They say, “Third time lucky”, “Third time’s the charm”, “Comedy comes in threes”. It seems like if you want something to work, you need to do it three times. Well, I think Camp Wildfire is the exception because every single time we have been, and that’s three years running, it has been the MOST fun! Was our third year even more superb than the others? Read on for our full Camp Wildfire review 2024.

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What is Camp Wildfire?

Camp Wildfire could be described as a festival, a summer camp for adults, and the most wholesome place to be on a late summer weekend. During the day, campers choose from over 100 activities. To book these, they use credits, different number of which come with different tickets. Some things cost as little as 5 credits, and some go up to 40. In the downtime, you can try some other fun things like the climbing wall and air drop which are both included in the ticket.

Then, every evening kicks off with the Patrol Games, a fun battle of party games fought between the four different teams at camp (more on this later). Finally, there are hours of bands, DJS, comedians. and talks to entertain until bedtime (again, these are all included).

Check out our Ultimate Guide to Camp Wildfire HERE

This year, was a little different from our previous years in three ways.

1. We brought a campervan instead of using the pre-pitched tent service from years one and two.
2. Another friend of ours came along too. She shall henceforth be known as Naomi.
3. During activity enrolment, we didn’t get everything we hoped for, with many activities being filled from the priority enrolment release. This led us to try a few more random things.

Camp Wildfire Review 2024

DAY ONE

Getting to Camp Wildfire

Three years and three different experiences. Our first year, we took the train and shuttle. The second year, we wanted a little more autonomy (and a little more bedding) so we drove. This year, we were lucky enough to have a campervan to use.

We picked up our van at 11:30 and then picked up Naomi from a nearby petrol station. The drive was only an hour and a half, around the M25 and then into the Kent countryside near Sevenoaks. Making a pitstop, we grabbed a few foody bits, including some fridge things (a new novelty). In hindsight, I should have ordered ahead and not dragged our 24 (8×3) cocktail cans all the way to Feltham on the bus tube and bus.

As we got closer to the site, we started winding down some narrow roads. Slight panic settled in when we saw a sign that the road would narrow to a width that we wouldn’t scrape through! Luckily, a turning allowed us to go a longer way but not end up wedged just 3 miles away.

The Campervan

We arrived were directed into the Live-In Vehicles field. Hopping out, we took stock of what we were doing and figured our way through booking up the electricity and setting up our beds for the weekend. The campervan was huge, able to sleep five, and so we had plenty of room to flap about and get changed. Yellow clothing acquired and Csnp Wildfire shirt on, it was time to dash.

The only thing that we didn’t like about being in the Live-In pitch was the alcohol policy. We diligently made sure we only had our eight cans of cocktail each. As the field is outside of security, we were not allowed to bring any booze in with us on re-entry. I understand why, we could have had a vehicle absolutely stuffed with vodka…but we are are goody two shoes and brought nothing extra so it was annoying not to have our customary Patrol Game cocktail cans with us.

The Patrol Initiations

Much like Hogwarts houses, there are four groups you can join at Camp Wildfire. Before you attend, you choose whether you are a Squirrel, Hawk, Badger or Fox. We are Squirrels, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!

Around Base Camp, the leaders of the four Patrols stood atop picnic benches and whipped their followers into a frenzy. Through the loud hailers, they taught everyone how Patrol points work, how to chant like a squirrel and why we are undoubtedly, the best Patrol. Knowing the basics, I dashed off to a nearby stand giving out free samples of zero-waste cocktails. This was both a nice addition to the festivities and gives a little glimpse into the sustainability Camp Wildfire strives for. Dashing back to share my spoils, I caught all the new squirrels being anointed including our very own Naomi.

All too quickly it was time to get together with everyone else and begin the parade through the forest. Each Patrol was led by a brilliant live band (samba, funky big band…you know). Everyone was directed into the Games Arena in Centre Camp ready for an introduction to the weekend and the first round of Patrol Games.

Patrol Games 1

I remain far too scared to participate in the Patrol Games, clutching a drink and screaming encouragement from the sidelines. I once heard something that said, “There are Hip Hip people, and Hooray people” I am a diehard Hoorayer, cheering for the more courageous folks with utter gusto. Luckily, plenty of Hip-Hip-pers got straight into the swing of it and we had some brilliant new games along with old favourites.

