What do you wished you’d known when you started camping ?

[Lardlizard]

Ok I’ve done it once now, well for one night ! but I’m still a beginner really so start from the beginning what do you wish you knew before you started camping ? Any hint n tips ?

Costs a fortune if you want to do it nicely and dont know anyone to give you their stuff for free

That the ground is very hard and very cold. You need multiple squidgy layers between you and it.

Decent tent storage (and the ability the keep wet wellies and clothes out of the sacred dry main tent) is the difference between a lovely trip and a miserable one.

Also that camping is not the time to be too worried about bedtimes.

Doormat just inside the entrance and a big bucket for shoes. Sliders to slip on first thing in the morning

Take lots of extra layers and then some if you want to sit out at night, pack darker or patterned colour tops if DC little (show less marks), Crocs are great for going to the loo showers in the night or early morning across wet grass, I printed a list on the computer in sections and referred to it when packing.

A blanket or two underneath you (I stead of on top) helps a lot with warmth.

Don’t let yourself get cold in the evening. If you start to feel nippy, layer up or get moving.

Buy yourself some merino wool leggings and thermal top! And warm slippers that have proper soles for walking to the toilet in the middle of the night.

Not remotely stylish but absolutely brilliant slippers for camping https://www.thenorthface.co.uk/shop/en-gb/tnf-gb/mens-thermoballo-v-traction-mules-3uzn?variationId=KY4

It gets much colder at night than you think, take plenty of layers. It's nice if you have a tent that's big enough for you to sit in of an evening if it's raining.
Electric hook ups are brilliant!
Decent storage, somewhere to keep wet shoes and coats separate to bedding.
A small clothes rack to hang up wet towels
A box ready packed with, plates, cups, kettle, washing up stuff, basic condiments so that you don't have to remember it all every time you go, just grab the box and you are set

That it’s a lovely holiday for DH and DC but not for me.

Take the money you'd spend on stuff and spend it on a hotel instead 🙄🙄😂😂

Change into your sleeping clothes about an hour before actually going to bed so you’ve heated them up.

That a lot of people don't care how much noise they make or that tents are not soundproof. Karaoke machines, TVs, sound systems etc are not suitable camping equipment. Everyone will hate you.
Conversely... You can't expect other people's children to sleep past 7am just because you've had a few beers the night before.

Hot water bottles!!!

Buy some second hand proper wool blankets for under your sleeping bag, the real wool is warm but breathable and helps stop feeling damp. Buy a tent bigger than you think you need.

My friend spent ££££ on a huge tent, equipment, clothing etc. They went to a really nice campsite. It rained the whole time, she was washing up and dealing with mud and basically cried most of the time.

It's not for me but I feel the cold and love my home comforts!

I wish I'd known:
that it's always bloody freezing
that there will be an elephant or something cocking its leg against your tent in the middle of the night
that crows are really noisy at 4.30am when it gets light and wakes you up
that it's 10 miles to the toilets at 4.35am and they are also full of daddy long legses and spiders
that there is nowhere comfortable to sit and it's dead cold if you're sitting around
that the showers are freezing
that you have to go to bed dead early cos it's dark OR you go to the pub to stay up past 10pm and then you need a wee in the middle of the night
that everything gets damp and has bits of grass on
... and that hotels are lovely.

Wear a hat in bed . Not the Ascot type of hat. A fascinator won't cut it. Woolly hat, watch cap or or beanie 👍👍👍

You definitely need something comfortable to sleep on and you need to make sure you're not cold at night.

Oh and ear plugs are a great idea.

That you will want to divorce DH each and every single time you arrive at a campsite and start putting up the bungalow giant tent and that you will assume that a caravan will be easier except it isn't due to the fecking giant awning required to attach to the massive caravan you bought

• Our 1st blow up mattress was a plastic, blow up thing which burst the 1st week on a rock! We quickly upgraded to a thicker, heavy, canvas type blow up mattress

• Rather than a foot pump, we got a blow up device you stick in the cigarette lighter. Put the mattress on the car roof and blew it up on there, while we put the tent up.

• Get a torch with a hook to hang within the tent. ASDA do a hyper tough, 120 lumen one for £5 (yellow and black colour)

Hot water bottles and decent lamps/head torches for dark evenings. Layers are your friend at night, and Def get bed clothes on early. I always pack thermal socks and a hat to wear in bed too. And we use a duvet under the sleeping bags to help stay warm. Last time we camped in early Sept and even though it was still warm in the day at night it was a lot cooler than in May/June.
We have a rechargeable cool box which plugs into the car cigarette lighter but also freeze a 2L bottle of water which keeps the contents cool between charges.

Be prepared for the kids to be up and rearing to go with the sun, 5am is usual

That unless you're quite tough, it's not really a holiday!
I loved camping as a child, absolutely loved it.
Now with three kids it puts the fear into me.
We bought a folding camper earlier this year, sort of half a caravan (bottom half) and the top is still canvas. Much nicer for my old bones (I'm not that old just feel it)
Mind you was still cold last week at night, couldn't leave heater on as its on a plinth under the third bed, so I promptly bought a separate heater and will be using this at night this week! Couldn't go back to a tent, I need some home comforts.