You may find the following helpful if you are coming to Brockham Bonfire.

Firstly, it is very busy and if you do not live in Brockham you may have a

20 minute walk from a car park. The traffic is heavy so allow plenty of time. It is dark and whilst we provide some additional lighting you may be walking on un-lit country roads. Car Parks are well signposted, please do NOT PARK on the highway, pavement or restrict the movement of emergency service vehicles. The car parks are numbered, so please try and remember where you have parked! To park will cost £5.00 per car and this is one of our main income streams to pay for the firework display.

Additional buses run to and fro both Reigate and Dorking, leaving approximately every 30 minutes from 18.00. The ‘drop off and collection’ is a 15 minute walk from the Bonfire. Times will be posted when confirmed for 2007. Many people walk from Dorking, a brisk 30-45 minute walk; I’m told its great fun to follow the A25 and then walk through the ‘Old Coach Road’ directly onto the Village Green. Part of the Old Coach Road may be used as a car park so be aware of motor vehicles.

The centre of Brockham becomes a traffic exclusion zone from 17.30 until at least 22.30. This is for the safety of all Brockham residents and those attending the bonfire. Only residents are given passes that cannot get home by 17.30. Please ensure you use a car park. If the weather is atrocious alternative arrangement are made.

If you are a disabled badge holder we will try and get you as near to the bonfire as possible, but please contact us well in advance and we will do our best to accommodate you. The parking of coaches is difficult and we do need prior warning if your coach is to park anywhere near Brockham.

When you arrive in the centre of the village you will be greeted by ‘Bucket and Tin Collectors’. A voluntary donation of £2.00 per person is asked to support the various local charities and societies that we support. We stage the event to give you pleasure, your generosity in 2006 enabled us to give away in excess of £20,000 to local worthy causes. Dig deep into your pockets please!

Once on the Village Green as you await the arrival of Guy Fawkes and the procession our three catering stalls will be serving hot dogs, burgers, bacon rolls, soft drinks, tea, coffee and soup. This again helps to fund the firework display. Eat well and be merry.

You will also notice the ‘Pig Roast’. Prime pork that has been cooking for 12 hours will be auctioned in joints after the firework display. This is a site for much fun, banter, reunions and even proposals of marriage! The Pig Roast is a tradition dating back over 70 years.

One the Guy is fixed to the top of the bonfire over 500 burning torches will encircle the bonfire and when everyone is ready the fire will be lit. You’ll need good lungs, as cheering and clapping are compulsory. We do it bigger, better and noisier in Brockham. About 30 minutes after the bonfire is lit (very noisy) the firework display will begin (very noisy). Full audience participation is expected. Oohs and ahhs are again compulsory. The firing and throwing of your own fireworks is strictly prohibited and will be dealt with firmly by the Stewards.

We ask you to listen very carefully to the commentator and respond if Stewards ask you to move. Depending on the wind direction and the nearer you are to the Bonfire ash and embers may fall near you. It is not a night for designer clothes and high-heeled shoes. Old coats, boots, hats and scarves are the dress code.

Watch out for Bonfire bangle sellers; please only buy them from us. Hundreds of kids with bangles look great in the dark and again the profit from bangles is another contribution to the cost of fireworks. You may find we have some of our souvenir brochures on sale. Make sure you buy one!

Please take note of the large illuminated signs, especially north, south, pump and exit signs. Toilets are provided to both the north, between the two public houses and south, the Church end of the Village Green. The ‘pump’ is the ‘meeting point’, for friends, old and new. Safety instructions are given to the crowd using north and south of the bonfire as reference points. You need to know where you are to follow instructions.

All of the emergency services are present together with Bonfire Stewards to ensure your safety and enjoyment. All we ask of you is that you have fun, cheer and clap and give generously to our fundraising, listen carefully to the Public Address system and leave the Village in a slow orderly manner under the direction of the Stewards. Listen out for instructions, especially ‘if you are stood on grass and asked to stand still’. This allows us the clear the roads first and then those people stood on grass. Better still; eat more food from the catering stalls, which stay open until 22.00 or when the foods runs out!

Please put rubbish in the bins provided, or take it home with you, do not leave any litter in the car parks and respect the farmer’s fields that you have parked in.

If you come to Brockham Bonfire for the first time, remember, it’s a secret. Don’t tell your friends because we have enough people who attend already.