Alternative Family Camping Holidays -
for Singers and Dancers
august 8 - 16 (sat - sun)
natural
voice
camp
We are dedicated to finding the natural, authentic expressive voice in all of us - by really listening to ourselves and each other and by exploring our vocal potential we can experience empowerment, healing, fun and devotion.
Tickets still available: Booking Form
august 22 - 30 (sat - sun)
peace
through
the arts
camp
Being inspired by the wisdom and sacred phrases of the many spiritual traditions of humankind, this camp is based on Dances of Universal Peace - a form of celebration and meditation in sound and movement.
Tickets still available: Booking Form
information
Arrival and Setting up in Circles
On arrival you will be met by one of the members of the Gate Team, who are available for information and, if needed, to introduce you to a circle and find help to put up your tent. You will be given a programme of the week’s events. We aim to provide strong and safe boundaries to enable participants to experience a sense of inclusion and belonging.
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Once the camp has been established it is very unsettling if people arrive late or visitors come on to the site. To maintain the security, safety and the integrity of the community, we maintain a no visitors policy. Children brought to camp after it has started are met by parents at the Gate.
Camping Circles are formed and members share collecting and chopping wood, keeping a supply of water at hand, tidying up, and keeping the fire lit for meal times. Fires are made directly onto the ground because the farmer has asked us not to dig holes. Time for circle sharing is included in the programme near the beginning of the camp in which it is established how you wish to operate evening meals and washing-up. Your circle is the first place to look to for company, friendship, practical help and emotional support.
Joining a circle can be stressful - when you have set up please be sensitive and welcoming to new arrivals. We have found that the holding of spaces for latecomers can cause distress, especially to first-time campers. Please be willing to accept new friends into your circle. We encourage first-time campers to arrive as early as you can, as it can be difficult trying to join circles who consider themselves to be complete! Some thoughts: Do you want to camp with families with children, if so what ages? Do you want to be near certain facilities e.g. the Creativity Area, the climbing frame, or the main marquee? Do you want to camp with others with plenty of experience of camps willing to share their knowledge and cooking equipment? As most circles cook communally, size is another factor; would you rather cook more often for less people or vice-versa?
The Quieter Area is intended to be a restful place for those who want or need to be away from the busyness of camp-life. Though the ‘Quiet Time’ (from 11:00p.m-8:00a.m. except on certain designated nights) is observed by the whole camp, it is understood that those in the Quieter Area are unlikely to welcome music-making in their circles at any time, so it is not a good place for keen singers and musicians! Also campers with children would probably feel more comfortable camping elsewhere.
Facilities and What to Bring
We camp in a quiet and secluded spot, where we are welcomed each year; in turn we respect the land and minimise our impact upon it in every way that we can. There are many things provided for your comfort and enjoyment, and some that you may like to consider bringing yourself. More
The camp facilities include: a plentiful supply of firewood, hot showers - with certain times allocated to men/women/teens only, enclosed willow-toilets, cold running filtered water, a store selling staple foodstuffs, café providing drinks, cakes and lunches. We have marquees and large yurts for gatherings, dances and workshops, a Creativity Area with space for workshops and play structures.
Here is a suggestion about what you will need to bring:
- a suitable tent, dome, tipi, bender or yurt
- air bed - warm bedding, -hot water bottles
- torch - lantern
- rugs and sheepskins
- ear-plugs
- a lighter
- a saw, an axe
- dry newspaper
- wellies and waterproofs
- a strong reusable shopping bag
- large pots and pans
- a trivet or grill
- plates, bowls, cups, cutlery
- a chopping board and knife
- a washing up bowl
- a stool or chair to sit on
- toilet rolls
- a small first-aid kit
- sun-screen
- epi-pen if needed
If travelling light, join a well-equipped circle!
Cooking and Camp Recipes
Your circle is the arena for demonstrating culinary skills and we have been ever more impressed with what can be achieved with limited facilities.
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The organic farm shop is a five-minute walk up a leafy lane. It is supplied daily with a wide range of freshly picked organic vegetables from the farm. It also sells locally baked organic bread, organic milk and many other groceries. There is a grocery shop in the village and an on-site store for staples such as rice and tinned tomatoes. We ask everyone to follow a vegetarian diet on the camps for reasons of hygiene.
