Paxwood Campsite

Paxwood is a holiday, campsite and outdoor activity centre owned and run by the 4 Girlguiding Kent Counties.

It is situated on a large wooded, rural site in Wilmington, Kent and is available for camps, residential stays as well as weekday, evening and weekend activities.

Paxwood Hall and Paxwood House are both fully equipped for a residential stay.

There is an on-site male Warden

You can read the history of Paxwood in the Paxwood Story by Helen M. Grant.
You can read the history of the Wates family on the Brian Wates Website

Paxwood House is the original building on site that has been extended and refurbished.

Total accommodation is for 26 people, comprising:

Ground floor:
- Entrance lobby with coat hooks and shoe racks
- Main hall with doors to an outside terrace with seats, tables and patio umbrellas and a grassy play area
- Craft room with tables, stools and storage areas
- Large fully equipped kitchen with:
  - Large gas cooker
  - Tall freezer
  - Tall larder fridge
  - Plenty of cupboard and shelving space for storage
- First aid room with hand washing sink
- Fully accessible suite which sleeps two in single beds with en-suite facilities.

1st floor:
- Two en-suite dormitories with bunk beds each sleeping 10

A Leaders’ room with 4 single beds and en-suite facilities

Paxwood Hall accommodates 39 people and consists of:

Ground floor:
- Entrance lobby with coat hooks and shoe racks
- Accessible toilet and shower
- Large hall with doors to covered veranda and a grassy play area
- Leaders’ room for 7 with 1 set of bunk beds, 5 single beds and en-suite bathroom
- Bathroom with showers & toilets
- kitchen with:
  - large gas cooker
  - 3 fridges
  - 2 freezers

1st floor:
- Two dormitories with bunk beds which sleep 8 each
- One large dormitory with bunk beds which sleeps 16
- A quiet room with settees and bean bags
- First aid room and separate toilet opposite

Woodlands Campsite

Woodlands is the main campsite and is fully equipped for camps including traditional ridge patrol tents, lightweight patrol tents, marquees and a large event shelter , or you may prefer to bring your own equipment.
Woodlands has its own campfire circle.

There are 3 flushing toilets, 2 showers, hand basins, H&C water, light & heating.
Sylvia’s, a 30 x 12 ft dry shelter has electricity, fridge/freezer, kettle and microwave, plus tables and benches.

Orchards Campsite

Orchards site is only suitable for a small or overnight camp as it has the zipline along one side and Nina's activity hut at one end.
It has 2 flushing toilets, hand basin, light & H&C water.
A campfire circle which is shared with Paxwood House.
Orchards can be booked with Nina's for evening activities.

For more photos please check the gallery.

The ‘Jam Roll’ caravan was donated by Countess Gravina, she was a life-long member of the Guides and was District Commissioner for Malling and Headcorn and Division Commissioner for Weald. Apart from raising her three children in the caravan, she led mountaineering expeditions and in 1962 led a four-woman team to climb three un-climbed peaks in the Himalayas. Her husband, Count Gravina was a conductor and the great-grandson of Liszt.

The Countess died in 1990 aged 85 and a receiver of the Girl Guide Beaver Award.

The original caravan was cream and white inside and green on the outside but was repainted by Sevenoaks Division Guides to the colours we have today, yellow, green and red. It was named Jam Roll after the nick-name given to the Rolls-Royce that was presented to Lord Baden Powell at the Scout Jamboree in 1928 – the Chief Guide, Olave Lady Baden-Powell, opened the renovated Paxwood in 1957 and was more than happy to have the name given to the caravan. She was also happy to have rooms in the house named after the names of their early homes; names such as Pax Hill, Pax Tu, Ewhurst and Mynthurst.

We would like to repair the flooring and replace any rotten beams and supports as well as move it onto a flat, stable base to preserve it for many years to come.

As well as renovating Jam roll, we would like to turn it into an activity room for the users of the campsite, (which includes local schools), with a display explaining the history and heritage of the campsite and Jam Roll.

