Your top tips for surviving a week's camping please!

[Ceolas]

We are hard strapped this year so the main holiday is going to be a week's camping. The children and I all enjoy camping and DH has reluctantly agreed, but we've only every camped for 2 nights before.

There are 7 of us. 5 children are aged between 11 and almost 2. We have a Campus Yale tent (2006) which is not massive. I'm worried that unless we're super organised it's going to be a bit of a nightmare and DH will refuse to camp again!

So, experienced campers, what are your top tips for keeping things ship shape and orderly? Also, cooking - I only have one of those cheap one-ring burners so I reckon that will need upgrading if 7 of us are to eat for a week.

All suggestions gratefully received :)

How many bedrooms have you got?

Only 2 bedrooms but we tend to just leave it as one big room and then pile up airbeds during the day at each end. The 'bedrooms' are only hanging curtains that divide off each end of the tent. Is it going to be hell?!

I would say, take as little as possible, and don't go too far from home. Have a backup plan if the weather is awful, a week is a long time to be in a little wet cell. Or if your tent is basic, pick a campsite with good facilities including a drying room and a cafe so you have somewhere to go.

Right - try to get another burner or buy a camping double one on a stand. If the second option is too costly, at least get a table to put the burner on. Plan ahead the meals that you will be having and take most of the ingredients, bearing in mind that you only have one burner. Tins are good obviously, but only get tins that you like. In my opinion - others n
may think differently - don't be tempted to get an electric hook up and don't bring all manner of things requiring wires - we have had better holidays without technology, as with it, things get too noisy and chaotic!
I would agree stay fairly close to home - an indoor pool is always good too! Think about where you will put your clothes within the tent! If you have stacking boxes or a camping wardrobe, it means that the storage is vertical rather than horizontal, (ie., spread all over the place). And collapsible boxes - for shoes, games, reading matter ...
Your outside area is your salvation. Windbreaks, comfy deckchairs, a blanket or two for the kids.
You'll be fine .. there is a mumsnet guide to camping that is good, somewhere. Where are you thinking of going?

www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/may/15/best-british-campsites-family-groups

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/holiday_type/active/article7138985.ece

Thanks folks :)

We are considering this site which is about 3 hours drive from home. Seems like there will be a bit to do on site. The pool is outdoors though! Lots of potential day trips too.

In our favour we have a huge car so can store non essential items in there I suppose.

I'll definitely get another burner and thinking about an extension is I can get one second hand to fit. Good idea?

yes get an extension, a MUST imo

it gives you an inside outside space and ideal for if drizzely, and somewhere to store wellies etc.

Do you own croc type shoes? If not i suggest you all have some, so easy to take on off when in / out tent, and if shower floors are manky then u can wear in shower. also great on beach etc and can get wet / muddy and just be washed off.

def get another burner.

also allow yourself lots of easy food.... some hot dog sausages in a roll with ketchup etc, pasta, tin sweet corn and stir in sauce, brioche rolls for breakfast, also you could make a big bolognese / chilli or simialr at home and freeze, it will defrost and can be a meal for night 2, just cook some pasta / rice etc, and heat it up.

will u be able to keep things cold? If not be prepared to buy milk etc daily.

def use the car to store some stuff.

take lots of waterproofs (trousers and coats for everyone) so if it is raining you dont have loads of soaking wet clothes (a nightmare to store / dry!)

Have fun

Thanks nannyl. Re the extension - an enclosed job or canopy type good enough? I think I'll struggle to get something compatible.

The kids have crocs and we all have waterproofs. But it's not going to rain!

so long as you take wellies and waterproofs it wont rain.

id suggest one that encloses, so if weather awful (it wont be in the summer ) could be useful to close up... also makes another room to keep stuff in.

saying that i go away with my friends alot (6 - 8 adults) and we share an open canopy on the biggest tent, and it hasnt mattered that we havent been able to do it up!
2 of my friends have huge tents... the canopy is designed for 1 (outwell tunnel) tent, but fits the other large other brand frame tent, thats a different size / shape well enough too

Found a ridiculously cheap canopy here which I think might fit

Go outdoors are doing a camping stove with two burners and maybe a grill for £20.00 at the moment. If you can afford it I would get a camp kitchen to sit your stove on and store the food. Decathlon are doing a pop-up base for £39.99 so you could all go and sit in there if the weather's bad.

