To wonder why people enjoy camping

[SirJamesTalbotAndHisSpeculum]

I can't think of anything worse. I know people enjoy it but I can't understand why anyone would want to be nowhere near a bathroom or kitchen. or anywhere comfortable to sit. Not only that, if the weather is awful you get cold. Or wet. Or far too hot. I just don't get it.

Tell me why I'm wrong.

Obviously a Marmite issue going on here ha. So each to their own.

Not for me though ever. You will never convince me otherwise sorry about that.

The logistics alone are bringing me out in a rash....but that's fine, I am sure the camping people know the score and good luck to you. Enjoy

I come out in hives at the thought - its the lack of privacy and general discomfort. Whenever iv'e been, its so noisy! People chatting whilst i'm trying to sleep in a cloth box. Then theres all the junk you need to pack to make it comfortable. Its not even cheap anymore -a friend recently invited me, £50 a pitch plus the cost of the tent and equipment! I stayed in a Premier inn..

Love it, but it has to be wild or wildish camping. Large campsites are my idea of hell, that's not camping that is just hell in a tent with far too many neighbours.

We have all the proper kit, including a toilet tent! I couldn't camp with just the basics, a large tent with a proper living room and separate bedrooms is a must.

Things we love about Wild & Wildish camping in the UK.

1. the quiet
2. no light pollution, star gazing
3. good walks
4. Getting a proper break from technology
5. cooking over a fire
6. donning the waterproofs to walk to the nearest pub for food when it's raining.
7. Exploring everywhere.
8. getting absolutely filthy and not giving a flying monkey about how we look.
9. Completely relaxing

So apart from the obvious discomfort (let us discount campervan expeditions) and no running water/electricity/being close to bugs/having to listen to a good deal of noise...….

…….it also seems that it isn't cheap.

Hmmmm.

I’ve just now come back from camping for 5 nights, and it’s my best holiday of the year, and it generally is.
But it all hinges on loving nature. If your idea of heaven is being outside, and your favourite smells are woodsmoke and the sea, then it’s going to work. I get my beeds met by that , and get claustrophobic ( mentally not literally) in air con/ bad ventilation etc.
To me everything is improved by being outside, food tastes better, my body is more relaxed, I feel more alive and relaxed.
Though o must say I’m not tempted by some of the noisy electric hookup campsites described on this thread.
We’re all different, and it’s a bloody good job or all my favourite fields would be too full!

I'm another who just doesn't get the attraction of camping. DH persuaded me to try it once and it was horrendous. Never again.

Why would I want to be less comfortable on holiday than I am at home? Why? I'd rather have no holiday at all.

Why do I want to drive for ages to get to my destination and then even have to build my own accommodation? That's beyond shit!

Why would I want to cook breakfast or dinner in the rain or eat my meal in drizzle?

I didn't like being miles from the toilets and they were pretty grim anyway. Ditto the showers.

It was not a holiday and we took the tent to the dump soon afterwards. Not for us.

But what do wild campers do in the night for a number 2, do you have to dig a hole in the middle of the night? (thinking rain and slugs!)

I just love being outside

Not a fan of tents though and normally make a bivvy or sleep out under the stars if the weather is good

Food tastes better for some reason when you cook it in adverse conditions with crap technology

We camp out all year round. I mean I live inside obviously but we don't restrict camping to summer. Think the coldest night ive slept out was -10c

OH doesn't love it at all, although she's coming round to it since finding out what sleeping in a decent down bag, on a top level ground mat is like. It's better than any bed I've slept in.

I am weird though I slept on the floor from when I was 13-21

callmeadoctor from a couple of the posts on here I presume that digging a hole to crap in is exactly what they do, whatever the time of day or night.

Wouldn't appeal to me. I'm no particular snowflake, just really couldn't be arsed with that.

Only ever been on a campsite once

They aren't great

I have terrible memories of staying with our GM as a child. She lived in the middle of nowhere and the toilet was an Elsan.

Ugh.

We like it. It's fun for us. Yes when it rains it can be difficult to dry things. But we have a great tent with plenty of room. The last campsite we were at was in France. The shower and toilet block was incredibly clean. The whole site was well equipped. Staff were brilliant. It's just lovely to be able to sit outside and cook in the fresh air.

What's the deal with ignoring all the posters who are debunking the no running water myth? All campsites have water. How else would you cook/wash up for a start?

I've never camped right next to another tent either. Well once actually. And it was the same campsite that has a noise curfew and a playground with a curfew. And no views. That was hideous. If people have only experiences that, or even worse... Campsites with onsite entertainment, I would totally understand why they think camping is shit.

