May 10-12 2024
Hello and welcome to the home page for the May crew weekend at Trealy Farm. We are very much looking forward to welcoming you at the farm on Friday. The weather forecast looks promising and considerably warmer than of late, with highs of 23 degrees forecast for Monmouth area over the weekend.
Please arrive from 13:00 on Friday. No fixed agenda, feel free to explore the farm, have a drink and a bite to eat. No lunch provided.
Directions to Trealy Farm via this link.
We will be organising car shares amongst ourselves for our trip to nearby Three Pools Farm, (Llanvetherine, Abergavenny, NP7 8NL) the 2024 Campout event site, leaving around 15:20 (9 miles, approx 30 minutes) where Tom will meet us and give us a tour.
These photos are from my late April site visit
When we arrive back, dinner at 7pm, then a relaxed social in the Pavilion
We will need to provide kitchen volunteers 9:30 - 10:00 after breakfast, pre-sessions to prepare lunch, also between 18:00-19:00 for dinner prep.
See the programme at the foot of this page for outline of the weekend.
Essentially we will be looking at how we can co-create this year's Campout event, including the key roles that need filling, managing crew expectations, what worked well last year and what needs to be done differently. We will also be looking at developing and evolving Campfire / Campout's values and principles as well focusing on the next steps.
An example of the key roles that were outlined last year, as a starting point for our discussions and exercises. (the logistics and involvement of Three Pools Farm make organisation considerably easier for us this year)
KEY ROLES
Event Manager
Event Overview
Logistics & operations
Legal, Risk Assessment etc
Admin
Site Manager
Site Support for Three Pools crew - Rubbish, cleaning, toilets etc
Stalls / Vendors
Communal Kitchen
Box office / Meet & Greet
Information Point / Lost Property
Signage, decoration & lighting
Fire Marshall
Stage Management
Stage Management & Spaces
A/V & power
Artist / Performer welcome & liaison
Crew Manager
Timetable management
Support roles
Stewarding
Parking
First Aid
Other
Camping in Circles?
Body & Soul Area
Childrens Activities?
Publicity and outreach
If you have not yet bought a ticket for this coming weekend (this basically covers food costs for the weekend), here is the link to Ticket Tailor
What to bring: Any drinks or snacks you may need (Our food covers dinner Friday evening, breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday and breakfast and lunch Sunday.
Walking boots (it's muddy and wet in yonder fields)
Towel and swimwear for pool / sauna if you want to wear it - nudity is acceptable too.
Please also read the Pool disclaimer below
Logistics and Housekeeping
INTERNET
Trealy Farm – no password – works in all the accommodation
POOL
All guests who wish to use the pool must read and sign the DISCLAIMER (see below) first then put in red post box by Farmhouse door.
SAUNAS
There are two saunas – infra-red near pool and wood-fired in Pavilion.
See separate sauna instructions below.
LAND
Trealy is 138 acres and the house is roughly in the middle of its land.
Please feel free to explore...or use maps left out in Pavilion including the O/S maps 'Trealy Farm'.
Orientation is straightforward – west is out towards the valley and the mountains.
If you stand in the yard with the house on your right and the traditional barn on your left you are facing SOUTH and north is behind you.
East is up the hill.
Roughly the rule is this: if you come to a gate and there's grass on the other side it's the farm's.
The exception to this is Square Farm – the gate out of Roman Road (field on right as you walk down drive, gate is on the big bend – has public bridleway sign there) leads into their field on the north side. You can see Square Farm farm below you. It's a muddy walk in wet weather but you can get to the Square Farm Shop via this gate.
WALKS
Coppiced Wood
Head south from yard leaving Pavilion on your right. Down rough track. Ignore gates to your left. At end of track you'll come to two gates – go through left gate.
This brings you into Blue's Field. See Green Shed on west side and Blue's grave nearby. Cross this field heading south. At far end there are two gates separated by a hedge. Go through Right gate.
