Rainy camping...

[threeandcounting]

Hello
We are novice campers and so far have camped for a weekend near to home (popped back and forth).

We are heading down to Wales for our first "proper" camping experience but I am a bit worried about the weather...

Apart from water proofs for us all, is there anything you would recommend for camping in wet weather?

Thanks!

Things to keep the kids entertained in the tent - we took colouring stuff and some inflatable balls (like a small version of a beach ball). We also took slippers (guess the usefulness of those would depend on the design of your tent though).

Food that's easy/quick to cook. Umbrella for cooking under???

porch for the tent so you can get wet things off before going in! spare towels for putting stuff on/drying stuff off

things for kids to do in the tent if they can't/won't play outside

Crocs. Kick on, kick off, wipe down, repeat.

Midge nets.

Gin.

Thanks so much for the quick replies and great ideas! These will definitely make it more of a success

Lancelottie-I was hoping there would be no midges in Wales...!

a gazebo to cook under, crocs are good yes agree, a mat to wipe feet on , an airer to out towels on,

I always take a gazillion old tea towels and use them as makeshift door mats, wiping everything down. Books, playing cards, games for inside the tent. Lots of changes of clothes - lots of pairs of socks! Second crocs which are brilliant for trips to the loo, out and about the campsite.

Uno

I'd recommend staying at home...............! Nowt worse than wet camping.

But I love being all cosy drinking hot choc hearing the sound of the rain on the tent roof

Kids are 1, 6, 8 and 10, so all of these ideas are great! Will definitely be taking our UNO!

Loads of bin bags. Wet tents do not fit back in the teeny weeny holdalls they are supplied with. On your last day if your tent is wet just cram it in a bin bag and deal with it when you get home. And for Welsh rain I would strongly recommend waterproofing even a brand new tent before you go. Nikwax (sp?) is much cheaper on Amazon then in camping shops, btw. Have fun!

Top trumps kept our 2 amused for hours! Details of local inside places you can go to if you are killing each other being stuck in a confined space in the rain. Plus takeouts for food if really grim.

Put the kids in shorts, not trousers. It's not (that) cold at the moment, even in the rain, and there's nothing worse than the bottoms of trousers dragging through all the mud and wet grass - and then back into your tent.

DS wears shorts and wellies - crocs are good but his feet get muddy in them.

Couldn't agree more with IAmSherlocked re wet trouser bottoms, we take wellies and enough socks for at least three times longer than you're planning to stay for, and also lots of shorts/leggings/cropped trousers to wear with flip flops or crocs, wet trainers and wet jeans are the worst!

A bazillion towels, comfy slippers, lots of indoor games, clothes airer, plenty of bin bags and if you can afford one a tent porch.

And lots of for when kids are in bed and the rain is making that lovely sound on the tent while you're warm and dry in your bedsocks

Have a fab time!

I always take masses of indoor stuff for the kids to do.I'd rather go without other stuff than rainy day amusing kids stuff.My dc are 8,8 and 7 but one is a major pita when bored.I'm taking;-

loads of new books(I do a library trip before hand)
Uno
Monopoly(that can go on for hours)
Hiss
Top Trumps perhaps(always turns into a bickerfest with my 3)
a zip up bag of Lego(crucial)
new puzzle,colouring,doodle and sticker books(Usborne do tiny holiday Doodle books and this year I've got the boy/girl activity book,Usborne colour in postcards)
sodoku,wordsearch and crossword books for pita boy
plain paper,pens,pencils,paper aeroplane book etc
1 new comic each
maybe a small new toy if flush

We have a table in the tent and 3 fold up stools.I take lots of the above,as small as poss but loads so I have lots to dole out over the days that grabs their interest if the rain drags on.

Then Crocs,waterproof trousers,waterproof jackets,bin bags(never underestimate),loads of tea bags,wine,cake,choc and hot choc. Loads of batteries for lights,the dc all have those clip on book lights.

I too love the sound of pattering rain on canvas if the kids are amused and I have a good book.Crickets(or a 4 star hotel) would be better but you know it's nice being cosy and on an adventure now and again.

"I'd recommend staying at home...............! Nowt worse than wet camping."

I agree. I have camped in miserable weather and found it so soul destroying and depressing. I hate being cold and damp.

The number of the local hotel......

Seriously though, it can be great fun whatever the weather.

Search for all the free activites in the area, Google or travel sites

Locate the nearest swimming pool, it's usually warm and you get a free hot shower and possibly hair drying facilities

Kitchen roll as well as old tea towels

Big umbrella is also good for getting to the showers and loos and saves wet coats in the tent

We are going to Conwy and are amazed at how much there is to do in that area of Wales.

However I'm counting on there being a heat wave in the school holidays

To be honest I do it for the kids.They're beyond excited and we go in 3 weeks.We could stay at home as we're near Cornwall but they love it and would be devastated if we cancelled.Having said that I don't do torrential floody rain and gales all at once over several days.

We have adopted a new approach to camping in the rain - plan for it yes but avoid it where possible. For the last two years we have booked our holiday time off work/weekends away in advance but then only decided where to go once the weather reports are showing some certainty - usually about the Thursday before we go then we decide, book somewhere (we have a relatively small family tent so have always got onto a great sites even when booking last minute) and off we go Friday night or Saturday morning. The philosophy is you will usually have an excellent camping holiday wherever you are if it's not raining but a horrible time if it is...a bit spontaneous for some maybe but we've had excellent and most importantly dry holidays in Kent, Wales , Dorset and Sussex using this method....we may get caught out so we pack the books and games too. Try it....

we are camping in Brittany (mobile home, so a cop out really) at the end of July. If it rains for days, we are coming home too! We are going for DS1 really as we can't afford a proper ££££££ holiday. Just hoping for sun, but expecting rain Fucking weather

Marmite we adopt that approach for the campsites a few minutes from home, of which there are 2. That way we can come home and feed the cat or come home for good if it pisses it down!

Having camped at half term in VERY wet weather, I'd echo the advice about the large golfing umbrella for getting kids up to the loo block. Mine got soggy -kneed PJs because we had cagouls and wellies but forgot about the inbetween bits. Also more socks than you'd think - socks got damp very quickly.

The tarp for cooking was a godsend.

We just bunged the wet tent, footprint and trap all in the roof box to get it all home. Didn't bother trying to get anything back in a bag.

Thank you so much everybody
All packed now and ready to go in the morning! Have got loads of ideas and I am no longer terrified when if it rains