We've only just begun....

[Bathsheba]

This is our first year of camping. We bought a huge tent, all the stuff, we've been away 5 times since April..,

And literally apart from 2 days we have had torrential rain the entire time.

Maybe this wasn't a good year to start but the 2 full weeks away we have had these summer holidays have both been horrific weather wise. We have had a nice day 1 day ( yesterday) but other than that we have had 13 days of constant rain and flooding.

And, do you know what, I'm completely miserable about the whole thing. Personally I think our kids are too young (7, 4 and 1) meaning we can never 'switch off' and just leave them to go and play because of the little one. Also, well frankly it's far far to wet to let them just go and play.

Camping as a family was DH's idea and he gets really really defensive if I even imply that I'm having a less than wonderful time.

I think maybe on years to come, when the kids are big enough to go and make new friends and so we can actually relax rather than entertain them, and if for once it would just stop raining, maybe then I'll grow to love it but I have to say at the moment I am a completely miserable camper!!!

Aww it will get easier. I can remember giving up and coming home from high winds and rain in North Wales . Dd was then about 3 or 4 and there was only so long I could bear playing hide and seek in a pop up laundry bin. Couldn't leave the tent coz it was to windy to leave it... Others were being trashed. I suddenly thought ' WTF ? I could be home '. Yes it's much easier when they can go off and play and make friends at the swings .

We went home about 18 hours early from the first trip which basically cut it short by 1 night. We are due to go home tomorrow from this one, so 1 more night and then packing up tomorrow.

We have done some brilliant excursions and things the girls will remember for a long time, like trekking to see wild reindeer and hand feeding lambs, but I find the time in the tent, in the rain, completely soul destroying,

In a bit of a (welcome) crack on DH's 'isn't camping just brilliant' facade he has at least said that he wishes it would trucking stop raining

TBH I find the sound of the rain on the tent quite relaxing, it was the hail and thunder that wasn't.

Camping in the rain is so hard. It just isn't what camping is all about. It is also harder with a 1 year old than a 7 year old whom you can waterproof up and send to the park anyway.
Last year we spent a week in Wales in the rain , not nice. I haven't booked any camping this hol and am waiting for tome good weather to pack up and go.
We went the first weekend of the school hols and extended our stay as weather so nice.
I think you have to work around the weather , rather than tolerate the rain. 5 years of camping tells me so

As it is such a mahoosive tent - a khyam quebec 800 dx which is amazing btw - we always book for at least 3 night, so it's all booked and paid for and therefore we tent not to leave at the first hint of trouble ( or constant torrential rain and severe weather warnings), but I guess I 'd love DH to be receptive to the odd 'look, I'm having a crap time here, can we just go home and that not be an issue'... Maybe this should be in ralationships!!!

On the plus side, we do all manage to sleep with the rain 'White noise'

Also have a big family tent but a holiday is to be enjoyed not endured

You are a braver woman than me camping with a 1 year old! We didn't take our 2 until last year when ds2 was nearly 3 and even a year later its tough. My dh isn't a natural camper, it all comes from me. And I do find it puts a dampner on my holiday when he is so obviously not enjoying it but having said that I don't see the point in staying until the bitter end when its pissing rain which is miserable even for a camping lover like me! This timewe came home early at my instigation as I could see he was unhappy and there was no point in persisting until he got the the point of never wanting to camp ever again.

Maybe have a chat with your dh when you're all home in the warm and it doesn't feel like such a criticism of his holiday and point out that you are open to giving it a go but that saying that you are fed up in the pissing rain and finding entertaining a baby in the tent taxing doesn't mean that you don't want to camp but him refusing to listen to how you feel and insisting that you stick it out to the bitter end is more likely to put you off altogether. And have a chat together about how you can make it as enjoyable as poss.

For us this has involved agreeing only to go on short trips until they are a bit older, not to go when the weather is awful and to buy a bigger tent so we aren't on top of each other!

We are on our way home now. Fortunately we were camping 90 mins from home so not a long journey ahead of us. Rain still torrential in Central Scotland

How about going camping to France for your main holiday? The weather was the main reason we decided not to camp in the UK any more. It's just so soul-destroying when the weather's bad for the whole 2 weeks. I can definitely confirm that you feel much better when the weather's good. we've just been down to the south-east of France and the weather was good. It wasn't as good as last year, but it still only rained twice and that was at night. You could sit out in your T-shirt every night and I saw quite little DC going around in groups (not gangs as that gives the wrong impression).

We also found that we spent a lot of money doing things when the weather was bad, but when it's good the DC love just being in the pool or the river, or playing different games.

Hi,

Our problem with going long distance - like to France - is that out starting point is Aberdeen....we have the world's fullest car and roofbox and children crammed into every nook and cranny....it's about 10 hours to Dover and I think we'd be charged with child abuse!!!