Some will have seen Caldecott Foundation's posting announcing that their 69th Annual Summer camp has started, four nights of adventure, friendship and new experiences, with numerous Caldecott children taking on activities such as swimming, archery, raft building, low ropes course, and the zip wire.
I have a recollection from the early 1960's of putting up basic tents in a field with no facilities save generally a nearby river. Times have of course changed. I am not sure what counted as the first
Caldecott camp. In the old days camping was just one of different activities such as youth hosteling or staying in a cottage or on a boat cruise of some sort. The activities were by groups or even diverse parties from Caldecott rather than representing the bulk of the Caldecott residents. We have an old photo from 1953 said to be camping at Penshurst and showing various boys and probably Miss Travers, although in 1953 there also may have been youth hosteling. We also know that in 1954 there was a camp for boys with Simon Rodway on the South Downs at Crowlink, above Birling Gap where some boys such as Robert Lawton were at the sea and a life boat was called out. We have numerous pics of boys camping at Alfriston in 1957 but no certainty that camping occurred every year. Girls seemed to prefer youth hosteling but we have a pic of girls camping in 1960 at Camber Sands.
Different parties went to different places whether in Britain (Sussex, New Forest, or near Arundel) or even on the Continent. In some years there were two or three camps.
Seniors camped etc. at Whitsun half term, juniors normally in early June - the latter for several years in a field at Mersham (I recall just older juniors but later some younger juniors were there too) but from 1982 for many years junior "camp" was at Screens Park (Scouting Centre) near Chelmsford, with various facilities.
Seniors had a variety of options, one in 1970's / 1980's being camping at the West Sussex farm owned by Miss Diana Howarth's mother, with horses / ponies.
Of course, the Foundation's residences are all year now; recent Annual Camps have been after the end of the School's Summer Term. Some of us did go camping in holidays for instance in early 1960's with Don Sandford although they were not Caldecott camps.
I do not imagine that there was an Annual Camp in 2020 (Covid).