Camp Kindling takes place in a pine forest and surrounding fields, and it has been a long, dry summer. We have put a set of extra fire precautions in place for this year. They have been agreed with our safety advisors, our forest management team and Kent Fire and Rescue.
The good news is that your weekend looks much the same: the activities, the music, the games and the Patrols all run as planned. It does mean a few new rules, and we need everyone to follow them. This guide explains what has changed, what we are doing, and the part we are asking you to play.
We ran a similar plan in 2022 and had a brilliant, safe season. With everyone on board, we can do exactly the same again.
Why we have made these changes
Two reasons, and neither of them is box-ticking. The first is everyone's safety. The second is the forest, which is a rare and rather beautiful piece of woodland that we are lucky to be allowed to camp in.
Where we have taken something away, we have put an alternative in its place, so there is nothing missing from your weekend. What we do need is you with us on the rules. They only work if everyone follows them.
What has changed this year
No campfires anywhere on site. Our two campsite campfires have been replaced with a fire-free centrepiece to gather around instead.
Two activities have changed. Fire Lighting is now Survival Skills, and Bread Baking is now Cap Marbling. If you were enrolled in either, we have moved you across.
Cooking is in the cooking areas only, on an approved gas stove. Not at your tent or anywhere else onsite. Please read the cooking section below.
Smoking and vaping are only allowed in the open areas of Centrecamp, the Playing Fields, Adventure Valley, General Camping and Boutique Camping, never in any wooded area and never in the car parks.
The rules everyone must follow
These have been agreed with our safety advisors and Kent Fire and Rescue, and our team will be enforcing them.
Do not bring or use: barbecues of any kind, including disposable ones, charcoal, firelighters, wood or Swedish logs, candles, tealights, oil lamps, flaming lanterns, fire pits, chimineas, sky lanterns, fireworks, sparklers or flares. Leave them at home. Anything found in a bag search will be confiscated.
Cook on an approved gas stove only, only if you absolutely must and only in a cooking area.
Smoke and vape in the open smoking areas only, all marked on your map, never in any wooded area or in the car parks.
Never drop a cigarette end on the ground. Collect a free pocket ashtray on your way in and use that or one of the sand buckets across site.
Tell us straight away if you see or smell smoke. Do not wait until you are sure, and do not go and investigate it yourself.
Anyone cooking outside a cooking area, or smoking or vaping in the wrong place, will be asked to leave the event and will not receive a refund. There will be no second chances and no warnings.
Cooking at camp
The big change is where you can cook. Cooking at your tent or anywhere other than a cooking area is not allowed, however careful you are being.
Please cook only if you really need to
This is a request rather than a rule, and it is the most useful thing most families can do for us.
If you can eat from our street food traders instead, please do. Every stove that stays at home is one less thing that can go wrong, and our traders have moved to gas appliances with proper fire safety cover in place. There are plenty of options, they cater for most tastes and dietary requirements, and they serve breakfast through to late. Click here to see the menus.
If cooking for yourselves is what makes the weekend affordable, or if someone in your family has dietary requirements our traders cannot meet, then bring a stove and use it properly in the cooking areas.
If you are bringing a stove
Where: the designated cooking areas only. They have kettles, cooking stations, washing-up sinks and fire safety equipment. We have added extra cooking points this year.
Expect to wait at busy times. Even with the extra points, there may not be capacity for everyone to cook at once first thing in the morning or around dinner. If an area is full, please wait your turn or plan to eat a little earlier or later.
What on: an approved gas camping stove. This season we are permitting gas only, so no liquid fuels, gel fuels, solid fuel tablets or methylated spirits, and no barbecues, charcoal or wood of any kind. Check which stoves and canisters are approved in our guide to camping stoves before you pack.
How: on one of the raised surfaces we provide in the cooking areas, never on the ground, and never left unattended.
Every cooking area has a fire point next to it with water extinguishers, water buckets and sand buckets. Please take a moment to spot it before you start cooking.
You will need to bring your own stove and gas, as we cannot sell either on site. Our guide to camping stoves has the canister types and sizes we allow.
Anyone cooking outside a cooking area, will be asked to leave the event and will not receive a refund. There will be no second chances and no warnings.
