Above : The heavy rain has left some parts of the site slightly damp.
Above : One of the drier bits.
Well, that's both big camps of the summer over now - the Festival camp which was quickly followed (a few hours later!) by the national Young Firefighters camp, both for around 650. Whilst the Festival campers had some pretty decent weather, the firefighters weren't quite so lucky and after some torrential rain midweek a fair number of them decided to head home a wee bit early.
After the last survivors had left, it was pretty obvious that large areas of the site would take a while to dry out, the worst being the area behind the flagpole which has a historic habit of flooding. Despite the soggy conditions, there were no shortage of new groups arriving on site to camp, most taking the sensible option of camping on the high ground near the top of the caves.
Above : A Scout's brave attempt to escape from the rising floodwaters is cruelly ended.
Over the past few weekends since then, the staff have been very busy with the usual activity sessions and also tidying up a bit after the big camps. Jobs have included drying out tents, tidying up rubbish and fixing the odd piece of equipment (such as the BMX skills ramp, which sadly broke in two after being mistaken for a seesaw by some big heavy people).
Above : Making BMX seesaw version 2... longer, wider and much, much stronger.
There's also been a big effort made to tidy up much of the site, including the infamous tractor compound, which is home to a weird and wonderful collection of ancient machinery and strange wildlife. Taking advantage of the fantastic rates for scrap metal, the team have been scavenging for all the useless metal they can find and popping along to Inverkeithing to exchange it for something more useful.
Above : Fordell Olympic Team practice weightlifting for 2012.
The woodpile predictably took a bit of a battering during the two camps (the Firefighters using lots, even though they're supposed to put out fires!), so a donation of some scrap wood from a local business came at just the right time.
Above : A kind donation of scrap wood by a local company was gratefully received.
Above : Mystery photo competition - what's this?
Finally, we present the first in an occasional series of random competitions, the Mystery Photo. If you think you know what the strange photo above is or where it was taken, then simply write your answer on the back of a new £20 note and send it to the centre - the winner will be drawn from a hat and will receive a £5 voucher for the shop.