This will take a while and we will keep you updated with the latest news and progress with Jam Roll's renovation.

If you would like to donate to the 'Save Jam Roll fund' please visit our Gofundme page

We are also one of the Co-op's chosen charities this year. If you shop at the Co-op, please select our cause https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/88532 to enable more money to be collected for the restoration of Jam Roll.

Take part in the Jam Roll Challenge badge as a unit or as an individual Jam Roll challenge badge syllabus

Storage unit available to rent

Secure, shelved storage cupboard 4x2 m available for rent from 1st January, £40 a month. Currently used for camp equipment. Suitable for Unit/District/ Division/ County storage of camp equipment, PR resources etc. etc
Contact paxwoodcampsite@yahoo.com for further details or to view.

Jam Roll challenge badgeA fun challenge badge has been launched to raise funds for the renovation of the Jam Roll caravan.

All details for ordering the badges can be found on the back page of the syllabus which can be downloaded from here: Jam Roll challenge badge syllabus

Jam Roll fund update

Choose Girlguiding Paxwood Campsite – Jam Roll Restoration as your Local Community Fund cause on the Co-op app for a chance to win £500 for you and £5,000 for us. If you win, so do we! Every time you spend £5 @coopuk, you’ll be entered into the Winners Share It All prize draw. Start swiping your membership card today.

New Climbing activity on Orchard site

A new Traversing Forest has been installed on Orchard site after funding was received from Girlguiding HQ Adventure Fund.

There are a variety of activities, both indoors and outside, available at Paxwood.

There is a small shop on site for souvenirs and pocket money purchases.

Why not have an evening at Paxwood when your girls can use the activities on site, do some outdoor cooking, have a campfire at one of our 4 campfire circles and enjoy being outside in a lovely naturally wooded area.

You can make a base in Sylvia’s on Woodlands which has portable lanterns and some basic cooking equipment, tables and benches, or in Nina’s.

Outdoor Activities
Geocaching on site	Campfire
Fitness trail / circular swing / slide	Orienteering
Trampoline	Outdoor cooking
Zip line	Pond dipping (1st May-30th September)
Play the giant xylophone	Wildlife watching (Badgers / Owls / Bats)
Bushcraft equipment	Nature trail around site (1.5-2hours – can be shortened)

Indoor Activities

Pyrography pens and wooden shapes

Parachutes

Musical instruments

Craft

Cooking

Table tennis

Games Equipment
Skipping ropes	Football goals	Space hoppers
Bat and Ball sets	Soft, hard, small and large balls	Hockey
Badminton set	Hula hoops	Rounders
Cricket set	Giant draughts	Giant pick up sticks
Netball posts	Giant Jenga	Hopscotch
Mini tennis set

Nina’s Activity Hut

All these activities are fully resourced and free to use when booking Nina’s for nature activities as a stand-alone booking or as part of the 4 hour slot allocated to residential bookings.
Each activity is in a labelled tray with equipment, ID guides, leaders’ info sheet and girl activity sheets.

Nature themed word searches / games / quizzes / puzzles

Scavenger hunts

Twilight trails

RSPB funded seasonal nature activities, nature trail & Brilliant Birds activity box

You may now have a whole group of girls who haven't experienced a residential event so why not book a Mini Residential or an Away Day to prepare them. Paxwood Hall or House will be available for a day at half term 8am-8pm, maybe even start with breakfast!
All the site activities and facilities can be used (subject to sharing with other groups on site), do some UMAs, Skills Builders, badges, cooking, crafts or just enjoy being outdoors.

Costings:
Paxwood Away Day in House or Hall £10 per head including gas and electricity.
Now the full residential bookings are starting again, we can only do this mid-week in school holidays.

