school holidays, bicycle, 3 year old, tent

[babymutha]

ok - from south london is it do-able to cycle and camp with a 3 year old?
I have a great bike seat, and even a trailer. I'm getting fitter.... ahem... my other half has to finish his coursework and I'm going to go bonkers without pre-school. We don't have a car and I can't drive. GOTOGETOUT!!!! Give me campsites and moral support please!

[MumblingRagDoll]

God I couldn't do it...not alone. What if you fell off and were injured miles from anywhere? I don't think its sensible with no other adult present...sorry. I am in a similar postion.

[bushymcbush]

I say go for it - sounds like an adventure and your 3yr old will love it!

Practicalities:

How will you keep the child occupied while you put up / pack down the tent?

Are you planning to travel by train then bike (giving you more flexibility on destination) or are you going to bike from home?

Make sure someone knows your exact route and that you check in with them at set times so they can check on your safety.

I'm excited for you!

[mel2005]

i would do it too, it will be an adventure, make sure someone knows where you are going. also if you have an iphone i think you can have that tracking app where someone can check where you are (i dont have an iphone but i heard that a wife put it on her DH phone to see where he went ) could you camp in friends gardens? or even better do you have a friend who could join you.
you could pop on the train with a bike (not sure about trailers but you could ask) once you have done it a few times locally you could go a bit further.

things you do need to think about would be...what will you do if you get a puncture? can you fix it? do you have any friends/family with a car you can call in an emergency (like an accident or something major goes wrong with your bike)

[mel2005]

can you set up a facebook mums group for other mums from your pre-school so you can arrange meetups in the summer. i set one up for the mums in my village and we are organising loads of things to do in the holidays so we dont go mad. its just things like den building, woodland crafts, fruit picking, trips to the park/woods/beach etc.
isnt there a lolipop festival in london at the start of aug? it looks fab.

[Blu]

Many nice campsites in Kent, but that's a hell of a bike ride away. On big busy roads.
What about going on the train to one of the sites that has ready-erected tents? Look on Campsite UK under 'specialist search' - look under the list of 'glamping'. PLaces like Welsummer seem to charge a v low amount for a ready set up and equipped tent - not sure how far from a station it is.
Or look up sites which are a mile or less from public transport - and see if any of those also have ready set up tents.

[ragged]

Josie Dew has done it, see if I can find a link.

[ragged]

I think JD does it with a big trailer, discussion thread here.

Another link for you.

[babymutha]

Don't think I'll be able to get trailer on the train so if I do train it, it'll have to be minimal kit all in panniers (the child seat is a wee-ride in front).
blu and ragged thanks for practical advice and the Josie Dew info - I will research further....

[ragged]

We took a folding trailer on train, but you are subject to whims of ticket collector letting big things on.