Blaydon District Family Camp 2010 took place at Dilston Campsite, Hexham, from Friday 2^nd until Sunday 4^th of July, and this years theme were Vikings.

Some tents had already been erected prior to the event, though some people still had to put theirs up on arrival, which was around 6-7. For the second year in a row, Wanda the Magic Lady came, making balloon figures for the young children – which meant some balloon sword fights! Eventually though, everyone was settled in, so it was time to go for the evening walk, but would it be as long as last years? Thankfully it wasn’t, and as everyone arrived back on site, hot-dogs were given out for supper, before people went to bed around 11 pm.

It was an early start for most people – breakfast was served at 8am with the help of leaders and parents, meaning we could get a nice early start to the day. Flag Break was held just after 9, with everyone being ‘officially’ welcomed to the camp and introduced to the organisers, Nathan Lynn and Peter Jensen.

The activities for the day started a little after 9.30. The various zones were named after Viking gods, such as ‘Olaf the Lofty’, and Thor, and they included woggle, or ‘woogle’ making, arts and crafts where you could make neckerchiefs, paper lanterns, and Viking helmets, sports where there were challenges for the best wellie throw, javelin, shot-put, 100 metre sprint etc. Additionally, there was a bouncy castle which had been donated by DJ-Shaz – a big thank you to her! Scout craft was also a big section where they built the Viking longboat for the evening’s campfire. There was also a balloon stomp and river based activities, where there was Viking longboat racing, making maps of the river, and treasure hunting. The team names ranged from quite sensible ones, such as the ‘Speedy Splashers’, to ‘Wet Socks’ and ‘The Legend of Jelly Man Who’.

There was a break for lunch, by when the sun was really out, and the weather was extremely enjoyable. There was also a German Scout Troop camping on the field, and they came down to the river to make a traditional bath. This gave a chance for a lot of the younger scouts to talk to the Germans, and even practice some of their language!! Activities finished around 4, and by then everyone headed down to the river for a muck about and a swim.

Dinner was around 6, and was again handed out by leaders and the parents. Of course everyone was excited and starting to get ready after that for the Valhalla Casino, where there were traditional card games such as ‘higher or lower’, ‘horse racing’ and a marble maze. After the casino, most people headed down to the river to set alight their paper lanterns from earlier in the day, while the campfire/Viking longboat was set up. Eventually everyone headed down to the campfire, where the German scouts joined in with the singing. There were the usual tradition songs, like Alice the Camel and Quartermasters Stores. The Germans accompanied Kumbaya on the guitar as well, before singing us their own song.

Overall, the evening was very enjoyable, and by that point most people went to bed – although some took the offer of a ghost hunting trip with the German scouts.

There was a later start Sunday morning, because breakfast was served at 9 am – a welcome relief for most people. After breakfast, there was flag break, after which activities resumed for the day, including face-painting which proved to be popular. This was another chance to talk to the German scouts before we left, as they would be going over to the Lake Districts to bivvy overnight. If possible, Sunday turned out to be even sunnier, meaning lots of sun cream was needed, although there was a little drizzle around lunch.

After lunch most of the tents were starting to be taken down, while the annual water slide was put on for the children, which again proved to be popular. The final flag break came, with a lovely story from some of the scouts about how everyone on camp had been working together.

The working together had certainly paid off, with one Cub Scout saying ‘this was my favourite camp ever, I’m coming back next year’. We’ve had new people wanting to join in the future, with one Beaver Scout to be saying ‘It’s really fun and I want to join Beavers now’. We’ve even recruited some new leaders, with one of the scouts parents saying ‘I’ve absolutely loved the weekend yeah, I think I’d like to do more stuff like this.’

So thanks again to everyone who came and helped at the weekend, and remember to look out for an exciting video on the website- ‘Where’s Nathan’s Hat?’. We hope to see you all again at Family Camp 2011!!

If you have any feedback with regards to family camp please fill in a feedback form which can be downloaded here, then return it to your section leader as soon as possible.