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Camping

Our UK Camping forum has all the information you need on finding the right equipment for your tent or caravan.

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Original poster

Like, just how cold is camping?

23 replies

nannyme · 02/06/2006 15:21

Okay, right now I have the heating off at home but the gas fire on at night in the sitting room as it leads onto the conservatory which is like a giant fridge at night (no heating in there and no roof blinds) and gets very chilly. I have a duvet and pyjamas in bed (usually vest top so not full on thermal wincyette).

Will I be miserably cold camping in Colchester in mid June do you think?

Planning on an air bed with duvet between it and groundsheet and possibly a duvet on top of air bed.

I haven't bought my sleeping bag yet.

What do I really need to be warm? I have to bear in mind that we will be packing everything into a peugeot 306 and have 4 other people's stuff to fit in, plus the tent of course.

I haven't a clue...will my doormat save me from the cold?

OP posts:

charliegreensmum · 02/06/2006 15:23

I would be wearing a good pair of jim-jams and some woolly socks, possibly with a rugby shirt on top. Duvet on top of air bed should be fine, especially if you are sharing...

cupcakes · 02/06/2006 15:24

I really regretted not taking a woolly hat. I could just about keep my body at a warm enough temp but my head was freezing.

roisin · 02/06/2006 15:33

Get a good quality sleeping bag and you should be fine.

PrettyCandles · 02/06/2006 15:51

I would get a good sleeping bag rather than use a duvet for three reasons: firstly they pack down smaller, secondly with a sleeping bag you don't get sudden ghastly draughts when dp turns over, thirdly a sleeping bag gives you an extra layer of insulation between you and the airbed. For more space-saving insulation take a pair of campermats or some flattened-out cardboard boxes to put under the airbed. Also make sure that you have socks, hat and an extra long-sleeved Tshirt to hand when you go to 'bed' in case you wake up cold.

peachyClair · 02/06/2006 16:18

I would invest in warm pyjamas, perhaps Asda or somewhere cheap, just for camping. I ahve Reynaulds so the cold does bother me (a tendency to chillblains too- ouch) so I am careful. We put a fleece (although you can apparently use newspaper) under the camp bed which makes a huge difference, pyjamas plus jumper and hats for the kids too. That was Whitsun: June you'll probably be OK. Go for either a Gelert or Vango sleeping abg as I have heard good things about both.

Last year in late August it was so warm didn't need anything bar jammies so you might be OK.

Surfermum · 02/06/2006 16:49

Bear in mind that you get cold from the ground as well as the air, so insulate yourself underneath. I put roll mats under the mattress, then a blanket on top of the mattress, then a sheet and then the duvet. I don't normally need my PJs but take them and bed socks in case. I took hot water bottles last weekend too, but didn't need them. A decent sleeping bag would do the trick though and be much smaller to pack.

MrsBadger · 02/06/2006 16:57

My vote goes for duvet or blanket on top of airbed, then a sleeping bag (our groundsheet is a bit old so I find anything under the airbed gets damp).

For the record, when we went camping in the middle of May (the week it was 4ºC and there were force 9 gales...) I slept in tshirt, trad cotton pyjama top and bottoms, extra pair of trousers, socks and a fleece, and wished I'd had a hat. I would have needed about half that if I'd had a sleeping bag with a hood and not a duvet though - draughts round my neck make me feel much colder.

PrettyCandles · 02/06/2006 17:00

We've booked a pitch with electric hook-up...tempting to take the electric underblanket along .

MrsBadger · 02/06/2006 17:02

do you know, I suggested just the same thing to dh... Though have a nasty image of what might happen if everything got wet...

Mercy · 02/06/2006 17:10

Agree with others re getting a sleeping bag. I got a cheapie from Argos and it was fine.

Layers is the way to go; thermal vests are good and definitely socks. Take some sun block type stuff too, when you are out and about all day it's easy to get wind AND sun burn (especially young children as I know all too well).

