BareCamp 22

I went to BareCamp last week and thought I would do a post about it and what went on.

I had a delay in getting there as i had to drive from my home all the way to Blackburn to have a new rock and roll bed fitted to my van. I left there after lunch and arrived at Langport around 6pm. The team at BareCamp knew I may be late as i had emailed them in advance. Upon arrival I drove to the reception area and nobody was there at first. I waited and the someone arrived. I explained i was booked in but was late as per my email. The reception was open from 12pm to 5pm. I was given a card to place in my windscreen and shown to a couple of pitches where I could park. I picked the one between the Apple trees and moved my campervan there.

I was not asked any other questions about what I would like to do during the week and as it turned out earlier they had forms out to sign up to the events that was on but as these was not out when I arrived I could not sign up for anything. I feel this was a bit unfair as I had never been so had no idea they existed so I missed out on all activities because of this.

After unpacking my van and having drove over 600 miles in 24hrs I went to sleep so was unable to attend the first evening quiz etc. Below is Mondays activates and there was no mention of a briefing in the evening.

Sauna from 1200-2200

1500-1530 Tea/Coffee/Cake Break

1900-2030 Games Night - Prize for the most chips

2030-2300 Popular Tunes (Silent Disco)

So Tuesday came and i got up for the nude walk only to find due to the weather forecast it was cancelled. Most of the events were also cancelled for the day so i spent the time in the campervan watching Netflix. I did go to the quiz but only knew the answers to two questions out of about 40.

This was Tuesdays line up

0830-0930 Breakfast Catering

0830-1630 Walk on the Quantocks (8 miles) - for the fit and agile

1000-2200 Sauna Opens

1030-1200 Boules with Suntreckers

1100-1230 Craft - Make a light bottle

1400-1530 Drone Flying

1500-1545 Tea/Coffee/Cake Break and Giant Jenga

1500-1600 Craft - Knit, Crochet, Sew & Natter Drop In.

1615-1645 Balloon Workshop

1700-1830 Stig Challenge - Scalextric Race - prize for fastest car

1900-2030 Quiz

2030-2300 Music to Chill

Wednesday arrived and the weather was slightly better as it was still really windy but the rain was on and off. I ventured out and had a lovely bacon and sausage roll with coffee for my breakfast, I spent time getting to know a few people on site and wandering about. I found that in the Orchard which is where i was parked there was electrical hookups - I originally booked one but as it was so overbooked I gave my hook up to another person as the organisation team had asked if I could. There was also a shower block with toilets and a chemical toilet waste disposal point as well as a sink area. There was also an electric car charging point. The main area they had set the marques up in was the green field. this also had the same as the other toilet block but was more modern.

This was Wednesdays line up

0830-0930 Breakfast Catering

1000-1045 Tai Chi for Everyone

1000-2200 Sauna Opens

1030-1200 Beginners "turn up and play" Boules (with Suntreckers)

1100-1230 Craft - Iris Folding/Card Making

1130 and 1245 and 1500 - Polden Wines Vineyard Walk & Talk £10 pp. Book on arrival at BareCamp

1400-1530 Airgun Shooting

1500-1545 Tea/Coffee/Cake Break with Music by the Saxabears

1500-1600 Craft Workshop - Knit, Crochet, Sew & Natter Drop In

1615-1715 Rounders

1730-1930 Evening Catering to be confirmed by caterer

1830-1900 Compline (Evening Reflection)

1915-2045 Quiz

2045-2300 Film Show "Resistance" - a true story of Marcel Marceau

Thursday again was a wet and windy day so in between showers I managed to get a breakfast and go and see a few people

This was the line up

0830-0930 Breakfast Catering

1000-1400 Visit to the History Hut - Entry price is a donation. There will be a talk and a pre-bookable lunch. Sign Up for this on arrival at BareCamp.

1000-2200 Sauna Opens

1030-1200 Turn up and Play Boules (with Suntreckers)

1100-1130 Morning Reflection

1100-1130 Craft Workshop - Flower making for decoration or head band

1400-1500 Line Dancing

1400-1530 Drone Flying

1400-1500 Craft Workshop - Knit, Crochet, Sew and Natter Drop In

1500-1700 Stig Challenge - Scalextric Race - prize for the fastest car

1500-1545 Tea/Coffee/Cake Break and Giant Jenga

1600-1730 Life Drawing

1700-1830 Evening Catering Fish & Chips

1700-1800 Order your Indian Takeaway for Friday

2030-2300 Music - Twist the Night Away, hits of the 60s, optional fancy dress (Silent Disco)

Friday was much he same. The weather had improved slightly and I had a breakfast and wandered around the site meeting people.