• Game one! Two players stand apart from each other, each holding a rope. There is a pile of hula hoops over player one. A runner has to grab a hoop and run it along the rope and over player two.
• The next game was nice and simple, in theory only. Two people throw a water balloon backwards and forwards. Each time, they must take a step apart until the throw becomes pretty precarious We won this game which was an excellent start to proceedings.
• The one that always stops my heart came next. Four players lie in a cross with their feet up in the air, supporting a tub of water. That is hard enough right!? Well, now they have to take their socks whilst not dropping the water..! I can barely watch but we won so I shouldn’t have been so worried.
• The final game was the classic pegs-on-the-face-race. One person runs back and forth to a bag of pegs. At the other end of the arena, someone waits while their face is pegged. On our previous visits to Camp Wildfire the Patrol Leaders played this one and the Squirrels smashed it, but sadly, we came last on this attempt. If you are a Squirrel and thinking of coming in 2025, its time to get your pegging practice in. (Oh Matron).

Dinner

Halloumi Round One

One chalkboard seemed to catch everyone’s attention. The Soul Project proclaimed to have the best halloumi fries in the country. Having eaten an artery panicking amount in my time, I thought I’d be the judge of that. They were topped with a collection of Lebanese tasty things; zaatar yogurt, sumac, pomegranate molasses, fresh mint and pomegranate seeds. I thought to myself, “They have just ripped off that place in Camden!” and yeah, they were pretty similar…in that they were super delicious.

Moroccan Chicken

To go with our halloumi, we got a chicken wrap from Harissa and Lemon. It was another taste bomb with delicious preserved lemon and turmeric chicken, lettuce, tomato, harissa and mint yogurt. It was a single person portion and I was sad to give Mr Fluskey the other half, but as we was clutching the halloumi fries, it had to be done.

Evening Activities

Full of yummy fare and excitement, we went in search of entertainment.

We popped into the main tent, the Discotheque, where the big music acts perform. There was a brilliant guy called Simon Panrucker in the last five minutes of his set. He was asking the crowd to help contribute to his music and then improvising really funny lyrics. I wish we had been there earlier to see more!

Cockney Bingo

Naomi found “Cockney Bingo” on the schedule and we knew it was going to be right up our street. We dashed through the forest and arrived about half way through. A kind camper donated their bingo card to us as they left and we caught up quickly with the rules. The delightful host chatted away, dropping in Cockney rhyming slang which we had to join in with and would fill up the card. We got a couple of lines, “Oi Oi Saveloy” but never got a full gaff “Knees Up Mother Brown”. I need to find this next year, or at a fringe festival in the meantime!

We did a little dancing and chatting but soon the busy week running up the festival caught up with us all and we decided to retire to bed.

DAY TWO

Wakey Wakey

We decided to take things a teeny bit easier and have our first activities at 10:00 this year, instead of 09:00. I was still awake in plenty of time to have done the earlier slot but Mr Fluskey needed to catch up on some sleep. Having our own bathroom for brushing teeth and showering meant we didn’t have to stand in queues so we wouldn’t have had to get up so early anyway but either way, Mr Fluskey got to sleep right up until 09:15.

I got a bit lost on my way to archaeology and panicked that I was going to be extremely late. Happily, I wasn’t the last person to arrive so my shame could be set aside for the session.

Archaeology

It isn’t often that as a grown up, you get to dig around in a sandpit on the hunt for goodies. I suppose if I was into gardening, I would get a little more soil time but the house plants don’t give much of that. We had a short talk from our activity leader, Amelio who explained how to discover something, dig with the trowel and brush the objects until we could remove them. I knew it involved a bit of brushing but then nothing here was ancient so we were probably far too rough. People ended up digging through sand with their hands. It is probably because he had mentioned a deer skull which was very well hidden and up to then, undiscovered in the dig site. We also had four red rib bones with a little V on to find. I found one but didn’t see the V…maybe archeology isn’t for the visually impaired ones amongst us. After the 80 minutes had elapsed, nobody had uncovered the deer skull

Flying Trapeze

“I’ve done flying trapeze before and I enjoyed it so much that I couldn’t convince myself to change this for trying a new activity, despite it being more costly in credits. I mixed it in with new experiences through the weekend anyway.

