Patrol camps can be organised by Patrol Leaders (and some APLs). They are a great way for you and your friends to go camping more often, choosing your own programme and venue, but with the support and equipment from 2nd Edgware. One you’ve had a chat with a leader about these, take a look at the three planning stages below that you will need to organise. Each needs to be signed off by a leader before you can move on to the next. If you have any questions or need some help, feel free to ask!

1. Groundwork

Once you are ready, come and share your first plans with the camp leader. We will need:

  • A few options of dates for the camp
  • The purpose of the camp
  • The name and address of your chosen campsite

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Top tips
  • If you’re struggling to find a date that everyone can do, you could create a poll.
  • Some examples of a patrol camps purpose are: to explore a place of interest near your campsite, to take part in a nearby event, to work towards a badge of your patrols choice, to develop certain camp skills, or another reason of your choosing. Of course you can still do other activities on your camp, however setting a goal for your patrol to achieve helps give your event a focus.
  • Lots of Scout camps have their own websites you can look at online. When camping locally you can also use this list on the District website. Visiting a site you have camped at before can also be useful, especially for your first patrol camp.

2. Early plans

Once your leader is happy with your groundwork, you can begin to make plans. When you are ready, submit these to your leader:

  • A list of everything on the camp that will cost money, and how much
  • The start and end times
  • A list of anything that needs to be booked by the leaders

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Top tips

  • When drafting a list of expenses you should think about the costs of the campsite, food, transport and any activities. You need to include any leaders or visitors in your calculations and total up the final cost. Don’t worry if this is a daunting part of camping! Your leader will be able to help go through this with you after as you develop your planning.
  • With your start and end times, you should discuss when when suits your patrol. You should also check the campsite rules – some sites have specific times you must arrive after / leave before.
  • Your list of anything that needs booking should include any activities or transport that ask for immediate payment. Jot down any details your Leader will need to know so they can book it for you (e.g. we want to book the 11am boat to Brownsea Island with a 3pm return for 7 people, here is the website). Anything that doesn’t ask for immediate payment (usually the campsite & site activities) you can book yourself and forward the invoice to your leader who will organise the payment.

3. Final plans

Now everything is booked in advance, you will have time to put together your final plans. Your leader will give you a deadline to submit these:

  • Your programme
  • Your menu
  • Your personal kit list
  • Your patrol equipment list

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Top tips

  • Your programme is a written list of the camp times. You can keep this flexible and allow for free time – but set realistic deadlines to cook your meals by and strike camp. The programme should include the times for any booked activities – and plenty of time to get there! Allow time for things running late or taking longer than you might expect.
  • The menu is a very important part of camp – this fuels your patrol throughout the day. Talk to your patrol and make sure everyone can cook and will eat what’s on the menu. You can then turn this into a shopping list. Don’t forget snacks – and washing up liquid!
  • Your personal kit list is what you normally get emailed for troop camps – the things each individual scout needs to pack in their rucksack. Adjust this based on the time of year, length of the camp and any specific activities.
  • The patrol equipment list is all the shared kit from the scout hut – what do you need to take for cooking and cleaning? How are you transporting it to the site? When are you collecting and returning everything? Do we need to borrow the lovely dining shelter from Finchley again?