What can I do to convince dh of the wonders of camping?!

[anchovies]

So no holiday booked for the summer so far. My plan was to sell the big old dome tent, buy a pretty new canvas tent and some fancy comfy beds and drive down to the dordogne for a couple of weeks. Not doing a lot other than letting the kids run wild and drinking red wine.

Dh on the other hand has just announced he would rather fork out the £3-4K for a week all inclusive in Turkey or Egypt.

Is there any hope if our ideals are so far apart? Do other people camp just because they actually like camping or am I being ungrateful?!

If I need a pee in the night, which I don't usually, I accept my fate and put on my coat and make the walk, making sure to take in the stars and the silence.
If I've been woken up by the walk, I pop a heater on back at the tent, light a low lamp and read for a bit. If it's raining, so much the better. I might even have a cup of tea.

We tend to head for remote sites, which are rustic and populated by other people who love camping, and aren't just there for a cheap jolly. They're never packed out (otherwise we wouldn't go), and they're always super pretty. It's a different world.

pictish - you have just described my idea of absolute HELL.....

That's fine by me. We're off week after next, for a week. I am really looking forward to it.

We spent a week near Glencoe in July. View from the tent here. Camping affordably gets you access to scenery, which is a big plus point.

Wow, what a view, what an amazing view Pictish
shame about the hateful triangles-of-bunt

I too don't mind the trudge across the field in the middle of the night wee. Perfect opportunity for some quiet star gazing. Sometimes I will sit out in my chair for a bit post-piss and take in the quiet and the joy of being outdoors.

Re sims, Have found the perfect arrangement for hd and I which is three 5cm thermarests put together with a thick mattress topper from Dunelm over the top and to hold them together. It's the size of a kingside bed. I'm evicting the dc from the garden tonight so I can sleep on it.

I've had my hateful bunt many a long year. I look at that and see cheer.
We go the full wank and have rugs and all that.

What I'm really looking forward to is that mil has offered to take the kids for a couple of nights, so dh and I can get away on our own.
I look forward to lying on the rug, watching the bunting flap in the breeze, and not having to do a single thing for anyone.

You can't convince a non camper to camp. If my DH suggested camping I'd suggest separate holidays.

Ooh interesting thread!

Dh absolutely hates camping and will not consider the idea. However, financially we will not be able to afford any holiday for many years to come, so I think a short holiday in a tent may be a good idea.

I've been trying for years to convince him and I know dd 13 would love it, but he won't try - well, we have camped about 17 years ago and he doesn't want to do it again.

No chance of a caravan either, even if we could afford one. We don't have a car that can tow and he doesn't want to tow one or stay in one

I often wish he was more adventurous .....

We use a bog standard air bed, and finish it off with some manual blows, which really makes it solid. No bouncy castle effect...we sleep like logs.

Am considering an aero bed next year. I'm worried it will puncture just the same though, and it will a much more expensive loss.

Slubber that sounds super comfy but isn't the pack size mahoosive?

Yes it is, but this year we are going in two cars (dh has to come home after 1 week to work) so I am taking EVERYTHING.

I agree you can't convince a non-camper to camp, DH has given up trying and just takes the DCs himself.

Mind you, nothing would induce me to go on an AI. Can't you find a compromise?

We go the full wank and have rugs and all that.

Ha - these are my camping 'rugs'. Ever the practical utilitarian.

My camping comforts that make it bearable are all about peeing & sleeping too.
1.Traveljohns - eco friendly they're not, but a godsend when you're busting in the early hours and miles form the loo block on a grim night.
Coleman Comfort airbed - it is really decent quality compared to bogstandard airbeds and has two independent inflation chambers so you don't roll into or bounce your co-sleeper, and packs up very small.

1. My OWN PILLOW. I take my super premium Dunlopillo that I have at home. The thought of crappy camping pillows gives me the shudder.

I agree that it's a marmite thing. I do however think it's unfair to deprive the kids of the experience (unless you live on a farm or in a forest etc).

Try this article from the Daily Mail last week (a third of Britains say that their top holiday memory is a family camping trip).

www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2697365/Simple-pleasures-Camping-trips-beat-luxury-breaks-adults-quizzed-favourite-summer-memories-child.html

SIMs for us and bucket with lid does it for us!

Pictish, that looks amazing, the sort of place we would like to go. Can you recommend any lovely sites? Our ds is 2.

It depends where you want to go. But if I can then of course...

Cornwall or Dorset, Isle of Wight. To be honest, if we were going for a week, Scotland is doable but we are not fans of Wales!

I'm camping now. We are in the Vendee just turned in afyer a day I'm the sun and a BBQ with cheap French wine, a game if scrabble and lots if laughs with the kids.
We've done the Bahamasrcuci and Florida but I absolutely adore the freedom and relaxation if camping.

Obviously I'm drunk hence massive typos

I loathe camping and have finally said 'no more' after many, many years of camping holidays with my parents, taking scouts camping and camping with DH & DC. I would genuinely rather not have a holiday that go camping - and am very happy to stay home this summer - the rest of the family are very welcome to go camping without me .

I would rather gnaw my own limbs off than go camping. Less dramatically, I would rather stay at home and go to work than take time off and go on a camping 'holiday'. I agree with some of the other people here that maybe you could compromise on a cheapo cottage holiday? There are some lovely places around. We once went to a lovely cottage only about 20 miles away for a week and we really enjoyed it.

Have never been camping but always wanted to try. However, Dh was always against the idea. I've finally managed to persuade him to try (he was swayed by the fact that it's cheap) and he has booked 10 nights in a campsite, which for a first attempt seems rather ambitious to me! I camped out in the garden the 3 kids a couple of nights ago to test out our gear. I bought Sims, having read good things about them on here. Got the Gelert 10 cm one for myself and, although it was very warm, I found it a bit too hard and narrow and I was aching badly the next day. I'm beginning to dread the thought of camping now! Was wondering whether it would be worth investing in a memory foam mattress topper or just a normal mattress topper? Would a mattress topper be comfortable enough to sleep on without anything underneath? Fishing chair beds look very comfortable, but we've haven't got a huge amount of space in the car.

Can't help with Dorset or Isle of Wight, as we're based in Scotland. Dorset would be a 14 hour drive for us, so we're never down that way. Scotland I can do.

Interesting that you don't like Wales. We did two weeks in Snowdonia two years ago and loved it.

Hmmm I'll tell my story tomorrow as it's far too late now but my DH hated the idea do camping until a few years ago........