In the UK we have the Caravan and Camping Club which my wife, Mally and I have long been members of. The club has smaller specialist interest groups, and our favourite is the Folk Dance and Music group. At one English Folk dance weekend we were invited to visit Germany and join the Folk camp in Zeilitzheim in rural Bavaria. Folk camp Germany eV offers an annual week in which participants of all ages and nationalities come together to enjoy traditional music, singing and dancing. The camp is held in the grounds of a magnificent village: Schloss.

Mally and I chatted about whether at our great age we should venture so far afield but as we had never visited Germany before we decided to plan a Grand Adventure across Europe, without really knowing what we were letting ourselves in for. Tickets and documentation for car and ferry booked in late July 2018 we set off from our home in Methley, West Yorkshire and via Dover and France. Our trusty Skoda was loaded to the hilt with bikes, camping equipment, musical instruments, food and found itself in Bavaria. Thanks to our GPS we discovered the tiny hamlet of Zeilitzheim.

The schloss or manor house commanded the centre of the village and was very easily recognised. We decided to arrive early so that we could be part of the camp set up team and we were welcomed with open arms. We were quickly set to work to turn the whole schloss into a music venue. The large garden accommodated all of our tents, the courtyard furnished with benches and tables became our eating area and outdoor music class. The huge cellar was our dance area and the kitchen just off the courtyard became the domain of an assortment of ladies (men banned except on BBQ day) Once the tents were erected and domestic duties completed on that first evening, we descended en masse to a restaurant in the nearby medieval town of Volkach to break bread and drink the wonderful wine of the region with our new friends. Already Mally and I felt included and part of the community. That evening, thoroughly tired and ready for bed we crawled into our tent wondering what the week ahead would bring.

It brought more campers, work, food and wine, and an invitation from a local farmer and landowner, Mr Herbert who invited us to his restaurant that evening, as he was very keen to promote his wines. Once we were all gathered and seated around very long tables, food and wine ordered, somewhere in the crowd, a fiddle began to play a jaunty dance tune, then an accordion joined in. A medley of other instruments picked up the tune and the room was awash with impromptu music and dancing. It was a great start to the week and a good time was had by all.

Each camp morning we were woken at 7 by the sound of a flugelhorn and summoned to breakfast in the courtyard, followed by music and dancing lessons until lunchtime. The afternoons varied from busking in Volkach town square entertaining the residents and tourists with Morris, clog, sword and square dancing. Our audience loved it and joined in whole heartedly. We went picnicking on the banks of the local river after a cooling swim and another time paraded through the village streets in fancy dress with music. Each evening, we ate wonderful meals al fresco in the courtyard rounded off with the music of a ceilidh band in the schloss cellar. The night's entertainment would be complete by the passing of a ‘hat’ and if you wanted to perform you donned the hat, stood up to deliver your piece. Mally became famous for her daily limericks on the day's events, and I sang sea shanties.

It did not matter that we did not share a common language, we shared all the camp duties and music filled the gaps and brought us all together for a wonderful holiday. We loaded our car, said our goodbyes wondering whether we would see our new friends again. We did return in 2019 but then the pandemic struck and closed down our travel. Although things are back to normal now age and health issues have caught up with us and we have been unable to return to share music, dancing and wine with our German friends, but we wish them well at Zeilitzheim for the next 40 years.