Recipes for delicious possibilities of cafe cuisine!
Camp Rules
Living in community, even for a short time, requires that we all observe courtesies and standards of behaviour appropriate to maintaining harmony while living in rather intimate proximity. Our rules have been evolved by community processes over 20 years and so we ask participants to be willing to adhere to these conditions of attendance. More
- No alcohol or illegal drugs,
- No CD players, radios, noisy electronic games etc.
- Mobile phones must be switched off. Outgoing calls must be made away from the camping area.
- All gas appliances used on site must meet regulation standards.
- Freedom from 'noise' is a feature of Unicorn Camps: We ask people not to bring things such as CD players, cassette-players, radios, noisy electronic games etc. to keep our acoustic environment live and natural. Please note that this extends to the use of mobile phones which must be switched off. Outgoing calls must be made away from the camping area.
Participants are asked to be quiet after 11p.m. to enable everyone to enjoy a full and restful night's sleep. Parents are asked to ensure that their children are back in their camping circle by 10 p.m. On special occasions such as full-moon celebrations, and the Voice Camp campfire nights, there is an extension. Parents are asked to take responsibility for keeping their small children quiet during morning gatherings so that everyone can be heard. This also applies to the performance evenings on the Voice Camp, especially the final night, which is recorded for the camp CD - Children are only permitted on camp if accompanied by a responsible adult who supervises their well-being and conduct. Our hope is that the whole camp will be mindful of the welfare of our children, ready to intervene if problems arise. Ultimately of course, as parents we are responsible for their welfare and behaviour. This includes being responsible for our teenage children.
- Parents are asked to ensure that their children are in their camping circle by 10 p.m.
- We are happy for 15+ year-olds to camp in circles together as long as they observe the same rules as the adults, particularly with regard to alcohol, drugs and noise. Younger teens may camp together if their circle is immediately adjacent to supervising adults. If any do transgress, they will not be allowed to continue camping in a different circle to their parents.
- It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure their children and teenagers are aware of the rules of the camp and that they are observed.
- From Arrival Day until Departure Day no vehicles are permitted on the camping fields except for the official site vehicles.
- The only vehicles permitted to stay in the camping area are those camper vans or caravans belonging to people with a condition that makes it impossible for them to sleep in a tent. Permission for this must be requested from Jenny prior to the camp.
- Dogs are not permitted.
- Participants should not arrive before Arrivals Day (Saturday)**
- No adult arrivals after the first full day of the camp (Sunday)***
- No visitors.
** There is a £20 per night surcharge for early arrivals.
*** Late arriving children must be met at the Gate.
Well Being
Please bring a small first-aid kit with you including sun-screen, and something for wasp stings - since all participants are responsible for their own health and well-being and that of their children, although we have a team of first-aid specialists on site and if required there is a doctor’s clinic in the village. More
Mindfulness of hygiene is especially important when camping together. The weather is usually hot, the facilities are more basic than those we are used to at home, and with our proximity to each other there is an increased risk of bugs being spread. Wash your hands! Keep your food covered! Clean your eating utensils with hot soapy water after use.
Health and Safety
- All gas appliances (gas fridges, gas cookers), especially in campers and caravans, must be British Standard kite marked and have been serviced in the past 12 months as part of annual vehicle service. Rubber connector hoses need to be checked yearly for cracks or perishing, and completely replaced every 4 years.
- All campers & caravans must have a simple smoke alarm fitted - these cost under a fiver, you can buy them in any caravan shop and most hardware shops, they run on batteries, they are tiny, about the size of a tin of tuna, and can be easily fixed to the ceiling. Ensures safety while people are sleeping, (day or night)
- Each caravan/camper must have a small fire extinguisher kept by the door.
- See about fire safety in caravans.
- The Site Crew tent is completely out of bounds to Under 18s (all adults please look out for young teens who take lamp oil, axes etc ...confiscate them immediately).
- Absolutely no wax-bombs, or hot air balloons (those ones made of wicker & paper with tea lights in them). No fire poi or fire blowing anywhere near tents.
