Camping

[O Dogg]

Ok, well I like being outdoors so decided that I would buy a tent for the family and go away camping this week.

We have bought everything we need and will be leaving in the next couple of hours and not getting back until the weekend. Luckily the weather is great so we wont have to struggle putting the tent up on wet grass.

We have already tried putting the tent up to make sure that we have a good idea of how to do it before going away.

Got a really good deal for our pitch, 4 nights for £45 (that is for 3 of us plus a dog). Would have usually cost £136 but they have 70% off camping for June. The campsite has a pool, and plenty of entertainment, so should be great.

So how many of you enjoy the outdoors and camping?

Will try and get some photos taken whilst we are away to share with you all.

[beadsbydesign]

We bought a tent 3 years ago. It was so big that it overhung two pitches. The woind blew, the rain fell (standard for all our camping trips!)
We sold that tent on Ebay and made a profit... then we did our research and bought a which recommended tent.... stilll enormous! We go a couple of times a year and prefer the no frills camp sites where there are just loos and a shower. We went over the bank holiday weekend and had a great time but the weather was the worst yet and we came home freezing with a very very soggy tent etc.
Now people have said to us "when are you next going because we'll stay at home"
I did once forget one third of the tent and DH had to travel home again to get it while we spent the day fishing and eating ice cream!

[JBJB]

So how many of you enjoy the outdoors and camping?


Not many! Check out this thread

http://www.craftsforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5168&highlight=iceland

[O Dogg]

We were going to chose just a normal cheap camp site, however because it is nice and cheap to go here, we thought why not! As it is our first time as a family, we want to ease ourselves into it haha.

This will be our main holiday this year as we are pretty broke, so it will be nice to have the entertainment.
As long as all goes well, we will be going several times this year (which is another reason we had to stop doing our market stall). These other times will more than likely be just a field with toilets. We will make our own entertainment.

When we were putting the tent up to trial it, the wind was blowing a gale almost lol. Was difficult, but we managed it. Hopefully it will be a little easier today as the weather is lovely outside.

[O Dogg]

Not many! Check out this thread
the link

lol would never have guessed that was a camping thread by the title. Thank you for pointing it out to me. Ill have a read :)

[Apple Tree Crafts]

....we started camping many years ago as, with four kids, it was the cheapest option. I can't hack two weeks of sitting on a packed beach in some tourist packed place like Spain....

Our favourite campsite is on Exmoor as it's just over an hour away and we can go home if it rains (definitely a fair weather camper, me). It's called Westermill Farm, and it's very cheap. It's basic, but constant hot showers etc, and there's washing up facilities, and a laundry.

It's in a valley with the river Exe running through it. My kids love it and at 21, 17, 13 and 10 it's hard to find something that they all like! I take shedloads of reading or handsewing and my time's my own until mealtimes. At night it's pitch black with no light pollution, so you get to watch the meteor showers and shooting stars.

Even cooking's less hassle there and it's the only time my kids wash up willingly. Which is odd, because they have to wash up there and at home we've got a dishwasher....

We always get two spit roasted supermarket chickens for the first night and have chicken & tortilla wraps. It's hilarious when you put them out on the table - other campers wandering past wonderng how the hell you roasted chickens.....!

Not sure we'll get much camping done this year, what with all the craft fairs taking up our summer. We can't take our usual two weeks in Switzerland either, because our holiday money has gone into setting up the craft fair business.

Jules

[O Dogg]

Thank you very much for that post.
Sounds like a great place to go camping, and the sort of place that would interest us.

The good thing about going to Tenby today is the fact it is just over an hours drive from us so if anything goes wrong, we can easily pack up and come home. My daughter is only 18 months old, so we are hoping she enjoys it. It is her very first experience of sleeping in a tent so I can imagine some sleepless nights ahead of us ;)

[Apple Tree Crafts]

...this is the second time I've posted this. No idea where the first post went...


My SinL takes her two camping, they are 2 and 6 months. The oldest runs round like a loony all day and then is flaked out by 6pm. Although he's awake early in the mornings because of the light streaming through the tent.

They went camping a fortnight ago, and it was the baby's first trip. SinL said she was great, but they do need to paqck a lot of stuff for a baby!

Jules

[Annette]

At least you should have good weather this week AND you won't have hoards of holiday makers to contend with. I grew up in Pembroke, we used to go to the beaches at Saundersfoot and Amroth.

Have a great time, hope you've packed your bucket and spade:mf:

[icecreamgirl]

Last time we went camping in our tent was to a campsite in Brendon, Devon.Just a field next to a stream, in which the men and children in the party ( there was about 30 of us) washed and played.For us girls we rigged up one of those big 'bladder' type showeres that you leave to warm up in the sun, we then attatched it to a pole and had a shower tent around it. I would never have believed how lovely and warm those get just from the sun!!We had a fab time, singing around the camp fire everynight, and we all too moterbikes in the back of the vans/on trailers (some people even rode them all that way-stuff that!!)So we could go exploring over exmoor.Fab.... Our tent is canvas which is great for the hot weather-none of that waking up in the morning sun thinking you're gonna die!!Mind you the tent dosn't get out much these days now we have the Reo....

