camping holiday virgins - advice and recommendations please!

[BauerTime]

DH and I want to start buying things for next summer, when we plan to start taking camping holidays. DS will be almost 2.

My camping experience is limited to festivals where all i ever needed was a small tent, sleeping bag, mat, toothbrush and baby wipes.

What do i need? Obviously am thinking about big items first so would appreciate recommendations for family sized tents (want a living area, be able to stand), sleeping bags, mats or inflatable thingys, pillows, cooking stuff and on and on. But also any advice on things we absolutely must have or know before we embark.

ive read a few threads here and head torches are clearly a must have, and im quite excited about a cobb or an icey tek but these are things that i guess we will aquire over time as we get more seasoned at camping. I need some sensible people like yourselves to rein me in and tell me what i NEED or ill buy lots of gadgets and forget something vital!

Good planning: you can get good deals with all the camping shops in September.

With a toddler on the loose I would prioritise a tent which is simple and quick to put up. And good porch space. I have 't got one but Vango Icarus always seems to fit the bill.

I'm no expert but I'll tell you what we did.

On a whim we got a hugely discounted cheapo 6 man tent from Go Outdoors. It cost us £60 and it's very definitely a fair weather tent (only 1500HH!), but it's huge and spacious. We spent another maybe £50 on second hand kit (table, seats, airbeds and sleeping bags to add to what we already had from before children). Then we camped for a weekend half an hour away from home, when the forecast was good.

That went really well so we did it again that summer, just for a weekend.

This year we have already had another weekend in it, again with good weather forecast, this time 2 hours away. So far so good - this autumn we'll sell the tent and replace it with an actually waterproof one and plan a week away next year.

Camping is something you can spend a fortune on and then get disheartened with so I'm glad we set about it slowly. It means we know what works for us, what's a problem for us and what our priorities are before we spend too much.

My personal essentials are wine and cider

Otherwise, freeze the food you're taking so it maintains low temperatures in your coolbox. Take spare carrier bags. Wear clothes that dry quickly if wet and can be layered for warmth. Take crocs/sandals. Bring something suitable for entertaining young children quietly at 5am :) Carpet tiles make great doormats. Wind up lanterns seem ingenious until you realise how noisy they are. Sewn in ground sheets keep bugs out and toddlers in.

Have fun!

Get the basics right then have fun accessorising with gadgets and comforts.

I recommend a tent you can comfortably stand up and move around in, and if you're planning on camping in the UK, think about a flat-fronted design (rather than one which slopes at an angle) with an integral awning which you will be thankful of when it showers. Like this Kampa.

Don't scrimp on airbeds or sleeping bags. Many on here are advocates of SIMs (self-inflating mats) which are supposed to be excellent. I have no experience of them but I can thoroughly recommend the Coleman comfort airbed (amazing half price deal here) which is very good quality and has two separate chambers so you don't roll into your co-sleeper.

Buy comfortable folding chairs that are as big as you can transport. I recommend these moon chairs.

You will need decent lighting. My favourite lanterns are campigaz lumogaz as they are cry bright but also dimmable and give off a nice warm light.

Once you've got these comfort/shelter basics covered, you can start to think about the fun stuff!

'cry'? don't know how that got in there!

sorry! Bad link. Kampa tent...

Gah! Don't know whats going on with that link. Google Kampa Hailing 4

Hayling FFS

vivi thanks that tent looks perfect!

I know it's a daft question but what do you do during the day on camping holidays? Is it normal days out type stuff or mainly sitting and chilling? I think I fancy trying it next year but just need to think it all through before buying all the stuff.

Chicken I guess it depends on how much your kids need activities/entertaining, and how long you go away for.

We're doing well if we manage to get off-site at all, when we're camping we just love taking the time to potter about, and slow the pace right down, but then we only tend to go away at weekends. It can take the best part of a morning to get up/washed/breakfasted/tidied and that's what I love so much about it. It's just a big game of Wendy house for me! It's heaven to just sit and read and gaze about and live from one mealtime to the next.

Would heartily recommend a 'trial camp' locally once you've got your stuff, to see how you get on, and if there's anything else you feel you need. This is also great to give you a practice of putting the tent up, which will always take a bit longer the first time, and best to do when fresh and in a good mood! (Most are really simple though, colour-coded poles etc!).
Anyway, would recommend looking at the basics list on the camping page of Mumsnet. Great additions: big blue Ikea bags (store loads, and collapsible so save room), definitely SIMS, lots of blankets, antihistamines, toys, pilllow, big cartons of orange juice, camping cook kit, little single burner, fold-out bbq etc.

Thank you, that's what I was hoping to hear. Sorry to butt in Bauer

If you pick the right site you won't have to leave - the kids make friends and spend the day playing with them,once morning stuff is out of the way you start idly pondering dinner. It's properly relaxing - crochet, books and wine :)

jenny's suggestion of local trial camp is a good shout. In fact, these days we tend to stay within our 6-county local region for most weekend trips regardless. Not the first area you might think of for holidays, but there are some gems of sites to be found and if you pick a good one you could be anywhere really. (Although we're lucky to be within an hour of the White Peak)

Completely agree with affafantoosh

"once morning stuff is out of the way you start idly pondering dinner" PRECISELY!

I take books/magazines I've not got round to reading and half-finished craft projects. At the end of the weekend, the books and magazines return home unread and the craft projects remain unfinished as I've been so busy doing nothing I've not had chance to look at them!

So lots of eating, drinking and doing nothing. I'm going to Millets right now!

Do you think that it would be worth getting a 6 man tent rather than a 4 man? Can you ever have too much space? Are there any drawbacks to having a bigger tent than you need?

difference in price is £70 so if there is a chance that the 4 man would be too small id buy bigger. There are only the three of us though, but i guess another child might come along. Ive no idea how long a tent lasts for but I'm guessing numerous years as long as you look after it?

That's a good question, Bauer. If your budget/transport allows I'd say get the biggest you can afford/fit in the car. Although I always think that bedroom size isn't as important as communal living area size.

The reality of number of berths varies across manufacturers. We had a supposed 4-berth Hi-gear for years that was just about adequate for DH, me and the dog. Our new Outwell is a "5-berth" but the bedroom space is practically double that of the Hi-gear and I can't imagine ever outgrowing it...

Our cheap 6 man is vast (look up Freedom Trail Kanaka for a newer but very similar version). Four of us so a double airbed in each bedroom with plenty of space and lots of living room in between. I think a 4 man would be stressful.

That's what i thought. My experience of a 4 man tent (without living space) is that its only adequate for 2 people, 3 at a push and if they weren't too large. And that's only festival camping so not too much stuff to store.

i think 6 man is the way to go then, and then at least others could bu k in with us if we were going away in a group.

We've just bought this one - haven't properly tested yet - only out in the garden - but so far seems pretty leak proof and very easy to get up - takes about 5 minutes to get up and 10 minutes to fold down (not including guy roping). Living area is huge - DH (6ft 2) can stand up straight in there.

www.decathlon.co.uk/seconds-family-42-xl-tent-family-tent-id_8245573.html

keely Our camping best buddies have that Quetcha, they love it! I especially like the fold-down window in the front door. It seems really quick to pitch and strike, too. My only concern with it would be the groundsheet isn't fully sewn in but I'm sure that could be overcome with careful pitching.

My personal preference is for bedrooms side-by-side, but if that's not an issue then that tent is definitely a good bet from what i've seen of it.