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Am I mad to do first camping trip in a field with no toilets?

9 replies

carriedawayannie · 02/05/2013 21:54

I am really looking forward to our first camping trip with 5yo and 2yo dc. I had planned to spend the weekend in our local country park during May half term. The idea was to set up after school on Friday and then dh would go to work Saturday morning straight from the campsite and return after work and we would have the rest of the weekend together.

However when I went to book tonight, we can only stay for the Friday night as the weekend is booked up.

The other problem I discovered tonight was price. To camp includes the price of the day admission to the country park. I was thinking camping could be an escape to the local countryside on nice weekends that wouldn't blow the budget. At these prices camping wouldn't happen as often as I'd hoped.

Dh has to work every Saturday morning so it needs to be local, if we waited for his annual leave we would hardly ever be able to camp.

So I've had a look around at local sites and it seems they are few and far between.

However there is a site which offers a field. And you can rent a flushing toilet for £5 a day. There is a playground in the adjacent field apparently. To me this is heaven. Peace and quiet. Exactly what I imagined camping would be. Family time.

Dh doesn't seem that keen though and thinks we should book for the one night in the country park.

I think that if we do that, 5yo dd1 will associate camping with all the frills of the local country park ( numerous parks, special events, water play, arts and crafts) and everything after that ie just a field, would be an immense let down.

Am I barmy to be considering this though?

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CatsCantFlyFast · 02/05/2013 21:56

No, just give it a try. I'm with you that it sounds lovely, and if its not simply book the country park one next time! However I'm sure you'll all love it and have a fab time

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Bunbaker · 02/05/2013 21:57

If your husband has to get ready for work and has no access to proper washing facilities then I can see why he isn't keen. Personally, I wouldn't want such rudimentary facilities either - been there, done that and now I can afford something a bit better.

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carriedawayannie · 02/05/2013 22:15

Yes I hadn't really considered that

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carriedawayannie · 03/05/2013 09:17

He can grab a shower at work although that would mean getting in a bit earlier

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DaveMccave · 03/05/2013 11:23

It's definitely worth a go. Can you have fires on both sites? That should be exciting enough for weekend trips for the dc's, and I'd save the country parks for proper holidays.

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carriedawayannie · 03/05/2013 11:26

No I don't think there are fires on either site?

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gerbilsarefun · 03/05/2013 21:15

For future times, have a look at The Camping and Caravanning Club website. They have sites called certificated sites, these are small and basic - usually just a field on a working farm, and fairly cheap but some have toilets and showers. There is a joining fee, £42 for a year but worth it IMO.

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Mother2many · 10/05/2013 17:05

Easy...take a child's training potty with you...and place it behind the tent/camper, or whatever... I did...and it's totally possible!

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TunipTheVegedude · 10/05/2013 17:09

I wouldn't want to go to work after a night camping tbh. I love camping but you can often get very little sleep due to random things like noise or weather or being less comfortable than you thought.

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