Dartmoor Camps –
a holiday with a difference

The Brits have always loved camping which, given how much we complain about the weather, is quite remarkable. There’s something archetypal and timeless about camping but the ways some people now choose to go camping have changed. A brief look at Campscene Directory (www.campscene-directory.co.uk) will tell you that a quiet movement has grown up over the last two decades. All over the country you can now find over a hundred camps with themes ranging from music and drumming to wildcraft and shamanism. It is now by far the most diverse and experienced camp movement in Europe.

Devon locals, Daverick Leggett and Brad Richecoeur, have been running camps for fifteen years. They are seasoned campers who clearly love what they do and believe in its value. “Our camps give participants an experience of community, of resourceful outdoor living, of connection to nature and to other people – elements missing from much of our daily lives. Many people come back year after year. They are hungry for this. We bathe in the stream, cook together over an open fire, create our own entertainment, have time to simply be with the rhythms of the day and time also to travel deeper into ourselves and to connect more deeply with other people. And the Qigong and meditation, which we teach, become integrated into normal life. To camp like this is profoundly nourishing.”

Qigong and meditation are the themes around which their camps are organised. The practices are taught outside or under the cover of a huge yurt to the sound of a bubbling stream and against a backdrop of ancient woodland. Everyone shares the daily tasks of cooking, cleaning and keeping the fire going. Children are provided with a playdome and daily activities. There is a haze of smoke from the central fire and the Dartmoor field, which for the rest of the year is home to cattle and horses, is transformed into a vibrant village-under-canvas.

Does this sound like your cup of tea? For details of this summer’s camps on Dartmoor – Qigong Camp 21-30 July and BuddhaDharmaSangha 19-26 August – visit www.qigong-southwest.co.uk or tel: 0845 456 1852