@user27495824

I think what I meant was that there was no running water actually in the tent.

I know there's running water on campsites.

I love camping but, having spent most of the past 20 years using a folding camper, going back to airbeds in a tent was a bit of a shock.

The best bits for me are

1. the complete lack of TV or computer and the freedom to read newspapers, books, do puzzles without distraction
2. the smell of frying bacon and sausages on a little camping stove outside the tent whilst fending off the rain with a huge golf umbrella 3. not being held to ANY kind of timetable ie no getting out of the room at 11am for cleaning or having to have breakfast between 8 and 10am.
3. having to walk across a field to the toilet block (good quality sites have spotless facilities!) so I walk loads more than when I'm sat at my desk all day
4. Feeling all snug in the sleeping bag but having an ice cold face in the morning
5. sitting outside the tent early morning with a steaming cup of coffee and listening to the birds

What I DONT like

1. damp towels
2. wet feet unless I wear waterproof walking boots 24/7

Haven't read all of the thread but my thoughts on camping are that ideally it sounds wonderful but in practice it may not be so.

Camping is probably amazing if you have full health and you're robust, no issues. If you have any kind of pain or disability there may be certain things that may impact you more than others, e.g. having access to a toilet within a few steps, a warm room, etc.

I love the idea of wild camping, have read loads of articles about people sleeping in fields with a friend and waking up in a little bivvy seeing the sunrise. It sounds amazing. But in reality I'm concerned I'd get freezing cold overnight, be in pain or get ill. Maybe I'm being stupid but that's just how I feel about it. I really value being comfortable, having a door to lock behind me, having a space to call my own, a toilet, a sink with clean running water and somewhere to put all of my stuff. It's a shame because before my accident I'd say I was the kind of person who would've loved camping and it was something I wanted to explore in hot countries. There's an island called Isla de la Graciosa and I always really wanted to camp there.

Also, some of the things confuse me because they're just the same as staying in accomodation.

For example, when I went to Spain where I stayed there was no internet, wifi, I didn't take a computer/laptop/tablet of any sort, there wasn't a TV in the room. So that aspect was identical (books and magazines which were kept in a little pile in the main reception).

It was £20 a night so the same as a pitch in some places (from what's been said in this thread). For that I got a bed (!), my own spotless brand new tiled bathroom, shower, sink, a wardrobe, somewhere to cook, a fridge, freezer compartment, washing up sink, place to put all of my stuff, somewhere to sit, a balcony (which I loved), a swimming pool.

I'd rather try to recreate some of the aspects of camping BUT in a place where I can lock the door behind me at night, and I have a toilet/bathroom within a few steps.

However, I still dream of going to Isla de la Graciosa and being in a tent, on the beach or near the beach, so it would feel really wild and sleeping outside, having maybe little bottles of water and some food in my tent, and working out some kind of set up for nighttime/bathroom issues, maybe it would be easier where it's warm. I just wonder if I could do exactly the same things in the day, but having a B&B means just for the part I go to sleep, I do have the bed/bathroom and home comforts.

I don't mind camping abroad but only do it rarely in this country due to it always being cold and everything getting wet and muddy.

However just got back from a few days camping over the bank hol - last minute as the forecast was so terrific and it was lovely to sit in the sun with friends by a fire at night and watch the sun go down. IN THE WARM.

I don't see the point in the kind of camping where you take chairs and bedding and a bed and a huge fuck off tent- the point of camping for me is it's super cheap and quick and you don't have to book anywhere in advance.

It seems that a lot of posters are agreeing that camping abroad is the best way to enjoy the experience.

Is this because the weather is better or because abroad does camping differently from the UK?

@SirJamesTalbotAndHisSpeculum we camp in the UK and also in France. It's pot luck re the weather even in France. In the UK we get to enjoy having a campfire which is one of the essentials for me. While in France this summer we had some cooler days when we would have loved a fire but generally they are not allowed. In the uk I figure so long as it is mainly dry then I'm not too bothered about the actual temperature as I'm not there for sunbathing or lounging round a pool. And as many have said, it's about slowing down and having less shit to deal with. Essentially my days are filled with reading, fire tending, cooking and enjoying the peace and quiet (I live in London). I have a very comfortable bed, enough good kit without it being too much, and kids who quite like the freedom it gives them. None of the toilet/shower issues really bother me either but I understand how that could be a deal breaker for many 🏕