Bonfire Night, Brockham, Surrey

Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
Guy Fawkes and his companions
Did the scheme contrive,
To blow the King and Parliament

Ah the start of November! A time when the trees are in full orange, the nights are getting darker and colder, and fireworks begin to sparkle in the sky. I’ve always loved Bonfire Night, a celebration of Guy Fawkes’ failed plot. It wasn’t until I moved to Ireland, that I realised the slightly darker sectarianism element of the night, but for the vast majority of today’s celebrations it has been very much extinguished. All that is left is a night to wrap up, go out with friends and watch fireworks.  

When we were younger, every November we pilled into a car (7 in a metro was the record) and drove a short distance to Brockham (homemade brownies in tow).

I was slightly apprehensive about going back to Brockham, with childhood nostalgia you’re never really entirely clear about the quality of the experience. I guess it is a bit like drunk pizza. 

Driving to Brockham

We arranged to meet our friends, Mo and Sherry, at Camden and to drive with them down to Dorking. After a brief detour for a cup of Iranian coffee (which was very nice – they’re Iranian and Sherry’s mum made us a cup) and to pick up Mo’s camera, we left around 4pm. An hour or so later we arrived in Fetcham in Surrey where we picked up one of my old school friends (she had been part of the original 7 that had squeezed into a metro).

From there we wound our way around Boxhill to Surrey. Whilst we couldn’t see much due to the early nightfall, it is well worth a trip during the daylight. As well as being a famous road biking hill there are lots of woodland walks and nice pubs. I said to Ivan that I’d bring him back in the daytime.

We arrived in Brockham and followed the signs to the car parks. The car parks change every year but they’re generally well signposted. All roads to the village are closed around 6pm so it is good to be early, if not you’ll probably have a rather long walk from Dorking town centre.

Walking to the village green

We made our way to the village green; it is good to have a torch and walking shoes/wellies with you. Also wrap up warm as it is usually chilly!

We were just in time for the procession passing on their first lap of the village. They carry a model of Guy Fawkes around the village and gather more torch bearers with them. Anyone can join and if you don’t want to freeze waiting or stay and have some drinks, you better tag along and get a torch. Unfortunately, we decided to wait in the cold. On advice from the steward, we found a spot by the bonfire (it was about 8 meters high) and drank some mulled cider.

Lighting Guy Fawkes

After about an hour of shivering and the crowds growing larger, the commentator became more animated and shouted that he could see the torch bearers approaching; there were over 500 of them at the end.

We gathered around and watched as the Guy Fawkes was hoisted up a ladder, by a red devil (it is a tradition), to the top of the bonfire. As people threw their torches in, the fire began to roar and we were finally nice and warm. It is always magical watching flames dance and twirl.

Fireworks!

Guy Fawkes was followed by a pretty good fireworks display. They even had smiley faces!

After the fireworks were done, we made our way back to the car. As we were hungry we went for a Thai in Dorking (most pub kitchens were shut). Whilst it wasn’t quite Chiang Mai style, it wasn’t bad. 

Driving home

We then dropped off my friend in Fetcham and drove back to London. All in all it was a really good evening, the fireworks were really good, but what made it really special was the bonfire and village atmosphere. I would definitely go back again. The only thing I’d change is that in future it would be fun to join the procession and carry a torch; oh and I would also bring back the homemade brownie tradition!