Keep heading south through field 'Maes Yr Uchaf Strip' until you see Maes Yr Uchaf wood ahead of you. Enter the wood by wooden gate. This is a SSSI ancient coppiced wood – a great place to see wildlife including hares; owls at dusk; wildflowers.
Head north from the yard through the paddock / caravan area. The Arena will be on your right. At far end of paddocks go through gate into Hay Barn field. Turn right (east) and go slightly uphill to far end. You'll see a big wood to the north. Go through gate on east side of field into Women's Oak. Turn immediately left and follow the hedge to wooden gate into Trealy Wood. This is a large ancient wood. The tracks through it would have been used by Romans moving between Monmouth and Trellech. It's also a 'Coffin Path' (carrying heavy oak coffins to church from homesteads). Charcoal makers camped in the wood to tend to their charcoal. A few metres along the rack inn the wood you'll see a gap on your right into the two yew trees. The oldest one is male and close to 2000 years old.
Stone Circle
Walk straight up to Women's Oak field – due east of yard leaving house & barn behind you. You'll pas veg patch on your left and farm building on your right. Pass through gate at top between oak and ash trees. The next part is steep and can be muddy. Head up this towards an oak tree to your north east. Here the land flattens out to the north. Follow the flat patch until you reach the Stone Circle (not neolithic but put up by Cai Tudor on a spot that we sense is sacred). The grave nearby is our collie Sid.
As above but from Woman's Oak oak tree head south east towards the gate along a rough track. On the other side of this gate is Battlefield – where Owain Glyndwr the Welsh revel had his last victory against the English in 1404. It's named 'Craig Y Dorth battle' from the name of this hillside. Craig Y Dorth means Rock of Loaf. At the top of Battlefield is a small tarmac public road which forms a circle around the top of the hillside. This forms our boundary on the east side. If you head south along the top of battlefield you'll come into 'Y Ffridd' – a glorious field with different ecosystems and wildlife. Drop down into Maes Yr Uchaf Strip (see above Coppiced Wood walk).
FOOD
Please see below for info on kitchen in Pavilion.
BREAKFAST is always self cook and self serve.
Eggs, sourdough bread, oats, honey, butter, various milks, dairy & DF yoghurts are in the Pavilion kitchen and can be found in the freezer at bottom of fridge, fridge and on top of sideboard.
Hosts need to ensure that bread is defrosted in time for b'fast and give Ruth 24 hour notice if running low on anything. Also that the kitchen is kept clean and washing up done promptly.
Dishwasher tablets are under the sink.
LUNCH & DINNER are served in the Farmhouse.
From Ruth: "The best news is our 2 acres of organic asparagus has just started coming through and we can definitely pick and add to the menu if the sun continues.
Lunch soups (probably red pepper then pea mint and lemon) & cheeses & salad & sourdough / GF Bread & hummus.
Dinners:
Mushroom risotto
Optional parmesan
Pesto of wild garlic, basil and seeds
Roast fennel, Carrots, cabbage
Fruit crumble (oats and nuts)
Cream
Roast Aubergines in rich tomato sauce
Roast sweet potatoes
Chick pea, squash and tomato bake
Chard / kale
Pannacotta with berries
OR sorbet with berries
Those arriving on Thursday you will need to bring your own food up until dinner on Friday.
Breakfasts are all self cook and self service bread eggs oats honey butter yoghurt
I provide tea coffee and dairy and oat milk
SHOES
We don't require shoes off anywhere except upstairs in the house but please ask guests to check their shoes are clean if they leave them on.
COASTERS & WATER MARKS
We have some lovey old wood furniture and water glasses coffee cups etc can stain badly – encourage guests to use coasters.
RECYCLING
Food waste in small grey buckets or big blue buckets.
Cardboard & paper in RED sacks.
Hard plastic only & tin in PURPLE sacks.
All recycling must be CLEAN of food waste.
Glass in GREEN box.
Everything else in black bin liner including soft plastic.
All recycling to the RECYCLING AREA – lean-to on side of traditional barn.
Hosts are responsible for taking good care of all rubbish and making sure it's correctly done.