To Book:

Contact Rosemary, booking secretary, 01322 222514 or for more details contact us at paxwoodcampsite@yahoo.com
Give your preferred location, House or Hall, and date
We will reply with guidelines for your visit and the site risk assessment

Team building and Volunteering

22 members of KCC Major Programmes Department enjoyed a day at Paxwood. They had a team building meeting in the morning then volunteered on site clearing and stacking overgrown bushes and trees. Their efforts made a huge difference to the woodland area and was very much appreciated.
Thank you to Isla and her team.

Thank you to the staff and pupils from Dartford Science and Technology College who helped at Paxwood on their community day by painting the camp shop and cleaning windows in the buildings.

A huge thankyou to Guide leader Kay and her workcolleagues from Costain who volunteered for a day to help with shrub/ tree clearance on site.

To hire Paxwood for children's birthday parties you will need to have a contact or be members of Girlguiding.

The facilities available will be the Hall main room, kitchen and bathroom. Maximum 20 children and 8 adults.

Availability will be Monday-Thursday in term time 2-5 pm or 5-8 pm with half an hour either side to set up and pack away; school holidays by negotiation depending on residential bookings.

Hirers will need to sign a contract of hire.

Hire costs
To secure the booking, the following must be paid in full:
Non-refundable deposit	£25
Balance of hire	£25
Admin, cleaning, opening and closing	£20
Damage liability fee	£50
Total payment for event	£120
On satisfactory completion of event, £50 for damage liability will be refunded

If interested in using the hall for a party or indeed any other activity which might fit with our ethos, please contact us for further information and discussion.
paxwoodcampsite@yahoo.com

To find out more information on the different sites, availability and fees please send an email to paxwoodcampsite@yahoo.com and include your name, unit and county.

Booking fees do not include utility charges, these will be added on after meters have been read at the end of the event. Our utility fees are dependent on the current energy suppliers contract and you only pay for what you use during the hire. Please inquire if you would like to know approx. usage costs from previous groups to help you budget.

Weekend bookings run from Friday PM to Sunday PM.

Every residential booking includes use of all on-site activities including 4 hours use of Nina’s activity – time slot must be booked with the Warden.

Fees may be increased each year, notice will be given if your booking may be affected.

Paxwood Residential Fees 2026
	1st Oct-30th April	1st May-30th Sept
Guides House: minimum charge 12 people Hall minimum charge 26 people	£14 per head per night £28 per head per weekend (Fri night to Sun pm)	£13 per head per night £26 per head per weekend (Fri night to Sun pm) Woodlands campsite £6 per head per night
Scouts House: minimum charge 12 people Hall minimum charge 26 people	£15 per head per night £30 per head per weekend (Fri night to Sun pm)	£14 per head per night £28 per head per weekend (Fri night to Sun pm) Woodlands campsite £7 per head per night
Other youth groups eg Churches, Schools House: minimum charge 12 people Hall minimum charge 20 people	£20 per head per night £40 per head per weekend (Fri night to Sun pm)	£18 per head per night £36 per head per weekend (Fri night to Sun pm) Woodlands campsite £9 per head per night
	Fees include gas, electricity, regular professional cleaning and use of all on site activities.

Casual Fees
Site	Whole day cost Per head	Half day or Evening Per head cost	Deposit required
Nina’s activity hut on Orchards site & campfire circle	£5	£3 or £10 per hour (Maximum 30 people, excl activities)	N/A
Sylvias on Woodlands campsite	£5	£3	N/A
Hall Ground floor	£6 (Minimum charge £120)	£3	N/A
House Ground floor	£6 (Minimum charge £75)	£3	N/A
House/ Hall Ground floor Away Day 8am-8pm	£10 (Including utilities)	N/A	N/A

How to Book

You can view and download information on the campsite such as risk assessments and maps on our Documentation page.

Cancellations

The deposit in non-refundable. If a booking is cancelled your deposit will be returned to you if the property is re-let.

If a booking is cancelled less than 10 weeks prior to the event, the minimum charge of £200 per night booked for the Hall and £120 per night booked for the House will be required. This is not payable if the period is re-let.