[O Dogg]

Definately hope the weather stays hot and sunny.

Well we will be leaving soon and wont get back until the weekend, so I will let you all know how we get on.

[Potter Doodle Doo]

We've camped for the past 3 summers and thoroughly enjoy it. We have a huge tent that's supposed to be able to sleep nine (only 3 of us). It has 3 bedrooms, one of which we usually use for storage. However, we've just bought a caravan that we're going to go and pick up at the weekend. Hopefully no more miserable wet nights now lol.

[O Dogg]

I grew up with Caravan holidays - used to travel up to Flamingo Land each year near Scarborough. Used to love it. My parents would sleep in the Caravan with my sister, and I would sleep in a 2 Man pup tent with my best mate. They were the good old days :)

[icecreamgirl]

Flamingo Land!!!!!When we lived in Yorkshire (i was about 8) we went there on camping holidays, my sister and i used to dance at the club on a night to 'Come on Eileen' and in the daytime we wouldgo and see the urangutang!!Got piccies of us sat on Scarbough beach in our Kagools.... Enjoying ourselves!!'!!!!!!!!Them were the days....

[candles by lisa]

But where do you plug in the hair dry and straightners in a tent?

hehe

Lisa

:o

[Potter Doodle Doo]

I grew up with Caravan holidays - used to travel up to Flamingo Land each year near Scarborough. Used to love it. My parents would sleep in the Caravan with my sister, and I would sleep in a 2 Man pup tent with my best mate. They were the good old days :)

Been quite a few times to Flamingo Land, but to be honest, never really liked it. As a kid, our family holidays were spent in a caravan in Cleethorpes. Some good times ... that was until my second brother came along and mum and dad couldn't afford to take us away every year with another one to feed ... then a third brother came along and that was enough so I left home lol.

Flamingo Land!!!!!When we lived in Yorkshire (i was about 8) we went there on camping holidays, my sister and i used to dance at the club on a night to 'Come on Eileen' and in the daytime we wouldgo and see the urangutang!!Got piccies of us sat on Scarbough beach in our Kagools.... Enjoying ourselves!!'!!!!!!!!Them were the days....

We sound very similar in age ... so many memories coming back there on that one. I'm guessing that many more of us had t-shirts with 'RELAX' displayed on the front .... or is it just me and I'm really old and sad? lol



But where do you plug in the hair dry and straightners in a tent?

hehe

Lisa

:o

Lisa, don't panic lol. I take a long lead with me that I had a friend make ... reaches all the way from home to my tent roflmao. Seriously, after the first year of freezing our bottoms off, I had a hook up lead made and from then on we took the portable heater / cooler with us and my trusted hair dryer.

[willowmax]

We had to give up camping a few years ago after a very noisy trip where Max barked at everything and we ended up with a Squirel in our tent which did not go down well.

We decided we still wanted to go away so we bought a very old (24 years old) caravan that hopefully is still dry inside.

I say hopefully - we are going away in it this weekend which will be our first this year. We store it down in Sidmouth so it is only about 1.40 hours drive so it is really quick and easy to get to.

I love it - we are also able to take our craft stuff with us so we can get busy whilst sitting in the sunshine and not get too worried about the state of the house and the fact that I have not done the housework for ages.

Roll on the weekend I say:playball:

[beadsbydesign]

..


We always get two spit roasted supermarket chickens for the first night and have chicken & tortilla wraps. It's hilarious when you put them out on the table - other campers wandering past wonderng how the hell you roasted chickens.....!

Jules


great minds think alike!!
we live on spit rosted chicken, a bag of ready washed salad and a tin of sweetcorn!

bagette and cheese for lunch

[O Dogg]

Just got back now, and had a fantastic time. Weather was lovely there. Had a few probs with the dog barking at all hours - so we had to take him to Cardiff for my mother to dogsit for us lol. Didnt want to get thrown off the campsite, and it would have been unfair for the others if we had kept the dog there.

The baby was really good though. The first night was difficult, I think she was scared in the tent - but after that, she was great. We would put her in the bedroom compartment, with only the one zip done up to stop insects, but so she could see out and we could see her. She settled down fine like that, and once asleep, we would then jump get in the bedroom. She wouldnt go to sleep with us in there with her - she much preferred to jump on daddy, and pull mummys eyelids open etc lol.

So overall, had a great time.

[beadsbydesign]

So would you do it agains then?

[O Dogg]

lol yes :)
Already planning our next trip away.