- Except for the big top, no candles or hurricane (oil) lamps in tents or vehicles.
- There are full fire buckets available at appropriate places.
Frequently Asked Questions
We hope that most of the questions you may have are already addressed within the text on this page, or within the answers here.
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DATES for 2009:
Voice Camp: 8nd -16th August
PTA Camp 22nd - 30th August
PRICES - if pre-booked:
Voice Camp: £195 | £85 | £70
PTA Camp £175 | £70 | £60
Extra for adults if paid on gate: £30 | £20
How do I get to the camp?
Directions with maps are sent with your ticket. The nearest train station is Gillingham Dorset 13 miles from the camp. Taxis available from the station.
Do I need bring food?
There is an organic farm shop, local village shop and a café at the camp. We suggest you bring basic food supplies and something for your first meals unless you are eating in the café
Can my child bring a friend?
We are relaxing our rules about bringing extra children. All children brought to the camp must be well supervised by a responsible adult.
Can I pay online?
You can pay by direct bank transfer using the banking details on the booking form. For our overseas customers ONLY we can receive payment on arrival at the camp in Euros or Pounds.
Can I arrive late at the camp?
All participants must arrive within the arrival period, Saturday and Sunday until 10pm
Can I leave early?
We ask that people stay for the whole camp to establish a sense of security and community which supports us all
I haven’t received my ticket yet!
Please allow 21 days for delivery. If you are worried email
with your full name and date of booking
I find sleeping in a tent difficult, can I stay at a B&B?
Local B&B’s are available contact Blandford Forum Tourist Information Office. Bring a small tent if you can for storage and to be part of a camping circle
Can I bring a caravan or camper van?
Our camps are greatly enhanced by having a vehicle free camping site. If it is necessary for you to bring a caravan or camper van for reasons of disability please request permission by contacting
£50 surcharge for unauthorised vehicles
My partner wants to come but is not into singing or dancing...
There are many other activities on the programme and the experience of just being at camp is enjoyable and rewarding in itself
I booked a ticket last year and couldn't come Can I carry my ticket over?
Normally you will lose your money if you haven't told us that you can't come. However,a 75% refund is available for a cancellation made up to 30 days before the camp starts
Enquiries
If the general information below or the FAQ’s don’t answer your query you can get in touch with us at
featured articles
Barbara Morgan is a key figure on the Unicorn Camps, known for her Family Constallations. She will be taking on an additional role of facilitating the Open Space on PTA this year.
Constellations and Community
by Barbara Morgan
Read on
In 1996 I came across Bert Hellinger, founder of constellation work. This began a long and beautiful soul journey for me. Many skeletons came out of the cupboard in relation to my family history and many of my family relationships changed quite radically, not always directly connected to me. It was as if a great big boulder had been dropped in the middle of my family and stirred everything up. It was extremely painful at times but the outcome has been worth every tear shed. I deepened my connection to both parents and to other family members and I felt more keenly than ever before the need to return to my roots here in Somerset which I did three years ago.
It’s not that I no longer have problems; of course not. If anything, I feel them more keenly. It’s more that I no longer feel I am searching for something. Something has settled in my own soul and that feels amazing. As a grandmother I feel deeply the fact that I live so far from my children and my grandson. That’s very painful for me at times. And I am luckier than many. A significant number of people are living in a different country, often a very different culture from the one they grew up in. Many people have moved around so much they don’t feel a deep connection to any particular place. What effect must this have on our connection to our own souls, to each other and to the earth?
Well, I do see a gradual return to something of what we had before. We are beginning to create our own communities again. Here in Frome, this is becoming an increasingly apparent phenomenon and it is wonderful. I think what we have created at camp is something of a move towards community and nourishment for our souls – living close to the earth, as naturally as possible, connecting meaningfully to others through song, dance, cooking and conversation. But even here, in this optimum environment, difficulties can occur. Relationships can be fraught at times. We re-create in some form our unresolved issues with our own families and have another chance to sort it out.
