HUNDREDS of girl guides from across the county pitched up in Dorchester for a fun-filled week.

The Castervaria county camp saw 560 girls staying at the County Showground with visitors from local Brownie groups coming in during the day.

Activities on offer included zorbing, human table football, segways, a climbing wall and quad biking as well as balloon making, music, crafts, taekwondo and drama.

The girls were also able to enjoy an indoor star gazing dome and overnight trips to Brownsea Island.

During the evenings entertainment included a Lady Gaga tribute act, disco and ‘Castervaria’s Got Talent’ competition.

Leader in charge Meriel Dunham said months of planning had paid off as the week proved to be a real success.

She said: “It’s gone amazingly well, a team of about 12 of us have been planning this for eighteen months to two years and we have been meeting every two to three months and checking things through – it does take an awful lot of preparation.

“We have about 560 girls mostly staying all week from all over of county.”

Mrs Dunham added that the children had seemed to enjoy all the various activities and entertainment while the Castervaria’s Got Talent contest had showed just how gifted all the girls were.

She said: “That was a terrific evening, it wasn’t just singing, there was stilt walking and the girl who won it did poetry.”

The county camps are held every four or five years and this year’s event had a green theme with various recycling initiatives on site.

There was also a daily camp newspaper printed by Epic Printing in Dorchester while other local companies had also shown their support for the event including M J Fry which loaned out a buggy for the leaders to transport items around the camp.