Pick your camp...

Click on the camp name for full details on scoutbase

Please note that the ratings are based on our own personal experiences, taking into account the type of camp we are looking for, and do not reflect those of any other groups or associations and by no means reflect the efforts of the site staff and voulenteers who maintain and run the sites (BIG THANK YOU)!

Boarfold

This campsite is situated just out of Marple on the Charlsworth road. it is a very basic site ideal for backwoods / survival, toilets and a very sparse dorm on site but not much else, lots of good stuff for shelter building but very rugged landscape.
RATING 9/10

Drum Hill

Our Bank Holiday camp just outside Derby, very big organized campsite with lots of staff and facilities, lots of things to do go-kart's, climbing, slides, games, archery, shooting etc. Lots of games are organized each day at the main marquee including competitions, races and the infamous Mucky Races!!!!! Lots of prizes to be won!
RATING 7/10

Tawd Vale

Just outside Ormskirk (Liverpool), very big site and great for wide games!!! the ground has a very sandy texture and however much it rains (and it did!!) the ground does not get boggy!!!!
Usual facilities on site but nothing organized, beware of being woken early by the tractors and pickers in the next field if you go at the wrong time of year!!!
RATING 8.5/10

Barnswood

This is the site of our annual Patrol Competition Camp, just outside Macclesfield, where the patrols compete for the prestigious Harry Tootell Trophy (although some Scouts seem to think winning the wooden spoon is more important?).
Great campsite with all the usual facilities but beware the mud!!!! Ground can be either very rocky and difficult to get pegs in or very boggy. Great areas for wide games and giant interceptor!!!
RATING 9.5/10 (Before the Rhododendron desease!)

Squirrel Wood

Very much like Sandiway, usual facilities, ground can get a bit boggy when lots of rain, big site with lots of trees covering the tent areas. This has been used as an alternative to Barnswood for the competition camp
RATING 8/10

Sandiway(Forest Camp)

Great campsite, lots of trees and areas for wide games, gets a bit cold when building rafts in the snow!!!! small lake onsite for that, ground is good for camping with lots of space and plots, might have to cart gear some distance if tractor not available!
RATING 9/10

Linnet Clough

Our local County campsite about 20mins drive to Mellor, well kept site with new high ropes attraction, fields can get very muddy when it rains (and it does most times we go), shooting, archery and canoeing in the Roman Lakes but not alot else unless there is an organized event such as the Technology Camp. This was the site where we celebrated 100 years of Scouting with the rest of the County in 2007 and will host our family camp in summer 09.
RATING 7/10

Gradbatch

Just outside Buxton near Flash, this is usually an indoor camp for us in winter. Choice of the Cottage or Farmhouse, both good accommodation and compact but good kitchens, very nice log fires for those long leader meetings!
Not great for wide games unless you go across the river and up into the forest, good spot for Colditz. Nice walks but make sure you have a good plan for activities.
RATING 8/10

Walesby Forest

Other side of the M1 in Robin Hood country, great site good facilities, lots of open space and some wooded areas, canoeing / rafting facilities (Excellent leader showers!). Watch out for the pine cone season!
RATING 8/10

Hesley Wood

Not much of a review on this site as it was some time ago when the SYAC camp was organized, facilities and site look ok but watch out for the wasps as there were lots!!!
RATING TBC

Dunham Massey

Not frequented very much but not a bad camp site, quite small in area, situated in the middle of the National Park with Reindeers in the nearby fileds. One big field in the middle with lots of surrounding camps of various sizes, some noise from the nearby motorway and the occasional screeching from the owles! ground can get a bit boggy in torrential rain but generally quite good, a bit too much light pollution when playing night games, found we didnt need torches!
RATING 7/10

Middlewood Camp

This site is just off the M60 near Salford, not eas to find as we ended up at a garden center only to find it was a small unmarked track on the same drive! Unusual camp as it seems to be in limbo at the moment, the land is apparently owned by the Peel Group and the lease has not been renewed! the camp site is great for wide games with good site access, the toilets/showers leave a lot to be desired but investment is not possible at this time due to the lease issue, the site staff do a very good job of keeping it going! We visited in a monsoon and found the site to be very boggy (as expected), there is a pool used by the fishing club that has access througgh the site.
RATING 5/10 (needs some investment!)

Walesby

Site is located in Newark, Nottinghamshire not far from the famed Nottingham Forest. This is a very large campsite and must be at least 1/2 mile long, ground is very sandy. The site is well maintained and boasts a wealth of activities on site to suit all demands, main features are the outdoor pool (for some reason the temperature seems to drop well below freezing in the middle of summer!), climbing wall, wobbly pole, various high and low wire activities, shooting, body boarding, fencing, CSI crimescene, rafting and many more. The activities name can sometimes be misleading as to what you get ie bodyboarding is sliding down a sheet off the side of a wagon aided with a hose pipe! Athough the leaders thought the activities left alot to be desired the kids all enjoyed them with no complaints and thats what counts!
The onsite bar (none alcoholic drinks of course), regular evening discos and camp circles provided evening entertainment for all ages.
Lots of forest areas for all activities, site is also used for large events outside of Scouting.
RATING 8/10

Bradley Wood

First visit to this site in Oct 11, we were blessed with sun and dry tents!!! The site seems to have had some significant money invested with multiple Lodges and buildings, lots of open and enclosed areas, ground seemed ok. Lots of trees for games and activities but we struggled to find some more dense areas for night games! Site is quite long and is right next to the motorway but not too noisy, supposed to be built on some old mining area?
Facilities incluse swimming pool! (not sure how warm?) high ropes, cresta run (sort of toboggan run?), shooting & archery (see link for more details).
The alter fires left alot to be desired, very small almost BBQ type construction, we struggled to get any sort of fire going due to the size, they do not use half barrels like most sites but there is a nice campfire circle for a bigger fire if needed.
RATING 7/10