Red Shoot campsite August

[AnAirOfHope]

Hello

Ok so I have gone and done it...... I have booked a camping holiday in summer holidays

Its only the second time I have been camping and its for four nights, with my disabled dh, 8yo, 4yo and 22month old. Im scared

We have a huge 8 man tent that is 6m and its me and 8yo puting it up. I dint know what I will sleep on. What do I do with the toddler when im putting tent up and cooking?

I need to get a light or lamp as 4 yo is scared of the dark.

Is anyone else going? Has anyone been to red shoot before and what was it like?

Any tips or advice gladly welcomed

[AnAirOfHope]

fuck what have I let myself in for

[dreamingofsun]

red shoot is behind a pub in new forest....we are talking same site? Not been to the site but the pub is nice - food is good, popular. lots of walks in the forest around there, or you can go to the coast or nice towns such as fordingbridge.

i've put an 8 man tent up with my son maybe slightly older than yours. strength was the key thing and lack of strong wind. if people see you struggling they will probably help.

cooking - i would be very wary of, unless someone can look after the toddler. in which case a barbecue - cheap one.

I'd go and look at a camping shop for some ideas. roll up mats for kids are cheap and easy.

[AnAirOfHope]

Yep thats the one

Im going to go outdoors on the weekend to see what I can get cheap. The kids have sleeping bag but thats it so far.

[Quenelle]

We stayed there for four nights in September 2011. It's a nice, small site and the pub does great beer and food. It also does takeaway food, which might be a bit expensive for every night, but maybe one or two?

I remember the shower block was great. It has underfloor heating in the actual shower cubicles.

DS was about the same age as your youngest when we were there. As the site is quite small and there isn't really a lot of traffic he was ok wandering about a bit whilst we put the tent up. There's a separate, more enclosed little area as well, which would have even fewer cars, perhaps you could ask to go in there?

My abiding memory of that trip was being stuck between two tents, both of which were inhabited by very loud snorers . One of them snored so hideously his own children woke up screaming with terror in the middle of the night! So take ear plugs.

[Quenelle]

Just thought, how mobile is your DH? There are some pitches right at the top of the site, tucked just round the corner from the entrance/pub. That might be a better place to ask for than the separate field.

Oh, and about beds, we always take our duvet and pillows when we go camping. We've found it so much comfier than sleeping bags. For optimum comfort and warmth we layer as follows: foil-backed picnic blanket on floor (flattened cardboard boxes are meant to be as good), dual-chamber double and single airbeds side by side, opened out sleeping bag to lay on, then duvet and maybe fleece blanket on top.

We have two of these stoves. They're cheap, stable and safe and come in handy carrying cases. We bought cheap nonstick saucepans and frying pan from Wilkos. I hanker after a fancy camping set that packs away neatly but these do a great job for now. We always take a frozen homemade chilli and maybe a curry to just reheat on the first and second nights, serve with boil in bag rice or bread. DS couldn't reach the table from his camping chair so sat on the coolbox.

DS was fine around the stoves, didn't pay any attention in fact. We have a tent carpet so he was happy sprawling on the floor, playing with his cars and trainset.

I hope you all have a lovely time.

[AnAirOfHope]

Thank you, we are still processing the info. Its been really helpfull. Thank you.

I have another question about where did your toddler sleep and did they enjoy the camping?

Im worried her crying might disturde the people arpund us

We have a big tent so paid extra for the pitch so I think we will have to go where we are put.

The stove looks good and we will get pans and already have picnic stuff. Just sleeping mats to get for the boys.

I have a travel cot but we cosleep and still bf so I dont think she will sleep in travel cot. So im going to go with mats and duvet on flooor then duvet on top and take cot for when im cooking or need to keep her out of the way.

[Quenelle]

He slept between us. He absolutely loves camping. He likes the change of scenery and the relative freedom, even at his age he can still run about and get grubby etc. I wouldn't worry about disturbing neighbours, camp sites aren't generally very quiet in the early evening. And he might drown out the neighbours snoring in the middle of the night .

Travel cot as play pen is a good idea.

[Allegrogirl]

We stayed there for 4 nights last June with DDs aged 4 and 21 months. There were 3 other families with DCs about to start school and several toddlers so they had a great time with the other children. It was the friendliest campsite I have ever stayed on. Really easy to wander off the site and into the forest. I had some lovely walks with DD2 who was up at 6.00 every morning, just the ponies for company. It's a good base for day trips as well. The toilet and shower block was lovely and warm with the underfloor heating.

The play area could do with updating considering that it is a real family market they are going for. The children weren't bothered though. It got stupidly busy on the Friday night with people down for the weekend. There was a noisy group near us but luckily the kids were exhausted and fell asleep.

I'm sure you will have a lovely time. Our two absolutely loved it. DD2 slept in a travel cot and was lovely and cosy. She was exhausted by bed time from all the running around.