When we arrived we were all full of nervous energy. We had some quick instructions on the ground, then observed the instructors swinging effortlessly and with style. After a warm up, I had my harness strapped tightly around my waist. Our group was a mix of people of different ages and certainly we weren’t all svelte athletic types. Some had done trapeze or other gymnastic activities before, but plenty hadn’t. As we watched each person we were all supporting them with whoops, cheers and applause at any sign of nerves or celebrating the successes.

As I climbed the ladder, I tried to go up as quickly as possible as it was a little wobbly and probably the scariest bit. On the platform at the top, I made small talk about the weather whilst chalking my hands and being clipped onto the ropes trying to distract from the nerves. I followed their instructions and before I knew it, I was hanging from the bar, soaring through the air. I was throwing my legs over it and hanging upside down like a natural. At least that’s how I felt. The video footage shows I’m a little less poised than I thought, but it was great fun. The dismount I didn’t do very well, but the harness and the net meant it didn’t matter. It’s such a great feeling and everyone seemed to be buzzing coming down eagerly awaiting another go.”

Sign Language

This was one of only two repeat activities this year. The session began with learning some Camp Wildfire appropriate vocab (tent, campfire, cow(?) and stargazing. They explained theconcept of placement in British Sign Language. It allow the speaker to refer to a previously placed person or thing rather than having to re-spell or describe it.

Then it was time to learn the weekend’s choir performance song. It was Taylor swift “Shake it Off”. My glorious friends did an immense surprise dance for us at our reception to this track so it has become an anthem for the wedding ever since. With BSL choir, you don’t sign the exact words in the lyrics but more the ideas behind the lines. This has left us with some awesome new dance moves to the familiar song. Mind you, with the amount I forgot by the time the performance rolled around on Sunday, I won’t have a single move left by next week.

Skateboarding

I switched onto skateboarding three days before we went to Camp Wildfire using the handy-dandy enrolment system. It was a sour of the moment idea and so I didn’t have time to get properly nervous about it. However, as we picked up pads and helmets the butterflies started.

The class started out with some kick flips and other stationary tricks on the grass. All was going to plan, I was a little rubbish but enthusiastic none the less. Then I faceplanted. It wasn’t too bad, I laughed it off and then got back to attemptingthe trick of the moment, I’m not sure I mastered any of these but it was definitely ten for effort.

Everyone took to the platform and began to skate for real. It was a very smooth surface which meant gliding was easy but it felt like the board could escape at any moment.

And it ran away from me several times (I fell off quite a bit).

Most of my accidents were only minor with a surprising attempt at doing the splits when me foot rolled away with the board. However, I did have one pretty thumpy fall where I was very glad to be wearing a helmet. This one shook me a little and I sat in the corner for a bit to regain my composure. Of course confidence was beyond me at this stage but the incredibly kind Gus guided me off the beginners ramp several times, even saving me when I once again plummeted to the floor. They couldn’t have been nicer or more encouraging and I really put the safety equipment through its paces. I would give this another go for sure in a private lesson but I’m not sure my ego would take another public face plant.

Pioneering – Mr Fluskey

“For pioneering we got stuck in straight away learning knots (or remembering them from Scouts) starting simple with the reef knot, moving onto the clove hitch. Finally we tackled the complicated sounding, but surprisingly easy, “Round turn and two half hitches”. The session was punctuated by interesting facts and humour, always linking back to the most essential point about ropes, wood and knots; that Tom Hanks survived in Cast Away with these basic materials. We split the group in half and built 2 adjustable pyramid catapults, ready for the battle to begin. The teams shot tennis balls into a bucket, and then at each other’s catapults! We built an even bigger catapult with stronger rope, more tripod lashing and then fired more balls at each other in an energetic finale.”

Nerf Battles – Mr Fluskey

“Nerf is a high energy and low pain shooting activity. Little foam bullets are flying everywhere whilst you pretend you’re Bruce Willis, what could be more fun? We had a quick safety brief then I grabbed my gun of choice from the pile, collecting up as many bullets as I could load and stuff into my pockets. There was a selection of small pocket guns, handguns, old style western guns, one that looked like a machine gun and even a semi automatic rifle with a magazine. I went for the big gun, but it wasn’t loading so I switched to two hand guns, preparing myself to look like I was in an action film.

