Take 5 celebs who know little or nothing about camping, possess very few practical skills and film them experimenting with a camping holiday. The results have been entertaining British TV viewers for the past few weeks – especially when the celebrities discover they are required to try wild camping, or camp in a location believed to be haunted.
Channel 5, the independent TV company behind the program is no stranger to such productions. It came up with the idea of taking celebs out of their comfort zone and putting them through challenging holiday experiences a few years ago. The first series involved sending a group on a barging holiday along a French canal, filming them having to cope with locks, tides and much more. This was followed by a series entitled ‘Celebs Go Caravanning’. Another five were sent out onto the winding UK roads to try out their skills driving and holidaying in caravans. Inevitably nothing ever goes to plan, and the celebs found themselves in some awkward situations, especially when it came to driving large RV’s on single track roads around the mountainous Scottish borders.
Focusing on camping for the next series seemed almost inevitable. A three week period of filming was booked, and five new celebrities chosen.
For this series, the production company chose to focus on a range of locations around Dorset and the Isle of Wight. Among the sites where the quintet experimented with camping were Burnbake Campsite near Corfe Castle, Durdle Door Holiday Park on the Jurassic coast, and the Windmill Campersite on the Isle of Wight. They also took part in a variety of activities such as kayaking, harvesting garlic, learning bushcraft, trying out vintage train rides, finding fossils and hiking within the Studland & Godlington National Reserve, Durlston Country Park, Hartland Moor National Nature Reserve, the Jurassic coastline and over on the Isle of Wight.
The area chosen is well known as a tourist destination, especially suitable for camping. It is an area of stunning natural beauty, while the Jurassic Coast is a world heritage site covering 95 miles of coastline where you can literally walk through time. The rocky coastline is unique in the way 185 million years of the Earth’s history can be traced in its stones. It has been a popular area for people collecting fossils for over two hundred years, as it was where Mary Anning developed the skills that made her the world’s first paleontologist in the early nineteenth century – even though she had to teach herself to read and write. Among her discoveries were the first plesiosaur and the first complete Ichthysaur. Eventually she became one of the greatest fossil hunters ever to exist, and scientists used to seek her advice.
English celebrities having some trouble fixing a tent in the inclement weather.
Burnbake Campsite was used extensively throughout the filming as it offered suitable locations for different types of camping while in a lovely part of the country. It is a long established campsite owned by a local family and seems isolated but is actually close to towns like Poole and Swanage. The estate contains a large expanse of woodland reaching down to Poole Harbour, looking out over the National Trust’s Brownsea Island. Chris Wyburgh, general manager of Burnbake Campsite commented, “The producers felt Burnbake was the ideal location. On one level, they could experience luxury glamping, and on the other use the woodland to face the challenges of surviving in the wild, putting up their tents and coping with the weather.”
None of the celebs had been camping for years and were faced with a variety of camping styles from glamping to open fields, pole tents to pop up tents and making shelters for the night out of cardboard. Facilities were equally varied ranging from compost toilets to cooking over open fires, and even having to forage for food. An added problem was the fact that one of the celebs, Bobby Davro, suffered from arachnaphobia – a fear of spiders.
The celebrities were a mixed bunch. Michelle Collins and Joe Swash were ex soap stars, having been members of the cast of TV series Eastenders. Michelle had also appeared in the Coronation Street series, while Joe had taken part in another reality show, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. There were two comedians: Bobby Davro and Stephen Bailey. The final participant was Cheryl Baker, a singer whose background including being a member of the 1980’s chart topping band Bucks Fizz. Half way through the filming, Joe Swash had to leave the series due to various performing commitments and was replaced by Tim Vincent, best known for his involvement in the children’s TV series Blue Peter.
They had little previous knowledge of each other before having to spend three weeks in each others company. Cheryl said “I knew Bobby but not none of the others and we have all come together well. It has been huge fun.”
Bobby Davro agreed saying “This is the first time I have been camping for years. It has been fantastic. It has been long days but I have not stopped laughing.”
The resultant filming and the participants attempts at camping aroused a lot of interest – and at times amusement – by other campers staying on the various campsites.
Chris Wyburgh, general manager of Burnbake Campsite commented, “It has been delightful to have the celebs here. They really had to work hard. They got stuck in and had to do things for themselves. The scenes in the woodland were really entertaining as it took them out of their comfort zone, they were not used to having to survive in the wild. They have been good sports and we are really looking forward to seeing the series next year. Some of our members of staff may even have cameo roles! ”
On arrival in Dorset, the celebs knew very little about what they would be doing, beyond trying out different forms of camping, explained Cheryl. “They don’t tell us anything. We learn from day to day what is happening.”
In the first episode, the celebrities had the task of finding their first campsite somewhere on the Isle of Purbeck, which was just marked with an X on the map. Inevitably they got lost, learned some bushcraft skills and spent the night in canvas tipis. By chance, Bobby Davro was celebrating his 60th birthday at the time, and attempts to make him breakfast failed miserably when the campers discovered there was no kettle. Instead, Davro was treated to a birthday dinner in one of the luxury glamping lodges. The following night the group had to try putting up their own tents and sorting out the toilets within the adjacent woodland. Campsite cooking proved a major issue, as the celebs possessed questionable culinary skills and often had to rely on boil in the bag ration packs!
By episode two, the campers were exploring the county of Dorset by steam train and discovering the beauty of the Jurassic coast such as Corfe Castle and Durdle Door, as well as kayaking and fishing. Their experience of camping was less successful having discovered that cold nights under canvas are not as comfortable as living in their normal centrally heated homes. They had to master campsite cooking, and assemble a six person tent, which collapsed on several occasions.
Episode three focused on the campers’ attempts at wild camping in a wood, a shepherd’s hut and a cliff top tent. Tim Vincent tried to sleep in a hammock all night– before being spooked by the woodland noises and having to seek shelter elsewhere. They attempted to forage for food, and went fossil hunting on the Jurassic Coast.
In Episode four, the quintet of celebrity campers headed across the sea to the Isle of Wight where they had to work for their supper harvesting garlic, before enjoying a ghost hunt at Carisbrooke Castle and listening to ghost stories in a haunted pub. They then found that their ‘curiously weird and wonderful glamping site’ might also be haunted and faced the tasks of eco-camping, assembling and sleeping in a cardboard tent.
The final episode involved rustic camping and various activities on the Isle of Wight including paragliding, lobster fishing, walking and discovering the beauty of The Needles rocks by boat and cable car. They tried out a different eco-lodge campsite and met local farmers.
Looking back on the series, Cheryl Baker commented, “Burnbake is such a beautiful place. I have had so much fun with these guys and seeing Corfe Castle up on the hill was amazing. We have laughed so much. I did hate staying in the tent last night, it was chucking it down with rain. I thought, ‘what am I doing here’. It is a nice way to wake up, with rain on the tent. Joe said ‘it is like someone drumming’, but there is something comforting when you are in a tent and it is raining.”
Want to watch the series for yourselves? Channel 5 is not available on American TV screens but you can watch the series here.
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