Summer Camp Introduction

The sun shined brightly between the light fluffy clouds. The temperature started to pick up, enough to go outside without adorning yourself in never-ending layers of clothing. The grass grew green and beautiful. Yes, summer was here. More importantly, the summer holidays had finally kicked in.

Students flooded out of the castle with packed trunks behind them, making their way to the station to catch the Hogwarts Express back home. At least, most of the students left. Some chose to stay behind, for whatever reason. The amount of children that didn't have a home to go to was worrying, to say the least. Others simply preferred to stay with their friends, or in a magical environment. Whatever the reason was, everyone was welcome to stay at Hogwarts this Summer. Students starting their first year in September were also welcome to come a little early and spend the summer getting used to the campus or making new friends. There were plenty of reasons to be here.

One of these reasons may well be the Summer Camp. The Castle was closed during the summer holidays and most of the staff had left. However, a handful stayed behind. These people relocated to the Campgrounds, where outdoor sites were set up for the students who wished to stay and enjoy the summer in Hogwarts.

Accommodation -
The Campgrounds had a completely different look to it now. By the lake, there was long bridge that eventually led to a boat that was anchored there. This boat was bigger than the one first years used to travel across the lake but it was not massive. The inside of it was bigger than it looked. Within the boat, there were plenty of smaller rooms. The rooms were not massive, they could fit around 2 bunk beds, 4 trunks and a bit of space to walk around. Each room could house up to four students. The boat was mostly to provide accommodation to the students, but there were a few extra rooms that were utilised there.

Cabins are optional places for you to RP, if you wish to. You can create your own groups or find mates here, if you need to.

The New Ground Set up -
The grounds itself was set up with various equipment to allow for different activities. There was a long picnic style bench that was utilised during meal times. Near this bench, there was always coolers of water, juice and some snacks. Not too far away from that, there was a small playground style area. It rather big, actually. You could find the usual swings, slides, monkey bars or other climbing equipment there. You'd also find a net that could be adjusted to work for both badminton or tennis. A football style goal also appeared.

New IC Rules -
Students are trusted with more responsibility now, as they have been given permission to stay on the grounds outside of the usual school time. All usual IC rules apply but there have been extra rules implemented to ensure the safety of students. Students are permitted to swim in the 'pool' area of the lake between the hours of 9am to 6pm only. Buddy up if you're swimming and ensure you travel in groups of three. If someone gets hurt, this allows one person to stay with the injured party and the other to find help. 
(OOC rule - Appropriate clothing needs to be worn at all times to match with our site rating. This includes proper swimwear in the lake or water based activities.)

Train Times -
Students were free to choose if they wanted to stay at Hogwarts for a short while or throughout the whole summer. First years were also invited to join the event early. The first train departed on 30th June, returning on 1st July. The final train would leave one week before the end of August so that children who did spend most of their summer at Hogwarts could still see their family for a week, if they wished to.

Official Train Timetable:

Departure Timetable 1st train – June 30th 2nd train – July 14th 3rd train – July 30th 4th train – August 22nd

Arrival Timetable 1st train – July 1st 2nd train – July 15th 3rd train – August 1st 4th train – August 23rd 5th train - September 1st

Please be mindful of dates if your character is travelling back home / to Hogwarts. You can't be in two places at once so please plan your summer in line with the above dates.

Official Activity Timetable:
1st July - Summer BBQ
Anytime - Swimming in the Lake
Anytime - Summer Chores [Errand]
16th July - Stone-Skipping Contest
26th July - Bracelet Making
3rd August - Water Balloon Fight

These dates are purely IC. Events may start earlier/later OOC.