Gold Stars!
You can complete your DofE Gold Residential with Pathfinders Camp and, at the same time, gain life skills, enhance your CV and do something awesome that really makes a difference.
Pathfinders Camp brings together people with and without disabilities to enjoy camping holidays and caters mainly for women aged 18 and over. If you could help a disabled woman to have the time of her life on a well-equipped campsite based in Farnham in Surrey, we’d love to hear from you!
Working as a member of a small team, you will provide personal assistance and the encouragement that enables a disabled camper to play a full part in a range of activities, which will include cooking over open fires, music making, swimming in the outdoor heated pool, aerial runway, arts and crafts, disco, treasure hunts and campfires.
This opportunity is ideal for someone aiming to enter nursing, caring, medical, or teaching professions, amongst others. You will learn that ability is far more important than disability – and that we all have abilities.
Where: Woodlarks Campsite, Farnham, Surrey GU10 3RN
When: Sunday 16th – Friday 21st August 2026
Cost: £140 (after £55 discount for first-time attendees)
bursaries available
Pathfinders Camp is a registered charity and an Approved Activity Provider for the DofE, welcoming participants who are completing the residential placement of their Gold DofE Award.
Over 100 DofE participants have volunteered with us over the years. A good proportion of these volunteers have returned to Pathfinders Camp in subsequent years, becoming team leaders and crew members over time.
Naomi had a fantastic time… She has learnt through this experience so much that can’t be taught in a classroom and isn’t assessed in exams. Her absolute highlight was for her buddy’s achievement and [for her] being voted camper of the week. This experience will have undoubtedly changed her and will be an influence for many years to come.
Rachel – Mother of a DofE Helper
Reflections from the 2026 DofE Helpers
About a week after camp, we interviewed all of the DofE helpers, asking for their reflections in 8 areas. This is what emerged.
Overall Impression
The overwhelming impression was that Pathfinders is warm, welcoming, inclusive and community-focused. Many people arrived nervous or unsure what to expect, but quickly felt accepted and supported. Several commented on how quickly friendships developed and how willing everyone was to help one another.
Key message emerging from all the responses
Pathfinders takes people out of their comfort zones, teaches them practical caring and communication skills, and challenges them to see disability and inclusion differently. In return, participants gain confidence, empathy, resilience, friendships and a strong sense of achievement—all within a remarkably supportive community.
The feedback also strongly suggests that one of Pathfinders’ greatest strengths is the combination of high expectations and high levels of support: participants are trusted to take on meaningful responsibility, but they are not left to manage it alone.
How to Ace your DofE Gold Residential
Expedition Behaviour
On a DofE expedition, a student injured her ankle on day one. The group had a choice: adapt the trip so she could stay, or send her home and carry on. They didn’t hesitate. They adapted. That’s expedition behaviour.
The term was coined by a climber called Paul Petzoldt after spending months on K2 in 1938. He noticed something strange about big trips. The climbing skills weren’t the hard part. It was everything else. Whether people pulled their weight. Whether they stayed cheerful when things got tough. Whether they thought about the group, not just themselves.
He boiled it down to this: be as concerned for others as you are for yourself. Anyone who camped at Pathfinders when Ali was camp leader will remember that she gave the one instruction – think about the other person first…
On our camp at Woodlarks, you will see this all over the place if you look. It’s the person who notices someone seems a bit homesick, and takes the time to stay close. Not because they were asked. Not because it’s their job. Just because they noticed.
It’s the person who makes sure to get up extra early when they are on cook’s duty, because they know their buddy takes a while to get ready to face the day, but is really, really excited about having the chance to cook… It’s whoever volunteers to help feed a member of their patrol, because it isn’t right that one helper always ends up letting their own meal go cold… It’s the person who picks up a piece of litter from the field, because she truly believes in making the world just a little bit better than she found it.
None of these is heroic acts. They’re small decisions, made quietly, that make the difference between a week that works and one that grinds. Petzoldt’s simplest version: do your part, plus a little bit extra. Not a lot extra. Just a little. Just enough that the next person has a slightly easier time than they might otherwise have had.
That’s it. That’s what makes a week at Pathfinders work for everyone in your team.