You must have somewhere to store stuff, though and if money's tight I would go with the collapsible boxes that you store one on top of the other. Argos usually do a deal on 5. that's what we have. We store the wellies in the by the door. No shoes/wellies in the tent, or just by the door. Picnic rugs on the floor so it's a bit more comfortable. Make sure you won't be cold at night so take spare rugs to put on top of the airbed beneath the sleeping bags if you're using them.

We've bought a collapsible wardrobe for all the clothes last year, but before that we just kept everything in bags, either in the car or piled up. We also found the blue Tesco big bags very useful for taking stuff to the beach or storing stuff in. Anything that's a funny shape, too.

If we're not camping in the South of France we hang our bathing towels on the backs of the seats in the car as it's usually warmer in there and things dry better. I also limit each person to a quite small sports bag for clothes apart from towels and shoes. When the DC were small I allowed them a drawstring bag each for toys.

How about a pup tent for your older Dc's, if you feel comfortable with this.

They will love the independence and will free up a bit of space.

Someone has already mentioned decathlon, their pop up tents are fab and reasonably priced.

Definatly go with a bigger stove and don't forget to check where the nearest chippy is. We usually plan in a couple of take aways if we can.

Ikea bags are great for storing stuff inside the tent and carrying washing up to the sinks.

Agree about drying towels and wet coats in the car it only needs a bit of sun to get hot. We drape stuff all over the outside of the car to dry to if its not raining.

most of all have fun, and take a pad and pen with you so you can write down anything you think you really missed so you can buy it for next time..

Those canopies are great Ceolas, we have one the only downside to canapies is if it is very windy you need to take them off otherwise they try to take off with your tent.

We love ours but it has a big rip in it at the moment because I didn't take it down soon enough in a gale and then couldn't untie it from my tent .

I have bought a pop up porch from decathlon which is free standing, but I will use the vango again cos it is great in calm weather and rolls up reallly small.

don't take too much stuff and use your car as a store room

we don't take a table and only two small folding chairs for the evening when ds is in bed and to use as somewhere to put things on during the day. Oh and certainly no electricity. Plenty of blankets for sitting on and sleeping under

As a hardened continentally trained camper I am usually amazed at what many British campers take with them in terms of gear. It's the back to basic stuff that is fun.

A must for me is having a rug at the front door of tent to stop grass getting everywhere. I use the small plastic backed rugs from the pound shop.
I also have a tiny dust pan and brush to help sweep the tent.
Organisation is the key, we just got back from 3 nights in the lakes and I really want a small camp kitchen!

I'm quite anal tidy when camping so I can give you my tips on how I keep the tent organised.

-Each person has a plastic box with a lid and all their belongings live in that box; clothes, books, colouring pencils etc. You can stack them, even stick labels on them so it's easy for people to find their box. And then you don't have loads of mess hanging around the tent.

-If you have any poles you can hang things on, get some S hooks and use these for hanging up coats, cardigans, bags etc.

-I have a 'no shoes in the tent' policy and have a blue Ikea bag outside the door where people can just throw their shoes in before they walk in the tent.

-I have a distinct cooking area with the camping stove on a table. Under/ next to the table I have two plastic boxes with lids, one with food in and the other with cooking utensils/ pans etc. DC know not to come near when cooking is going on. I have a pole in the porch so I hang my pans on S hooks. When it's windy it sounds like a Romany caravan!

-I plan the meals and only take what I need. eg I won't take a whole bag of pasta, I'll measure out what I'll be cooking and decant that into a freezer bag. That way as the week goes on, you'll find you have less stuff.

-I freeze everything that's freezable (including milk) and plan my meals around what is likely to have defrosted the earliest. It also helps to have 2 cool boxes, one that you'll be going in regularly for milk etc and another that you only open once a day to get out that day's dinner. The 2nd one stays cooler that way, especially if everything starts off frozen in it. Cold air sinks so whatever's at the bottom will stay frozen the longest and the top will defrost first.