We had a couple of minutes to familiarise ourselves with the guns, so I went around the field shooting everyone once. I wanted to be fair and to build a healthy rivalry! Then we split into teams and played last man standing. I was out pretty quickly, taking a bullet to the back. The second round was capture the flag where you are out when shot. Finally we played capture the flag with a re-spawn back at the base so you could come back in when shot. Running around a field shouting tactics and switching between attack and defence was a physical challenge so we all took turns defending the flag. I left a sweaty, but exhilarated mess.”

Laser Clay – Mr Fluskey

“At laser clay pigeon shooting, we were given a serious introduction to the guns. The instructor explained that although they were laser shotguns, they look, feel and weigh the same as a real gun. They asked that we treat them like real guns, and follow correct habits in case we were to take up the sport in the future.

Laser clays are a lot better for the environment, easier to set up, run and score than clay shooting. With a quick intro to how to hold the gun, where to look and how to “reload” them, 10 of us were standing by markers aiming into the sky. For each clay you get 2 shots to hit it. In the first round anyone could shoot and score. For the second round the first to hit it gets the highest score and then 2nd and 3rd get a lower score. I preferred the first round where I could take longer to catch it in my sight and follow it to shoot.”

Bread Baking

I have wanted to try bushcraft bread baking every year but a very dry year, followed by very poor credit management meant this is the first time I actually managed it.

We all began at a table covered in flour. A small plastic bowl with some white flour was given to each of us and then we could add in dry flavourings and mix it all up with some water. I went for Madras Curry Powder, giving the mixture a distinctly 1970s aroma. The instructors Med and Laura told us to be extra cautious and not add in too much water as people had repeatedly ended up with gluey bowls of slop. Being the good girls and boys we are, it took us an awfully long time to get the mixture wet enough to come together in a ball. From here, we rolled the dough into sausages and wrapped them, snakelike around some sticks, sanitised in the flames of the fire. Then we cooked our snakes over the glowing embers. As they rose, they slowly separated from the stick and eventually, could be pulled away leaving the perfect hot dog receptacle.

Well, I didn’t have a hot dog but thoroughly enjoyed sharing my efforts with Nay and Mr Fluskey, dunking it into a big pot of hummus.

This was a lovely activity with that nice edge of survival skills in the forest but with something tasty to take away. I’m not sure Madras Curry Powder is the way to go in the future, apparently someone bought cheese with them and made a tasty cheese twist, but it’s really cool to know just how easily I can produce something edible.

Patrol Games 2

This series of events had me screaming. These games were hilarious,

• The first game was enough leave me needing smelling salts. Just the tip involves player one popping a long stick between their legs, with a toilet roll on the end. They had to walk down to the other end of the arena without touching the stick with their hands. There, their patrol buddy waited with another stick and then they had to pass the loo roll between sticks. It was so, so funny.
• Another new and divine addition to the games was the bad breakdancing competition. I wonder if it was inspired by the 2024 Olympics? Four amazing performers took to the arena floor and danced their socks off, trying to be as weird and wonky as possible. Bellylaughs and suit! True, the squirrels won this game which indicates my dancing style truly belongs in the squirrel camp.
• There was a brilliant Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament where the players had to hop between carpet squares. When they met an opponent they had to do a quick round and whoever won could advance, hopping for the gods! It was fast, furious and something I fully intend to play next time we have a picnic in the park.
• Finally, the great limbo. Anyone and everyone could take part until only the very bendiest remained. Honestly, I was so invested in the individuals taking part that i have no idea which patrol took the title!?

Dinner

Mac n Cheese?

Round one of dinner was a little pot of Mac and cheese from the appropriately named “Mac and Cheese”. After some debate, we decided to go for the special, the brie and cranberry. It came with two deepfriend pieces of brie on top…or it was meant to. Our breaded cubes seemed to be empty. Maybe they melted and drained out into the pot…? Who knows! Either way, the macaroni cheese below was yummy. The portion would have been perfect for one but an hour after sharing, we were still hungry.

(I was too hungry to remember pictures. Sorry!)

