Am I mad to consider camping in the easter holidays?

[Lordofthebutterfloofs]

It feels like the cold will never end. Am I crazy to be looking for a cheap camping getaway in april? Normally reserved for much warmer months in this house 🥶

I'm in the ' done camping ' camp.

Can't think of anything worse. Glad my camping days are over 🤣

When I was younger I used to go camping all year round (all 12-months) and had a good time. There is no such thing as bad weather, just poor equipment.
If you have young children then yes it can be difficult. I didn't.

If you've got a really good tent and top notch gear including really good sleeping bags for everyone then go for it.

Yes definitely, with the right equipment. I'd also choose a campsite with electric, which also allows campfires.

You say it’s cheap but that’s only if you have the gear already. Do you have decent (three season minimum) sleeping bags? Good base layers, under pjs? Tent that is not going to leak if it pisses it down? We camp a lot and would camp at Easter potentially (first trip this year is May bank holiday) but I have good kit to keep us warm, being cold is miserable!

We went to Anglesey at Easter 2019 it was roasting. All the eggs melted! It's a risk though but I don't generally feel cold inside the tent. I'd book & just decide closer to the time.

We went last Easter glamping and it was super cold. It so depends on the weather!

We left it until the minute to book last year to see what the temps were and it looked pretty mild so we went for it however when we got there is it was unexpectedly glorious as in we got sun burnt!
Right now I’d say not a chance!

Yes, we do.

I would be needing to add an electric heater (maybe even electric blankets looking at these thread tips) some extra blankets for between us and the floor and some new thermals for the kids.

Even with all that, I'm worried it will be miserably cold and wet. I'll take dry and cool.

They do say 'April showers' for a reason though don't they 😕

DS’s school are taking them camping for a week as their outdoor pursuits trip in a weeks time. Looking at the temperature forecasts I’m wondering whether I’d look like ‘that parent’ if I keep him home. I’ve not decided just yet so spent a small fortune on fleeces/hoody’s/base layers at Decathlon this afternoon. I’ve also seen on Amazon who can get fleece sleeping bag liners so ordered one of those too.

Have to say, I wouldn’t consider it much fun.

We camped last Easter which was a week later last year and it was fine. Very cold at night but we have great sleeping bags and took an electric heater for the evenings. It's hard to imagine it being warm enough for that in a months time at the moment.

Having camped in August at 1300ft where it dropped to 5°c at night and my teeth chattered all night and I couldn't sleep for being so cold, then I'd so not unless the weather dramatically improves in temperature. I had a decent sleeping bag (although not a winter one), a blanket, thick pj's, a jumper, hat and thick socks and I was still frozen.

I feel you! I love camping and getting out and about. I’m just waiting to see what happens with weather. If you don’t go, maybe you could just get the AllTrails app and go on some new walks in your surrounding counties? This is my Plan B.

It’s such a variable time of year we’ve had snow inApril or 20c sunshine in the South you just can’t tell. I’d wait until the week before or try a camping pod instead as a compromise?

We went last year in Easter holidays and got hot! We used 3 season sleeping bags, foil blankets on the floor, blanket as a bottom sheet, SIMs and wore teddy bear fleece ponchos over our pjs. It was actually too much and didn't need that much insulation. I'm really glad we went although I was worried we'd be freezing.

How much would the heater, blankets etc cost? Add that to your total and see if it's still a cheap option or if a caravan etc might be the same price.

Go for it. I tent-camped for a week just recently with my older child. It was brilliant and I can't wait to go again, although I was lucky with the weather. Most days were clear & crisp, only a couple of mornings drizzly/grey.

We were on bicycles so had to pack minimally. We also just had bare basic stuff, we're total amateurs. But apart from warm-enough sleeping kit the only must-have for me are hot-water bottles and some way to heat the water (even if its just a cheap camping stove). The nights got down to -3°C and having that source of external heat means your body doesn't have to work so hard to keep warm.

I'm going in March!

The peaks are covered in about 40cm of snow right now! 🥶 It should have gone by then but its still usually a few degrees colder than the surrounding lower areas.

I've camped with kids at the beginning of May, we had a temp of 7c overnight, it was cold but doable, everything was damp from condensation in the morning. I'd check the overnight temps

I've camped in April with young DC a couple of times - no EHU. One time we had sub zero temperatures day and night, hailstones, and the tent was coated in ice. The DC found it exciting! It wasn't too bad with the right gear (silver blanket under airbed, fleece blanket inside good sleeping bag, base layer under PJs, wooly hat). I think I woke up cold once each night but got back to sleep ok, and the DV slept like logs.

I will be camping at Easter with Scouts in Scotland.

It might be cold or it might be glorious. Either way we will have fun.

What about a cheap travel lodge somewhere for a change. Not as cheap as camping but will be warm and dry as a base.

Wwve camped at Easter and yes it was cold at night but we had lovely dry sunny weather in the day. The site allowed fires so we had lovely evenings too.

It was my favourite time to go. No rain, no baking hot weather and shorter days.

Stayed warm with hot water bottles and wool blankets on top of our sleeping bags. The kids got too hot!

I live in the Peaks. It's been a very cold weekend. I heard in the pub last night that we have more snow forecast for Easter. by all means book, but be prepared to bail if the forecast for the week is bad.