Kathy1972 · 02/06/2006 17:18

This is all fab advice and it's always better overprepare than underprepare, but don't worry too much about it - I grew up in Essex and camped there every June when I was a teenager and was always fine with roll mat, cheapo sleeping bag and ordinary pyjamas!
But do put in the extra stuff - you can cram an infinite amount of bedding and clothes into a car if you squash hard enough - and then you won't need to worry!

Original poster

nannyme · 02/06/2006 17:23

Thank you for all the help.

I was planning on a decent-ish sleeping bag (£25-£35 Vango or similar) but the duvet would be extra ;)

I am quite convinced bythe idea of using a mat instead of an air bed for better warmth but the children will have to have the airbed - I hope that I am not being too meany!

OP posts:

peachyClair · 02/06/2006 18:17

put the mat under the air bed- the air beds don't seem to insulate and get really cold (I didn't realise how much this was true until it was pointed out to me), but you'll need the bed for comfort

FillyjonktheSnibbet · 02/06/2006 18:30

We really struggled to get our duvets in on our HESFES dry run. We have a skoda fabia, so similar size.

woolly jumper is necessary imo, plus i dress the kids in ski suits. Woolly hat and socks also wise.

airbeds, or at least our airbeds (colemans) take up less space than mats.

Although I think a roof box may beckon...

LucyCampCat · 03/06/2006 19:37

Put those plastic backed picnic rugs underneath the airbed - we were like toast last week and it was 3C in the tent before we went to bed, 19C when we woke up in the sunshine!

Our bag is from Argos, I'll find a link to it later!

Blandmum · 03/06/2006 19:42

although we had great weather in the days, it was cold at night, so I made sure we had lots of layers and we all wore socks!

I did get myself a new sleeping bag, as I bought a mummy one and I hate it, as I can't get my arms comfy and keep the zip done up!

This is a nigh big snuggly envelope on, much better for a woman of my , ahem, ample proportions

fruitful · 03/06/2006 19:52

Last August I had

blanket on groundsheet
airbed on blanket
3-season sleeping bag
thermal wrist-to-ankle underwear
thick pjs
long fleece dressing gown with a hood
fleece bedsocks
thick duvet on top

and I was still cold. Did have to sit up twice in the night to feed ds though (bottles, fortunately, couldn't have got access to my norks!)

This year I am going to take my hot water bottle too

Blandmum · 03/06/2006 20:02

Key to keeping warm to to get a layer of trapped air under you, not under the air bed. You don't need to put anthing under the air bed, but you will need to put something on top of the air bed to trap a layer of warm air....the air in the air bed will move around too much and you will get chilled.

So a quilt or blanket on top of the camp bed or air bed is what will help to keep you warm. The spongy crash mats (£4 or so) are full of air pockets and so are ideal to help to insulate you against the cold.

LucyCampCat · 03/06/2006 20:07

\link{http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3407930.htm\Here is our sleeping bag} but wait until it goes to being half price if you can - we did last year. We've got a double Ready Bed (from Tesco)this bag, the old picnic blanket under airbed and I wore a nightshirt and thermal socks - toasty! It was cold when you first got into bed and I had to stick my head under the covers for a couple of minutes, but after that no worries.

LucyCampCat · 03/06/2006 20:09

In fact we were so warm in the morning that dh was soooo glad we had a draft coming in under the edge of the groundsheet, so no sig for us mb!

We did see a new Indiana and really liked the porch bit though.......

Mercy · 03/06/2006 21:23

Blimey fruitful, where were you camping? The North Pole ?

Although do remember last August was pretty cold and windy in Suffolk

fruitful · 03/06/2006 21:59

no, just Lincolnshire...

LilyBongo · 03/06/2006 23:05

We've camped the length and breadth of the country, Devon, Cornwall, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and even right up in the highlands of Scotland - the best solution to warmth we've found, is to put a fleece blanket inside our double sleeping bag and sleep under that. But what better way to keep warm then snuggling close

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