Smoking and vaping
Smoking and vaping are allowed only in the open areas of Centrecamp, the Playing Fields, Adventure Valley, General Camping and Boutique Camping. These are all marked on the map you will be given on entry. They are not permitted in any wooded area with tree canopy or undergrowth, and not in the car parks.
Every smoker can pick up a free pocket ashtray at the gates on arrival, and there are sand buckets positioned around site. Please use one of them every time. A cigarette end dropped in the wrong place is the single most likely way a fire starts here, which is why we are being firm about it.
Anyone caught smoking or vaping outside the open areas will be asked to leave the event, without a refund. There will be no warnings or second chances.
If you see or smell smoke
This is the most useful thing you can do for us all weekend. Spotting something early is what keeps a small problem small.
Tell the nearest member of our team immediately. Any Ranger, security, steward, activity leader, bar or crew member will do. Every one of them knows how to reach event control by radio or phone.
Or message us on WhatsApp (+1 555 812-9560), which is monitored from 7am to 3am during the event. Outside of those times find the nearest team member.
Do not investigate it yourself, and do not assume someone else has already reported it.
We would far rather hear about ten kettles steaming than miss one real problem. Nobody will ever be told off for reporting something that turns out to be nothing.
What we are doing to keep you safe
The changes are not all on you. On our side we have:
a dedicated fire crew on site throughout the event for first response
additional fire points across the whole site, each with water extinguishers, water buckets and sand buckets
a fire point beside every cooking area
a water tanker on site for the fire brigade's use
all cast and crew trained on how to raise the alarm, with a direct line to event control
traders moved to gas rather than live fire, and a general store not stocking anything that could start a fire
all cast and crew following the same strict rules for smoking, vaping and cooking
a revised fire risk assessment for dry conditions, reviewed with Kent Fire and Rescue
FAQs
Will there be any fire at camp at all?
Will there be any fire at camp at all?
Almost none. There are no campfires, no fire-based activities and no naked flames in the campsites of the forest. The wood-fired hot tubs and sauna at the sanctuary at The Sanctuary are staying, because they are contained, run by a trained team, checked and signed off every night, and burn kiln-dried wood that does not spit embers. Everything else that involved a flame has changed.
My activity has been replaced. What happens now?
My activity has been replaced. What happens now?
You do not need to do anything. We have moved everyone who was enrolled on Fire Lighting or Bread Baking across to its replacement automatically, so you keep your slot and your schedule still works. We will email you directly to confirm. If the replacement is not for you, you can change it in your account, like any other activity.
Can I still bring my camping stove?
Can I still bring my camping stove?
Yes, if it is an approved gas stove and you have no other choice. Before you pack, is it really not possible to eat from the street food traders on site this year? They cover most tastes, budgets and dietary requirements, and the fewer stoves in use across camp, the safer camp is. If you do need to cook, use a gas stove in a cooking areas on one of the raised surfaces we provide. Liquid fuels, gel fuels, solid fuel tablets and methylated spirits cannot be used this season, and pierceable and aerosol cannisters remain banned, as always. Our guide to camping stoves has the full list of approved stove and canisters.
Would you really ask someone to leave for cooking at their tent?
Would you really ask someone to leave for cooking at their tent?
Yes, without a second chance and without a refund. An unattended or badly placed stove is one of the most likely ways a serious fire starts, and it puts people around you at risk. We have provided cooking areas with proper surfaces and fire equipment precisely so that nobody need to cook anywhere else.
What if it rains before the event? Will the rules relax?
What if it rains before the event? Will the rules relax?
Probably not. Woodland holds its dryness through a shower, so a wet weekend does not undo a dry summer. We cannot relax any of these measures without sign-off from both our safety advisors and Kent Fire and Rescue, and we would keep the cooking and smoking rules in place regardless. Please assume the rules in this guide apply and pack accordingly.
Can I have a refund because the campfires have gone?
Can I have a refund because the campfires have gone?
These are safety measures required to run the event, so they do not change your ticket or make it refundable. Everything we have taken out has an alternative in its place, including fire-free centrepiece in the campsites and replacements for both fire-based activities. Our refund and exchange policy is unchanged.
Thank you
Thank you for reading this, and for taking it seriously. Every one of these changes is here so that we can all have a brilliant weekend together and everybody goes home safely, and none of it works without you.
We are genuinely looking forward to seeing you in the forest. If you have any questions before you travel, our team is here and happy to help.