Bert Hellinger, former Roman Catholic priest and missionary to the Zulu and founder of constellation work, sees everything that happens as a movement – on both a small and large scale. If you start to view the world in this way, without any pre-judgement about how it should be, then your whole perspective changes. You see that there are no rights and wrongs about what happens. It just is.
He suggests, sometimes with great humour, that everything begins with our mothers, that if we can look at our own mother and see her exactly as she is, with no need to change anything about her then we can begin to find peace. Then of course we need to do the same with our fathers. And we cannot do this from a place of thinking this is what we should do. It is a movement of the soul, but to me it makes absolute sense. These are the two people who gave me life. My life came through them and if I continue to reject them, if I remain angry with them, how can I find a place of true acceptance in myself? How can I ever find inner peace? Any other search for this becomes a substitute for this basic soul movement.
And to make this movement, I need to see them beyond anything they might or might not have done to me, in the context of the greater whole, of their own fate and of mine. And this is not about relinquishing anger or blame. We may need to go through that but if we get stuck in it, there is no lasting peace for us. It’s also not about condoning anything that anyone has done either. It’s about simply allowing people to face the consequences of their own actions.
So if we widen this out to look at what is happening to the planet right now does this mean we should just find a place in our own souls to just accept what is happening? Should we simply rest back on our laurels and seeing it all as a natural movement, do nothing? Well as an individual I just don’t seem to be able to do that. I think I need to do what I can to at least try and slow down what’s happening and maybe even if reverse it. Maybe doing what we can is also part of the bigger movement. The positive side effect is that we are forming communities, looking at ways to help each other and the planet.
The same goes for peace and war. In my own soul, I long for peace on a personal and wider global level. And yet, maybe peace is only possible as a counter to war. Maybe we need wars. I’m not sure. So I suppose in my train of thought here I am saying here that we do what we can and then at some point, maybe we need to surrender to what is, whether that be to do with our own lives, the lives of our loved ones or the life of the planet. Maybe we need these huge movements to shake us out of our humdrum existence and once again put us in touch with how much we love and value each other and the planet?
This is definitely an exciting time to be living on this planet. Much is changing and we have no idea how it will all unfold but I do feel that we will have an increasing need for each other, for community, for getting more in touch with our own rhythms and the rhythms of the planet. I think we have created a beautiful movement in these camps and I am grateful to all the founders for this. Maybe this is a place where we can have time for reflection on these issues and on our own inner movement towards peace and self-acceptance.
I often think of the serenity prayer these days (and you may need to find your own perspective on what or who you see as ‘God’) which to me, has the essence of what I have been writing about:
God grant me the courage to change the things I can change
The serenity to accept the things I cannot change
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Barbara Morgan is a Family Constellations Trainer, Supervisor and Practitioner and Editor of the International Constellations Journal –
The Knowing Field
email:
www.ordersoflove.co.uk
Sustainable Frome
by Peter Macfadyen
Read on
On a freezing cold night, on the first Thursday of this year, 70 people braved the ice and headed to an alcohol free hall in Frome. Why? And why have a similar number come every month for over two years? Some undoubtedly find bringing food to share a chore – though others revel in demonstrating their skills at ensuring Locavores are well provided for. The youngsters (of whom there is usually a good crowd) probably find the “meeting bits” boring, but they hang on in there. Some people definitely cringe at the initial minute of silence, regular poems and the “spiritual” bits. Others gnash their teeth when the “anoraks” start extolling their latest plans for wind generation, electric cars, or anaerobic digesters...but this core – of a wider group of around 400 – clearly find something worth coming for again, and again, and again.
This is the monthly meeting of “Sustainable Frome” – a Transition Town that was heading in that direction before that term had become well used – a network of people who have created a community within a community, one which shares many of the facets of that all too brief Unicorn Community in the summer –and surely it is no coincidence that around a dozen Unicorn regulars are amongst the core of Sustainable Frome as well?
The monthly meeting has spawned a plethora of other regular groups – ones that do the techie stuff like Buildings, Energy, and Waste...and also, crucially, those that focus on Spirituality Earth Healing and The Work that Reconnects”. One off events including an annual green fair that over 2000 people have attended, and links with local government at all levels; a website, a forum, a programme of events…thousands of voluntary hours working towards trying to reduce the vulnerability of a community as it faces the triple crunch of climate change, peak oil, and now (bigger and faster than anyone predicted) the collapse of the financial systems.
