Really cool camping at Stoneywish?
Seek and thou shalt find, and so it seems as there I was at Stoneywish Nature Reserve on Saturday for my son’s birthday and one of our guests was also camping in the adjacent field with her family as part of the local Steiner School trip, and lo and beyond it was the first example of pop-up camping I’ve seen.
Turns out that the Steiner School gathering of around 150 people was organised by Matt from my-Kea, whose work I had seen and praised at the Stoneywish Nature Reserve Fun Day. What struck me was that their set-up was pretty much exactly what Ivan had outlined in his pop-up campsites post, and closer than anything I’ve seen to date that reflects the original camping ethos of ‘leaving nothing but your thanks’!
my-Kea Matt
Firstly, Stoneywish fits the bill as a wilder, less traditional type of campsite, seeing that the facilities are 3 toilets at the Nature Reserve Visitor Centre next door and a water supply. There also seemed to be the right mix of ‘au natural’ and community spirit, with a minimal set of facilities which for the most part appeared to be organic and natural. They had even decided where a line should be drawn, and that was using gas for the cooking. In some ways it was the ideal site that Ivan envisaged seeing that the farmer simply provided a water supply and a field that has the South Downs as the backdrop. From what I could tell there was more than one group gathering area, and a large marquee with an activity area at one end and communal kitchen at the other … and they even had a chicken hutch, so guess they had fresh eggs too. So I think it’s fair to say that this fits the bill as a shelter from rain and/or sun and in which interesting things can take place.
Judging by the board I saw (see below) they was an agenda of sorts, which must have included communal meals given the kitchen above, but others seemed to be happily getting on with doing their own cooking. There was also child-care and entertainments, and I particularly liked the story tent. No idea about musical inventiveness, sharing of play equipment, treasure hunts or other fun and games, but the gathering all seemed to be taking place on a very casual basis. I even got to see my first actual iPad, which suggests this wasn’t just a bunch of hippies in a field even if there was a Shamanic Night Journey scheduled for later. There were also enough other people just chillin’ to give you an idea that this was quite a mixed bunch and there was by no means a jolly hockey sticks sort of environment where you simply must join in.
Obviously the very nature of the gathering and location means that the temporary nature of the site carries over into the structures created on it. This also seemed to be the case for the activities planned. I also got the sense that they didn’t make too much of their ‘pop-up campsite’ being co-operative, community minded and fun. Sadly, I wasn’t there long enough, but I’m pretty certain there weren’t any rules and as far as attitude is concerned I thought it was pretty cool and chilled.
Facilities
I was very impressed that they had bought there own composting toilet, washing up and shower facilities. They’d also bought a lot of reclaimed wood that they used to heat the water and along with a self made solar water heating system. The only thing missing for me was somewhere close by to go swimming. Maybe Michael the farmer can be persuaded to build a swimming pond, or some kind of pop-up pool could be constructed or even rented.
Anyway, they also seemed to have embraced the one cardinal rule of pop-up camping that Ivan believes differentiates it from all the pop-up type camping sites that proliferate during the summer: their gather seemed to have no raison d’etre other than the camping. It wasn’t an adjunct to a festival or to a car rally. It was just camping on its lonesome somewhere albeit on that is at a camping site, although one that is little more than a field.
I’m not sure how long they plan to stay there, but from I understand it’s a weekend gathering but took 3 days to set and when you see some of the facilities they had that’s not altogether surprising. I hope to catch-up with Matt again to see if I can recruit him to the pop-up camping movement, or at least discuss doing something either later in the Summer or next year that lasts more like a week or even longer.
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[...] how I bumped into the local Steiner School Summer Camp at campsite at Stoneywish Nature Reserve (see Really cool camping at Stoneywish?). It was the first example I’d seen of what Ivan had outlined in his earlier pop-up campsites [...]
[...] I’m a big fan of Stoneywish Nature Reserve and think it could become the best camp site for kids in UK. Whether Michael the owner has the inclination to make the changes and investment required is a different matter. Right now it’s still primarily a nature reserve, which is usually empty, with a very basic campsite; and one that was only set-up two years ago after Matt from my-Kea running the local Steiner School Summer Camp there (see Really Cool Camping at Stoneywish). [...]