The new Diocesan camp site at Auchtembeddie in Manchester will be officially opened and dedicated on Saturday, June 24, starting at 10.00 a.m. with a Service at St. John’s Church which is next door the property.
The facility was previously operated by the Diocese as a Primary School. However, the institution was closed by the Ministry of Education in 2015 because of its low student population, among other factors.
With the sale of the Bishop Swaby Camp Site in Negril, Westmoreland, which could no longer accommodate the growing number of campers, the decision was taken to upgrade and convert the Auchtembeddie property.
The refurbished three-storey building has five dormitories which can accommodate up to 80 campers at a time; private sanitary facilities; a specialized audio visual room; a fully-equipped kitchen and a spacious dining/multi-purpose room. Games courts, terraced walkways with gazebos; a solar water heater; external water storage tanks; and enclosed caretaker’s quarters are some of the other features at the camp site.
The property is fully fenced and gated, with external flood lights for security. The new camp site will house its first occupants for the annual Diocesan Summer camps in July and August.