If you are a seasoned camper, what would you recommend to a complete novice?

[AmbivalentCamper]

I'm very new to the 'great outdoors' thing. But my DH is very pro the idea of camping and wants the experience for the kids, and I'm happy to accommodate his desire, so I have agreed to a weekend where we go camping (providing it's not throwing it down.)

We have a tent, a stove and a kettle (given rather than bought, which is what's kicked off this whole episode.) . Cooking/eating apparatus, folding garden chairs and an air bed.

But as a camper, what would you recommend? (Either buying or adapting etc)

I feel like camping is probably one of those things where you upgrade and find your groove over time and experience, but I also would like to be prepared.

Any help gratefully appreciated 😁

Depending what the ground is like, rock pegs and a decent mallet. If the ground is stony/rocky, regular tent pegs will just bend and ultimately be useless.

I would also recommend camping in Europe. Campsites in France are a different level to anything you'll find here, and warm sunny weather makes a huge difference. I loved camping in France and did it for many years but could never get as enthusiastic about it here as the weather is such a huge factor for me (although have a caravan now, so happy to use that in the UK ).

You can cool beer or wine by wrapping a wet towel or wet paper tightly round the bottle and leaving it outside in a shaded spot
If you're only going somewhere for a few days, a Dishmatic, filled at home and placed in a sandwich bag, in case of leaks, saves taking a bottle of washing up liquid with you

I love camping, I have very fond memories of childhood holidays in a proper canvas and pole tent that wasn't much smaller than the downstairs of my house. Various festivals and wild camping with just a small tent, a sleeping bag and a Trangia. Dh is not a fan though, so we compromise and do something between the two extremes. Even though we sleep on camp beds and take tables and chairs and fairy lights, there's still something lovely about the sound of crickets outside the tent at night and the quiet of a rural campsite in the early morning. I hope you enjoy it @AmbivalentCamper

If you have any old cotton rugs they are really useful inside the tent. Feels nicer underfoot and you can shake them out.

Foldable and stackable boxes are great for keeping all kinds of stuff in.

If you have a hanging shoe organiser and somewhere suitable to hang it that's an incredibly useful place to put all the miscellaneous stuff - keys, wallets, sunglasses, etc.

When you're there - layer up BEFORE you get cold. It's really hard to get warm once the cold has set in at night. Start layering up as soon as you feel cool in the evening. For me the first sign of evening is getting socks and trainers on instead of flip flops.

Enjoy it. I hope you get good weather as it really does make all the difference.

Second an electric hookup. One time, I took a TV with built in DVD player!

Oh and an emergency tent repair kit. We'd gone out for the day, came back to a woman sobbing because she'd put her tent up, a gust of wind took one of her poles which tore into our tent causing a large tear.

I hated it the first couple of times, we borrowed a small tent and literally had the basics. We continued going as DH wanted to go with his friends and then I had friends who showed interest.

We then bought a larger tent of our own, so had plenty of room for our bags, we could sit inside if cold or bad weather at our table and chairs, and also a unit for storing and preparing food made it so much easier. Short-term you probably won't be able to do this, so I'd say go prepared for the weather - sun lotion is a big must even if weather is iffy. Extra socks, trainers or even wellies for DC is a particularly wet couple of days. I find a blanket really good for the evenings, as you can wrap yourself in it or put over your legs, and then it's an extra layer on top of sleeping bags/quilts.

Reading the comments on here I suggest your first action should be buy a much bigger car to fit everything in!

We bought a tent which is definitely too big but it was great for rainy days.

The best thing of all was the awning - it made so much difference to have sheltered indoors and outdoors.

We camped a lot when I was a child and I still feel a huge sense of joy when I wake up in a tent. It's a great thing for kids IME. It puts you all in the present together.

The last time I camped, in the forest in the Dorgogne, at 3am a something came to the side of the tent, snaffled to the left of me, went behind me, then to the right and by the time it got to the door, I'd booked a hotel in Paris from my phone, for the remainder of the trip. The size of the thing was between 2 and 3ft tall, but I never saw it in the flesh. I didn't sleep a wink and got up at sunrise to start packing. My OH slept through the whole thing. We had gone before 8am.

It had already been a nightmare due to the 40 degree in the shade temperatures, the walk to the toilets was 250 steps up a hillside. Everything melted. The only respite we had was driving to somewhere and the car having air con.

Never again. I'd camped in various countries since the 1970s, we'd had a camper van, again driving it around Europe and the UK for years. But when it goes wrong it really goes wrong.

Wild boar?

I always take a decent camping chair, with a good seat and supportive back. I’m at that age.

I have a shoe storage thing that hangs up, full of lighters, string, bungies, magnetic hooks, s hooks, wet wipes; all the little things that generally get lost.

shewee, or similar.

Oh, and when you pack the tent up at the end of the trip, make sure you haven’t left anything in that little pocket on the inner liner before you fold it up and cram it back into the bag. Especially something important like your car key. Ask me how I know … 🙄

Nice boil in the bag curries from the Indian shop plus boil in the bag rice. Easy, tasty dinner with hardly any cleanup.

Pancake mix in the bottle. The one you just add milk to.

Wooly hats. Even in summer.

Me too! I found the spare car keys in there two years later 😆

Would have been ok if I’d had a spare! Much anxious searching of camp site, bags, car etc before it was discovered.