Chicken n Chips

The big “FRIED CHICKEN” sign was calling to me so we wandered over to take a peek. The stall had fried chicken or gyoza. I love dumplings but knew I was hungrier than that. Instead we opted for the mixed box which had chicken, halloumi (round 2) and Japanese curry flavour fries. We topped the lot with hot honey and it was all delicious.

Evening Activities

Ben Aitken

When I saw Ben Aitken’s name on the schedule I couldn’t quite place it but I knew it was someone familiar. I did a quick phone search and realised that I own several of his books on Audible. Dear Bill Bryson was a fantastic homage, The Gran Tour filled me with delight and the Marmalade Diaries was a treat!

Ben talked about his newest book, Here Comes the Fun, in which Camp Wildfire itself is discussed. He read an excerpt which of course everyone thoroughly enjoyed and I vowed to buy the book when I found phone signal. Turns out, I already have it and so I started listening to it the day I got home from camp. It was so lovely to see him in person and see my audible come life!

Michaela Strachan

They say that Millennials are obsessed with nostalgia, and honestly, they are totally right. I defy anyone who watched The Really Wild Show in the 1990s to be ambivalent about seeing Michaela Strachan talk about adorable creatures live. Naomi very kindly saved my front row seat as I ran around getting some extra dinner which meant an excellent view for the talk.

Michaela talked through her entire career which includes decades on the TV and lots of conservation work. She was beautiful and charming, everything we all hope she would be. There were funny stories of animal encounters, some great clips of shows we never got to see and even some poetry from her very own book.

Timmy Mallett last year, Michaela is tracking this year, if we don’t get Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow (tent) or Ant and Dec next year, I think there will be a riot.

Rhythm of the 90s

More nostalgia? Yes, please! of the 90s was a live band that used 90s dance tracks samples to create their covers of the songs. They played some absolute bangers and although Naomi and I only caught the last five songs or so, we still got a very respectable amount of dancing in. More dancing at The Clubhouse ended the night, and we made our way back to the van at 01:30 or so.

DAY THREE

Bollywood Dance

Getting up in the morning to do something fun and energetic is a great way to start your Sunday at Camp Wildfire. Challenging your body and brain to learn and perform a dance routine really gets everything firing! In 2023, I did 09:00 burlesque(!) but this year, Naomi and I got our Bollywood on.

Our instructor Aanchal Gupta looked a lot more fresh faced than we did and quickly got everyone learning some Indian dance basics before starting the choreography.

The dance had three sections, some classic Bollywood, a section based on classical dance and a bit of Bhangra to end with. It was reasonably challenging with a couple of moves that flummoxed me entirely. Swapping my hands between the pretty bird-shaped and the pretty flower shape (alternating the hands each time) left me bemused and in hysterics every time. I’d say, we got a good 75% of the routine but never the same 75% each time we performed it. It was a fantastic class and I am going to see if BollyRed is anywhere near us in London!

Snack Time

The plan was to eat healthy things we brought with us but the call of the naughty treats was too strong so we had these instead…

Slackline – Mr Fluskey

“I didn’t have high hopes of achieving much by doing slackline. Sure, I have average balance, but put me up on a 2” wide strap strung between 2 trees, with a bit of wobble and suddenly that’s a whole new level. It doesn’t matter that it’s only 2 feet off the ground, it may as well have been over the Grand Canyon, it’s surprisingly scary.

I arrived a minute or so after the group had started and people were already up on the different length lines being supported on one side by their partners. There were an odd number of people so the instructor helped me up and I leaned quite heavily on his shoulder as I delicately walked across the line. It wobbled quite a lot at times, but 30 seconds later I’d just crossed a slackline with no real lesson or intro. He kept giving real simple but effective advice, which I tried hard to follow.

• “You can’t really teach it” – Fair play.
• “When you feel like you’re coming off, don’t fall, just step off” – I did “step off”, and didn’t fall over once.
• “When you’re up on the line, don’t forget to breathe” – I had and it was affecting my balance.
• “Don’t overthink it, just stand up onto the line” – Following this I just kept getting up.

Over the session, I tried 3 different lines and I was able to get up and walk 2 or 3 steps before losing my balance which I was incredibly impressed at. I also got up and stood on one foot for a few seconds. Finally, I walked across the longer line forwards and backwards! With this and trapeze under my belt I can clearly run away to join the circus!”

