Imaginative summer camps for children aged 8-16 ...

Moor Park, nr. Ludlow. Shropshire.

When not being home to ATE Superweeks, and 3,336 kg of fun, Moor Park is to be found being a boarding school near Ludlow, Shropshire. It has playing fields, woods (equipped with very climbable trees and a squodgey bog), fountains and lake. It has its very own indoor heated swimming pool, and a huge gym for Whole Holiday Benchball Tournaments. In the main house there is a big hall we use as a games room or theatre, and really comfy themed dormitories. You could find yourself sleeping in the Pirates Lair, under the treasure map!

In previous years at Moor Park we have:

• Discovered secret passages
• Made huge art attacks on the lawn
• Raced mechanical fish in the pool
• Had a party in a ship’s galley

Bockleton Hall, Tenbury Wells. Shrops.

Bockleton Hall is an activity centre used by local schools to do loads of amazing activities. We knew we had to add it to our programme as soon as we saw that it had its own underground labyrinth. At Bockleton we are also planning to use their climbing wall, zip wire, assault courses, willow maze, orienteering courses, and do some abseiling as well as all the other fun things the ATE team has planned. This centre is really special, with roomy animal-themed dorms and even its own stables!

Featherstone Castle, nr. Haltwhistle. Northumberland.

ATE discovered Featherstone Castle over 50 years ago when one of the earliest ATE Fun Hunters was searching Northumberland for new ways of throwing an egg out of a window without breaking it and since then it’s been home to over 100 Superweeks!

Featherstone is a real castle, some of it is over 800 years old and with its banqueting hall, towers, dungeons and battlements, it definitely makes for a unique holiday. The South Tyne river runs through the bottom of the games field and a bridge takes you over to some of the best den-building woods that ATE has ever seen. There is a brilliant outdoor (but heated!) pool a short walk away that has an inflatable obstacle course.

In previous Superweeks at Featherstone we have:

• Made chocolate board games
• Freed the princess from the dastardly Jester
• Had a banquet
• Built teepees and slept outside
• Had a bonfire on the beach by the river

Hatherop Castle, nr. Cirencester.

Hatherop is another great castle, this time right out in the Cotswold countryside. The house is full of interesting rooms for all sorts of activities. The grounds are enormous and contain an outdoor heated swimming pool, a sports hall, a theatre, woodland and lots of playing fields. There are lots of dormitories and really cosy sitting rooms for chilling out in.

In front of the castle is a gingko tree - there aren’t many of these around these days. Do you know why they are so special?

There's a pool at this centre!

Bedstone, nr. Knighton. Welsh Borders.

We’re taking this centre over for our ‘Make and Create’ Superweek because it has a really brilliant art block that we can use (see page 6 for more info about Make and Create).

It also has its own outdoor heated swimming pool, a really special dining room in a huge conservatory, lots of grand indoor workshop and group spaces and a theatre that will be brilliant for evening activities. There is also a very special entrance hall, with cosy sofas and dramatic stained glass windows, that we think will be perfect place for a hot chocolate and a story before bed.

There's a pool at this centre!

Edge Hill, Bideford. Devon.

Edge Hill is a well-equipped boarding school in large grounds on the edge of the lovely town of Bideford on the banks of the Torridge Estuary, in beautiful North Devon. The school has lots of large activity spaces indoors as well as playing fields and areas of woodland.

The coast isn’t far away, and there’ll be outings to the lovely seaside town of Westward Ho with its large sandy beaches.

Bredenbury Court, Bromyard. Herefordshire.

This is our posh centre. But don’t worry – you don’t have to bring your tuxedo!

Bredenbury is a real country house, with a grand driveway, grand staircases, a grand panelled games room, an indoor fig tree in the conservatory, a tame terrapin in the pond and a hidden swimming pool in the woods. The dormitories are really homely (one even has a piano in it!) and may come with their own dawn chorus from the enthusiastic chickens outside the window.

In previous years at Bredenbury we have:

• Had Water Olympics in the pool
  
• Gone midnight stargazing
  
• Done tactical team challenges across acres of woodland
  
• Hosted storytelling night