Novice Campers and the South Downs - help please!

[WomanwiththeYellowHat]

We are going to take our 2 and 4 year old camping for the first time in early September. I am a caravanner (!) but there is no way either of us can cope with caravan-towing and we did camp a bit as a couple before the children came along, but have ahd a hiatus through the baby stage, so we feel ready to attempt it again with the girls.

Basically, we are planning on taking our existing (crappy!) tent this time, to see if we can bear it, but then to invest in something a bit more robust afterwards if it is a goer for us all. I just wondered what would be a good tent for some fairly wimpy campers (my DH is unconvinced....!) with small children. I think it would have to be 5 or 6 berth at least and would need a living area that could accommodate rainy days, as we would largely be using it in the UK?

We are planning to get an EHU pitch in Sept, and will be taking blow up beds and lots of sleeping bags / duvets for warmth, but I wondered if there was anything anyone had found particularly useful with toddlers that we wouldn't have thought of?

Finally, does anyone know any nice camping sites in the South Downs with good facilities and, if poss, near to a swimming pool??

Thank you in advance!

Not sure what area is defined as the s Downs, but there is a nice site at Norman's Bay - it's a caravan club site but they take non-members. It has v good facilities in terms of showers, washrooms, washing machines etc,(in the new blocks at the far end of the site) but no pool, or other leisure facilities. It is right on the beach, only a small private road to cross and that is the beach. V close to Eastbourne which must surely have a pool?

Self-inflating mattresses are much warmer than blow-up beds. Blow-up beds offer no insulation from the ground.

Thank you - will check it out. I agree on the blow up beds but I have always found the self inflating mattresses so uncomfortable. We used to use them and DH has said that their non-appearance is a condition of the camping trip. Might try the girls on them though....Thanks!