Kickboxing

Mr Fluskey, Naomi and I all took kickboxing together. We did a very quick warm up and then everyone partnered up and grabbed some pads or gloves. I chose to work with Mr Fluskey as I think it is a healthy way to get out some married frustration. Ok, I am kidding but we were standing next to each other, so it was an easy choice.

The class was taught the basics of punching and how to administer a good kickboxing kick. I was feeling slightly nervous that we might have to spa against one another but luckily, we just ran practice drills. Mr Fluskey is left handed and my brain took a little while to reconfigure when we took turns holding the pads and boxing. We both nearly punched each other face a little but managed not to create any black eyes.

Space Science

This was my second repeat activity as I loved it so much in 2024. Originally I hadn’t signed up for it, trying to resist the urge to do something familiar, but I had a change of heart of the Sunday and chucked my hat in at the last minute. I am so glad I did.

Here are some more bonkers things I learnt thanks to the engaging expert Paul:

• The light from the sun takes an average of eight minutes to reach us, but from when it is formed in the sun’s core, that could be up to 130,000 years.
• Most shooting stars are space rubbish only about the size of a grain of sun.
• Asteroids fly around the universe packed with the ingredients for life and that may have been what started us all off here on earth.

To end the session we got to hold some tiny bits of Mars, Mercury and the moon, as well as real asteroids. One was slightly older than the sun…the sun!!!

Honestly, Space Science is like attending a Christmas Lecture or great a talk at the Science Museum. It is gutting that it ends after an hour. I hung on until it was gone 17:00 even though my next activity was due to start then. How can you leave when your mind is being blown over and over again. I had to run to my next appointment!

African Harmony Choir

Our final credited activity of the weekend saw the three of us back together for a relaxing singing workshop. (OK, so it became relaxing after I managed to catch my breath). We had a nice chilled a Capella session, singing songs from Kenya. Arriving late, I didn’t get to dive into the right voice type so joined Naomi in the alto section. It was a fun new challenge resisting the urge to join the higher voices, which we both struggled with. It was nice to be back in a choir and especially to step into the centre of the circle and listen to the five harmonies. Some people were brought to tears, letting the music fill them up.

The next day we met a guy who had been in the session and he expressed how much he loved it. I’m inclined to agree.

The Patrol Games Finals

I was hyper. Red Bull and singing joy filled my tank and I was ready to cheer my socks off (I don’t mean whilst playing the water tub game to be clear). I made sure my patrol points were dropped into the jar in good time, ready for the final count.

We began with a super performance from a Fox called Amy, who wowed the place with a stellar hoops routine.

Then, the annual Camp Wildfire lip sync competition rocked the arena. The Hawks put on a full Friends fan show along to the Rembrandts which was a darn good time. It had water pistols for the fountain and even part of “the routine”. IYKYK.

The Foxes got every Gen Z and Tik Tok fan dancing in sync to H.O.T.T.O.G.O. (Chapel Roan for the win). Then our Squirrel lip sync queen did a wonderful rendition of Sk8er Boi which I’ve never rocked harder to. Finally, the Badgers did an incredible medley of all Patrol songs, featuring secret plants in each Patrol. It was so very brilliant!

Let The Games Begin

After tempting the entire arena with another flash of the Patrol Cup, the final scores were announced. Turns out, we may not have done too well at the Patrol Games this year, but we must have done some pretty good work elsewhere as our score brought us into second place. The Hawks, with the winning score, went straight to the finals and then it was down to the three remaining patrols to battle it out for the other spot.

The semi final was one of the multipart relays Connor is so good at creating. A frantic race of spinning screws, apple bobbing for tights and tossing hula hoops led to dramatic draw. The Squirrels and Foxes had a nail biting (and impressively improvised) tiebreaker which Amy (the hula-hooper) won. Our dreams of victory were dashed but it was time to cheer for the remaining players.

For the final, another devilish race was concocted. A locked box had to be opened by solving a balance beam puzzle and filling a tube with water which spat out a key. From here they had to use a catapult to hit a target, releasing a deluge on gunge on the opposing Patrol Leader’s head. It sounds complicated but it all makes perfect sense when you are there…so make sure you are next year!

THE FOXES WON in a splash of blue slime. It was a beautiful victory.

