Novice camper, clothing advice

[Whateverittakes3]

Going camping in Dorset next week, after the bad weather thankfully. Sunny weather is forecast. I think it's meant to be between 19 - 22 degrees. How warm will it be at night in the tent and what clothing would you seasoned campers recommend? We have 3 kids including a 11 month old who will be in a travel cot and grow bag. My husband says this will be an adventure!!! I'm hoping it will be fun but if you have any top tips to make it enjoyable and pain free, I'd be very grateful! Thanks

You'll need warm clothes for the evenings - it gets cold very quickly, and once you are cold its hard to get warm. Get the kids into pjs and fleece onesies then coat on top after tea, and get your own pjs, fleecy socks etc on at the same time then layer over the top. Take lots of extra fleece blankets so you can snuggle up in them, then put over sleeping bags at night.

Thank you! Lots of cosy layers needed then. So even if it's only going down to 17 at night, you think we'll still need coats as well as hoddies/warm jumpers? I guess it can get chilly on the coast, especially if there's a breeze.

Yes. Go and sit outside in the garden for half an hour this evening and see how quickly you get cold! Maybe you won't need them, but it will be miserable if you get cold - last week the people we were camping with didn't have warm things for the evenings and she couldn't sleep the first night she was so cold

It gets really cold in the evenings when the sun goes in and cold in the mornings before the sun comes out! Better to pack a few more layers than to be cold. You can also wear the extra layers in the sleeping bags if you're not warm enough.

I put a full length thermals on once the sun dipped in the evening earlier this week, and a pair of hiking trousers, the day's T shirt back on and a hoodie over those. One evening I put on socks and my boots, the other I was fine still in flip flops.

It had been shorts and tshirt weather by day.

But I was nicely cosy that way and stayed up later than I expected chatting because I was cosy rather than cold.

I had a hat for bed but didn't end up needing it. I also had a spare long sleeved top which was not needed.