providing coaching in
tennis, football, rugby, golf, hockey, basketball, dance, swimming and
riding.
Kids Klub (01449 742700, www.kidsklub.co.uk):
three residential centres in Suffolk and one in Nottinghamshire. Split into
two age groups, 6-11 and 12-16, with a choice of activities each morning and
afternoon.
The Venture Centre (01624 814240, www.adventure-centre.co.uk):
near Ramsay, on the Isle of Man. A wide range of activities, with an
emphasis on watersports tuition.
Wickedly Wonderful (0794 123 1168, www.wickedlywonderful.com):
two tented camps in West Sussex. Multi-activity, as well as pony camps,
sailing camps and winter ski trips.
XUK (020 8922 9739, www.campsforkids.co.uk):
Norfolk camp split into three age groups – this year offering a “Teen Camp”
for 13-to 17-year-olds, with greater independence and more trips.