Dinner

Loaded Fries

I think we left dinner a little late and we were both too hungry to make a decision. We ended to returning to Harissa and Lemon. They were running out of food as it was very nearly the end of the festival but the halloumi and sujuk loaded fries were just what we needed. This time I topped it with harissa mayo to give it some kick.

Pizza Toastie

To go with this, we decided on Toasties and Coffee’s pizza toastie. I was genuinely excited for this but they used burger cheese (fake cheese slices things) for the inside and it made it pretty gross. I was expecting mozzarella, and not having that was fine but how can you sell toasties and not even have actual cheese? My half was abandoned to Mr Fluskey. Oh how I wish we had gone back to the actual pizza. It wasreally very good last time we tried it.

Evening Activities

The Talent Show

Last year’s talent show was great fun but a little slapdash. This year, the second Camp Wildfire Talent Show, was set to be a slicker show. We had some wonderful singers, a handstand master, some iprovisation, a Welsh rocker and then Naomi took to the stage (field). Now, Naomi is an actual professional opera singer and let me tell you, nobody was prepared. Every time she did the tiniest bit of operatic singing throughout the weekend I told her to keep a lid on it so it would be a surprise. That sounds mean but I just wanted to feel the full force of the stunned reaction.

These photos are next level terrible but the lighting was dreadful and we were far away sooooooo, here we are.

She took the waiting campers through a brief explanation of the plot of Turandot and then proceeded to blow the roof off the place with her rendition of Nessan Dorma. There was a standing ovation, people wept openly and for the rest of the night enthralled new fans stopped Naomi to sprinkle her with fairy-dusted praise. It was so lush to be her proud buddy!

Astronomy

After two years of failing to make it to astronomy, Naomi finally got my bottom down to Adventure Canyon to see some stars. There had been a nice, clear sky when the Patrol Games began but by now, the clouds were well and truly present. We hung around awkwardly, making some queue friends but not entirely hopeful the cover would clear. After about 10 minutes, one of the two telescopes was packed away and everyone was drifting away, just as a little gap appeared in the sky. With serious haste, we all got a quick glimpse of Saturn through the remaining telescope and thought it a job well done.

Amy Gledhill

Having failed to catch any comedy in The Auditorium, throughout the weekend, we dashed back to get our giggle on. Luckily, Amy Gledhill was very funny and we got a belly laugh or three during her very raunchy set. I hope to scope out some of her stuff online.

Patrol Leaders Party

We wandered round to The Clubhouse for the last big party of the weekend. It was all college rock when we arrived, which isn’t entirely our vibe, but I decided to dance whatever it was on and the mood soon evolved into a more poppy playlist. They even played Hakuna Matata which made this geek very happy. Again we bowed out at about 01:25 which is fairly early I suppose but with such action packed days, I don’t how anyone manages much more!

Time for bed…

DAY FOUR

A Drizzly Goodbye

Doors began to slam at around 8:00 as a few vehicles made for an early exit. The site had to be cleared by 12:00 so most people left at around 10/11, with a few stragglers who managed a lovely lie in. We pulled out at around 11:00, ready to have a nice visit to nearby Hever Castle but not at all ready to leave the Camp Wildfire bubble.

I know that technically you get three full days but it goes SO quickly with all the activities, games and entertainment. Time seemed to be rushing ahead of us the whole time! I think we suffer too much FOMO to just turn up and relax so it is entirely our own fault. Maybe an extra day with little to nothing to do there would be good so we can relax and rest our sore bodies. (Don’t get me wrong, every muscle ache is entirely worth it and just means I should do more exercise than one kickboxing lesson a year).

Final Thoughts for This Camp Wildfire Review 2024

So was it third time lucky? Honestly, it was third time still blooming brilliant. I have adored our experience every time and every time there has been something different enough to keep it fresh. From upgrading our accommodation to bringing a buddy along, we had exciting new things to freshen up our down time. Then of course, trying new activities and learning new things in old favourites made it just as fantastic during the days. I think I am gushing now….

Next year, 2025 is the tenth anniversary spectacular and we are SO excited to see what Camp Wildfire has in store. Maybe they will multiply everyone’s final score by ten just to make them sound extra super duper. We hope we will see you there (“Weekend Two, Weekend Two, Weekend Two”).

Rosie xx