The Unicorn Camp experience currently allows a few of us to discuss some of the crucial issues that make Sustainable Frome work, over the camp fires of Dorset. The Frome Community Choir and regular Harmonic Temple events in Frome help cement the links – hopefully more and more of the carbon conscious people of Frome will head south once a year for a holiday perfectly in keeping with the Sustainable Frome ethos.
But let me be clear, while much has been achieved, Sustainable Frome currently touches the lives of remarkably few of Frome’s population. There is MUCH to be done if we are really to be in a position to hold back the tide of pressures that pushes in on a small and vulnerable community. The Triple Crunch will change us all. Will the ethos and structures of Sustainable Frome and Unicorn be strong enough to withstand and take advantage of the spaces that change inevitably brings?
Chinese Tea Ceremony
by Nesta Burgess
Read on
In the middle of an exciting and busy camp we were a group of people gathered for what is so completely different: a Chinese tea ceremony.
The “Tea” starts long before the first sip of the actual liquid when one can say “I am having tea”, it's just knowing that we aren’t going anywhere for another hour or two, and we are committed to sharing special time and space with others who are doing the same thing together.
In the beginning our particular choice of tea is carefully made after a long meditative process of appreciating the aroma of several different varieties. As the “smelling cup” travels around the circle, the most intimate thing is shared – breath. Thoughts and feelings are also shared until finally a unified choice is made about a single type of tea for our ceremony.
Now the preparation process can begin: with great care water is heated to a particular stage of boiling which is the most suitable for revealing the flavour of tea. Tiny clay cups are washed and heated, dry tea leaves are also warmed up before brewing. One could see this whole process as a tiny model of universe with the five primal Chinese elements interacting with each other: Fire heats up Water which soaks the tea (Wood), liquid is contained within clay pots and cups (Earth) and the human mind (Metal) oversees the whole process.
After the most careful and attentive preparation of every detail and ingredient, finally the first brewing is made and, rather surprisingly, spilled out! This action, which symbolizes a sacrifice to gods and ancestor spirits defines very clearly that it is not a casual drink for quenching thirst – the sacred ceremony has higher, not material, goals.
Second brewing. This is the first acquaintance with the tea as a liquid and many interesting things can be observed: the difference between smell and taste, and the way they change as the tea cools down, the flavour that stays in the mouth after the drink, and – probably the biggest discovery which also teaches us about the nature of life – every person perceives the flavour of the same tea very differently.
Third brewing. This is when familiarity starts developing with the tea – more subtle flavours and “afterflavours” also, relation between people becomes more subtle, sensitive and relaxed. In China there is a saying which expresses trust and fondness of another person: “We have already had Tea together”.
Fourth brewing. This is approaching the time for an inner choice – whether stubbornly to hold on to the concerns of problems and future plans in the back of the mind and to enjoy easy and mellow, yet only partial relaxation – or to make a decision to be total, to be “here and now”, which includes becoming more alert, concentrated and therefore more open to most sacred levels of the ceremony.
Fifth brewing. The tea flavours and smells become much more gentle and subtle – so does our mind and feelings. We can now see meaningfulness of every aspect in the ceremony as well as our ordinary life, and yet at the same time we start becoming aware of the “bigger picture” which allows us to question the real and deep mysteries of life.
Sixth brewing. In complete stillness and silence we can hear the spirits of our ancestors passing their knowledge to us. A ritual which has started thousands of years ago allows us to see ourselves as being rooted many generations into the past, passing wisdom into the future. And perhaps just for a moment, we can touch eternity.
Seventh brewing. The last cup helps us to come back into the daily world and bring our new experiences with us. Perhaps this will allow us to rediscover and become more enthusiastic about some things that had become habitual and even boring in our lives – we might start noticing the smell of freshly toasted bread before eating it, or having a little “dust wiping ceremony”, maybe even becoming aware of the sacredness of breath a little more often…
Articles Archive
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