-We also bring our duvets and pillows, but I've found if you put the duvets in the boot first and pack everything on top, it flattens them down so they don't take up much room.

-We have a lot of plastic boxes but find that they stack really well in the boot.

Hope some of that is useful!

Very helpful, chica. Ta :)

Just so I understand... the plastic boxes - do they get packed up at home and transported in their packed state in the boot? How big are they? Can you link? I have seen folding crates suggested and I had imagined taking stuff in a bag and decanting when we got there.

I think I need some sort of cooking in the rain solution prepared, too. Some sort of shelter?

If, for example, I got a Quechua base instead of an extension/porch, would the site charge for 2 tents? Would it be over-kill?

Blimey Chica, that's fantastic. I consider myself a seasoned camper but you have some great tips!

Foil blankets are my new top tip, one under the mattresses/mats and if it's really cold, one between blankets/quilts although I found out this weekend that the top ones collect a lot of condensation so bedding needs airing during the day. Not ideal if it's wet/damp though.

I just use a garden umbrella for emergency cooking/bbq shelter but when I go with a big group we have a couple of gazebos.

I've also altered the way I pack/unpack - it used to be a mad dash to see how quick it could be done (single parent) with tears and tantrums along the way, now I do it quite slowly, one thing at a time with a bit of a rest/play/glass of wine in between and pack according to what I need first. It's been more pleasant for me (and DD) this way but I know this is a personal thing.

I hope you enjoy it!

These boxes are the business for camping, they are strong enough to make good stools/tables as well. We have three of the 35 litre ones for cooking stuff/food/equipment. Apart from the food, the others are permanently packed so ready to go.

We only have 3 DC (aged 5, 6 and 8) but there is still a good chance that everything could become completely disorganised!

We have a tent with 2 bedrooms, the DC sleep in one and DH and I sleep in the other. As there is only a double airbed in our bedroom there is room along the side for the holdalls of clothes, towels etc. The DC have a bag each which they keep their books/toys/pencils etc in (and they realise the danger that things will be thrown away if they aren't put back in their bags!). There are also pockets in the sides of the tent which are handy to keep the book that you are reading before you go to sleep, sun cream, first aid kit, hairbrushes, toiletries bag etc in. In the main section of the tent we have a table, with the cool box (for keeping stuff cold) and a zipped cool bag (for keeping other food eg cereal, bread, biscuits etc safe from invading squirrels) and a box of crockery and pans underneath. I take ice blocks and refreeze them on site. I use the top of the table for food preparation.

We have a porch on the tent which is handy for storing wellies and waterproofs so that no wet or muddy clothes or shoes come into the actual tent. It is also good to sit in, we have folding chairs which are usually in the porch but come into the main tent in the evening if it is cold and go outside if it is sunny. We also store the stove and gas in there, although we cook outside behind the breeze blocker.

Becaue there are 5 of us I can build up a wash load quite quickly, so I only take a couple of changes of clothes per person and then do a load of washing in the campsite launderette every couple of days. That saves on space both in the tent and in the car. The DC also wear waterproofs over their clothes if it is muddy as this keeps them cleaner longer.

For food we go very simple. I wouldn't necessarily eat them at home, but tins of hot dogs, beans with sausages etc are my camping friends. We BBQ a lot and eat things like pasta with pesto and omelettes. We eat lots of fruit to prevent scurvy I buy bags of ready grated cheese to put on pasta or omelettes.

We sleep on airbeds with sleeping bags and camping pillows, I also take a couple of spare double sleeping bags which I unzip and put over the top of the normal sleeping bag if it is really cold (as it was this weekend!).

I do tend to stay on well equipped sites (laundry, small shop etc) as it does make life easier.

Not overkill at all ceolas!!

We have just bought one of these to use as a porch with our 4.1.

I don't think you will be charged for 2 tents but you may be charged for a porch. Some sites do and some don't check when you book. Its usually only a couple of quid though.