LOGS
Kindling & orange log sacks @ £5 per bag in the RECYCLING AREA – lean-to on side of traditional barn.
Leave money in orange box by farmhouse door.
ACCOMMODATION
Pods, loghouses and barn have their fully equipped own kitchens.
Caravans and Sheppy have basic tea / coffee making.
Guests in these spaces are welcome to take breakfast items away from Pavilion and prepare in their own spaces.
However, please return all mugs bowls to their original home.
Caravan and Sheppy and campervan dwellers can use shower in stable block (behind traditional barn) or house or Pavilion AND toilets in house or Pavilion.
ON DEPARTURE
Check nothing is left behind.
If we do find items after departure we can post but charge £10 plus the postage or we leave in Lost Property box to be collected.
PAVILION
DOORS IN PAVILION
You must keep the big door on left locked with they when it's closed and bolt the big door on right either at top or bottom.
When open, both doors must be hooked back.
If these doors swing they are heavy and dangerous and at risk of breaking.
KITCHEN
Two fridges
HOB
Hob is induction – this means it will need the correct pans and it won't like wet pans or mess on the surface. If this happens – wipe it clean and dry.
To work the hob:
- Make sure it's on at wall switch
- Switch on at hob surface
- Select ring and use + or – to regulate heat.
Induction won't work until the pan is on the surface.
HEATING
Pavilion is usually warm due to its design and the boiler chimney which passes through on the east side.
If you need the heating on, use the thermostats on each radiator.
SAUNA (Wood fired)
Make a fire in the log burner using paper & kindling. When it's alight - stuff as many logs in as you can. Keep it going for about 1 hour to get very hot sauna – usually about 2 / 3 refills of the burner.
BOILER
Underneath Pavilion hence the whirring sounds.
TRIP SWITCHES
If the Pavilion electricity trips – the fuse box is the Boiler Room under the Pavilion / next to kitchen area and accessed via outside door.
INFRA RED SAUNA
The infra red sauna is in the garden near the pool.
Simple to use – touch screen is usually like this but may be further on in the Steps:
SCREEN – icons with Sunlighten icon (Like yellow lotus flower) in top left. SELECT this icon.
It will ask you to choose USER – select Ruth Tudor. NOT guest!
SCREEN shows PROGRAMS or QUICK MODE in top right – I recommend Quick Mode.
You will then see two dials – temp & time – put both on MAX.
Wait about 50 minutes. It never gets hotter than about 60 degrees but this is perfect for an infra red sauna – it's a penetrative heat.
Benefits of infra red – immunity, arthritis, skin conditions. Plenty of info on the internet if you want to read.
The shower next to sauna is COLD WATER only.
DISCLAIMER: TREALY FARM NATURAL SWIMMING POOL
If you want to use the pool at Trealy Farm you MUST read and sign the following in advance and give it to Ruth (put in red post box by kitchen door if you can't find her).
ABOUT THE POOL:
The pool is not heated – it's COLD!
The DEPTH is 1.49 metres throughout.
The swimming part is rectangular shaped and on the house side of the pool. It is separated from the 'wild' side by a wooden plank which is under the surface of the water. Please see attached drawing. Only swim in the SWIMMING SIDE.
The water is cleaned by a pebble filter, UV filter and plants.
There are wooden STEPS from the deck into the water.
The deck may be slippery.
RULES:
Do NOT go into the water if you have drunk alcohol or taken mind altering drugs.
ONLY go in using the steps.
NEVER jump or dive in.
Wash off make up and skin creams.
Do NOT go into the water if you have a heart condition.
Cold water can be shocking – it helps to splash water on your face first.
Only go into the water if there is someone else around – NEVER go in alone.
EMERGENCY:
In the event of an emergency call 999 and give what3words host.excellent.estuaries as the location.
DISCLAIMER: Ruth Tudor takes no liability for any incident occurring at the pool.
Please sign paper copy of this document at the farm
LINKS
Campfire / Campout's Values & Principles (plus themes from 2023)
Programme (see below)
