We were particularly excited this year to see a return to real-life events following the pandemic. Wild Camp, which took place in beautiful rural Derbyshire in July, was a chance for children to bring a parent along for an outdoor adventure. Amongst those joining us were eight year old Abbie and her mum, Cat, who flew over from Northern Ireland for the weekend.
“We are an outdoor family, we live in the countryside, go camping at least five times a year and have the tent up in the garden over the summertime,” explains Cat. “But I must admit I was slightly nervous about sleeping in a shelter and not a tent! However, Abbie and I thought it sounded like fun, a chance to have an adventure together – some “girlie bonding” and meet other liver families”.
Cat and Abbie enjoyed the thought of an adventure together
“Wild Camp sounded good so I was looking forward to it, even though I didn’t know what to expect” agrees Abbie. “And although it was a bit of a long walk to get to camp, once we got there it was good.”
The weekend certainly lived up to Cat and Abbie’s expectations of an adventure: “Building the shelter was an endurance test, and the pigeon preparation for dinner was interesting as I had never done that before so will be ticking that off my bucket list!” says Cat.
“My favourite parts were building the shelter and at the campfire, toasting marshmallows”, adds Abbie. “I also made a friend called Melissa and we had great fun.”
“Abbie certainly benefitted from facing new challenges and from meeting other children with same liver condition as herself,” says Cat. “And it was great that she was able to talk about her condition to them.
They both enjoyed meeting other families
“I also think the guys who took the Wild Camp were very good and explained everything well. I would recommend it to others if they are looking for some adventure in the woodlands and would like to meet other liver families. Everyone we met was lovely and I have kept in touch with one mum and daughter since that weekend.”