The line up was

0830-0930 Breakfast Catering

1000-1045 Tai Chi for everyone

1000-2200 Sauna Opens

1030-1200 Turn Up & Play Boules (with Suntreckers)

1130-1230 Craft - Make a glass mushroom house

1300-1500 Airgun Shooting

1400-1600 Visit to Cider Brandy Farm & Orchard £7 per person (sign up on arrival at BareCamp)

1500-1545 Tea/Coffee/Cake Break

1515-1545 Holiday Talk Q & A

1600-1700 Craft Workshop - Knit, Crochet, Sew & Natter drop in

1630-1715 Jamming Session - bring an instrument and play along

1800-1900 Evening Catering - Mass Indian Takeaway from Cardamom (this needs to have been preordered)

1900-2030 Quiz

1900-2030 Body Painting - Paint or be Painted

2030-Midnight "Bare West's own Ministry of Sound" Silent Disco

Saturday was great. The weather finally broke and the sun came out. I spent a long time laying in the sunshine after getting my breakfast roll and after the 5k runners had done their run I went for a walk around the site. I went to the lakes and around all the fields - basically walking the 5k route. The weather was so good I spent a few hours chatting to people about the van, naturism and all manner of things. I was so relaxed it was perfect.

The line up was

0830-0930 Breakfast Catering

0800-1100 Fishing Competition (Rod Licence Required) Prize for the most fish and biggest fish.

1000-2200 Sauna Opens

1000-1600 Make a Glass Coaster or Dish (£25/£30) (Sign Up required)

1030-1200 5k/10k Run

1100-1230 Craft Workshop - Paint Blowing/quilling

1400-1600 Boules Knockout Competition (with Suntreckers)

1400-1530 Drone Challenge

1400-1500 Craft Workshop - Knit, Crochet, Sew & Natter Drop In

1500-1700 Stig Challenge - Scalextric Race - prize for fastest car

1500-1545 Tea/Coffee/Cake Break

1530 and 1630 Drum Workshops with Organic Rhythm

1630-1730 MiBeer - bring along one of your local ales to share and taste

1715-1745 Dog Agility - rosettes for quickest dog and best trick

1700-1930 Evening Catering Nom Nom Pizzas

2030-Midnight - Music Night of festive Rio Carnival Fun, get made up with your feathers or wings

Sunday was the same as Saturday other than I decided to leave for home about 14.30 as the cloud was back and my son was continually messaging me about getting his college stuff sorted.

The line up was

0830-0930 Breakfast Catering

1000-1045 Tai Chi for everyone

1000-2200 Sauna Opens

1000-1600 Make a Glass Coaster or dish (£25/£30) Sign Up required

1100-1145 Morning Worship (non denominational)

1400-1530 Airgun Shooting

1400-1500 Craft Workshop - Knit, Crochet, Sew & Natter Drop In

1500-1545 Tea/Coffee/Cake Break with Music by Saxabears

1530-1700 Landscape Painting

1730-1930 Evening Catering - not yet confirmed

1900-2030 Quiz

2030-2300 Music (Silent Disco)

I really enjoyed my time there. It was a shame I could not book up for anything as i would have done a lot more. Everyone was so nice there and the team that was running the event was fantastic. I meet a lot of the Suntreckers people of which i am a member so I now have put names to faces. It is a shame I could not take phots but it is understandable as it is meant to be a place to relax and not have to worry about that sort of thing.

I was very surprised at the amount of couples there was. Not just that, there was a strong amount of women that attended. I have always found that events seem to mainly be be men so this was refreshing to see that so many women was comfortable to be there - a real positive.

I had a few teething issues with the van. The electrics were not up to job and i was often left with the leisure battery going flat. I will need to add more solar panels and build a Lifepo4 battery pack instead of the lead acid battery.

Will I go again next year? Defiantly. I love the Thorney lakes campsite and the event is a real positive experience. I may also go to Nudefest there next year as I found I really enjoyed this event and want to experience that one as well.

It would be great to have a companion on the trips as at times it can get a bit lonely if its raining and there is no events on but it is not the end of the world.

Well done to the team that run BareCamp - you put on a great event even if the weather was not playing nice. See you next year