John's Lee Wood was purchased at an auction sale held at the Bell Hotel in Leicester on 23rd September 1946 for the sum of £1,375.00. Mr C.Harry Walker, Mr G.R.Broughton & Mr H.T.Crofts (District Commissioner for Leicester) were at the auction to purchase the land.

Various working parties erected toilets, repaired fences & generally improved the site allowing it to be opened for camping on 27th September 1947. The Collier Hut was donated to the campsite by the Clarendon Park Methodist Church & the 6th Leicester Scout Group.

During 1949 a well was sunk within the site to provide a water supply. This has long since been capped off & replaced with a mains water supply. The Discovery Gates were presented by the Discovery Division on 22nd April 1950 & the obelisk near the gates was presented by Mr C.Harry Walker to commemorate the opening of the campsite.

The Dick & Phil Cabin was presented by Sir Arthur Curtis K.C.V.O., C.M.G., M.C., JP, D.L. the County Commissioner, in remembrance of Leicestershire Scouts who fell in both World Wars & was named after his two nephews who died in the 1939/45 war.

The original dedication service of the camp chapel was conducted by the then Bishop of Leicester, the Rt. Reverend G.Vernon. The original altar & log canopy have long since gone & the altar was replaced with the present stone built one in September 1995.

The Harry Walker Cabin was erected on the site during 1969/70 & first opened for use on 6th June 1970. The cabin was named after Mr C.Harry Walker who had been connected with the site since its purchase in 1946.

The Siggers Cabin was built in 1978 & became the new home for the Duty Warden teams. It took its name from Ray Siggers, a former Head Camp Warden.

The toilet/shower block was built by the Manpower Services Commission to modernize the site & come up to modern hygiene standards. It was built mainly as the result of the hard work & perseverance of Mr A.A.Gutteridge, the Head Camp Warden for many years. When the building was officially opened by His Grace the Duke of Rutland in March 1987 it was named the AAG block in recognition of this fact.

For many years the Providore had lived in the Dick & Phil Cabin. This prevented its use for anything else & was also a continual problem with break-in's on the wooden hut. To solve both problems the present brick built Providore building was erected & was officially opened in September 1991. The Providore bears a plaque to the memory of Mr Jack Smith who had been the Providore manager for many years as well as the camp treasurer.

The extension to the Harry Walker Cabin was built mainly by camp staff & volunteers in their spare time & this took some considerable time, eventually opening in 1995. Originally being known as the Walker extension, the cabin was then renamed the Alan Gutteridge Cabin on 10th May 1998 in remembrance of Alan who passed away on 24th January 1998 after 25 years as the Head Camp Warden as well as previous service in other roles.

The Dick & Phil Cabin was renovated during 1998/99 & work started on the new Millennium Activity Centre which was officially opened in May 2000. This contains ranges for Archery & Air Rifle Shooting & a tower for Climbing & Abseiling.

The Caving Experience was constructed by the staff & opened in September 2006.

In September & October 2006, the Gents shower block was modified to improve the flooring & the privacy in the showers. The Ladies section was also modified in 2007.

E-Team have drawn up plans & a budget for replacing the activity play area & work commenced in April 2007 & will be ongoing as finances allow. (See Pictures page)

During 2008 & 2009 the midweek working party, helped by the camp staff, worked hard to renovate the Chapel & the Altar. This was completed with a rededication service on Sunday 25th October 2009.

The Future.

There is always an ongoing process of maintenance & upgrading all the existing cabins & facilities around the site in general. We also hope to make further improvements to the Millennium Activity Centre.

We are always on the look out for more staff for wardens, activities, providore & the midweek teams so if your interested please talk to the Head Camp Warden.