Ok No Turning Back, We Are Going Camping!!!!!!

[magnolia1]

Just booked the pitch, 4 nights 27th August A haven site in Dorset

Just got to get the tent now!!!
So questions!!!.....

1: 7 of us in the tent, 2 adults, 5 kids is this tent ok? here
2: We are going for the basic pitch without elec hook up. Are we mad???
3: I need to find the most easy to use but cheapish stuff for making tea, cooking dinner on?
4: What do I sleep ds1 in he will be 9 months old?
5: Any tips to make it kind of stress free???

Oh god I am going camping!!!!!!

The range are doing single ring portable burners for £9.99 that you use a canister for rather than a gas bottle with a regulator so its easy to completely disconnect the gas when not in use. having said that we have a campingaz 2 ring and grill cooker and have never had a problem with the gas bottle - even with ds having a pathological need to press buttons and turn knobs

They will be 12, twins 7, 4 and 9 months!
Its a Haven site so lots to do with 2 outdoor pools, 2 indoor and entertainment everyday.
I'm not brave enough for real real camping yet
So the tents??? I need to know which one out of the 2 is best? Sunncamp tourist 6xl or coleman quadspace 9?

Its all a matter of taste really but sunncamp certainly have a good reputation. Have you gone to a show or a store where they have a display - if you can get to look around the tents it really helps to give you ideas about what would suit you best.

If you've not been before it would be best if you could borrow a tent and equipment from a friend for your first trip.

A good site to get advice and info on campsites camping etc is this

Just looked at the ages of your children - wow you have your hands full

Farmer Palmers is good for the younger ones

Monkey world is great whatever your age

The tank museum is supposed to be good too

I'll find you some links.

If you want I can send you some leaflets about local attractions - CAT me if you'd like me to do this.

Farmer palmers here

Monkey world here

The tank museum here

Adventure Wonderland is good too here

Thanks I forgot about Monkey world, will definately do that.

No chance to get and look around, 5 kids and dh workin all the time and I don't drive
So am gonna take a risk and just buy one lol

Coleman one ends in 35 minutes!!!!!!!!

Is a 9 berth big enough for 7 inc dh who is quite a big man??

No I'd go for the Sunncamp one if I were you. With all those kids you need the space!

ok, phew thank god one of you answered

Now I can tell dh we have to have the bigger one coz u lot said so

There is another Sunncamp Torist 12 on ebay here but he says local pick up from Lancaster - you could arrange postage from £10 though using payperdrop.

unless you live in Lancaster of course!

This one here ends later today and is only 45 minutes from me.
Its not quite as big as the one you linked but it looks ok??

Sunncamp definately a good buy. We bought second hand one off ebay and its brill.
Took 5 kids camping last bank holiday with my mate and we found some things which are a definate include........

Box with lid for all cutlary plates and cooking things so they can be stored outside of tent.
Wind breaker to create private area for bucket at night(toilet) and also to store things behind.
Large fishing umberella kept outside things dry.
Lots of camping chairs very important!!!
I took travel cot for DD (1) BUT didnt use it instead she slept in ready bed next to me...much warmer for her and me TBH
Take loads of extra clothes for kids!!!
Washing up bowl.
We had a BBQ for cooking our tea/dinner then used a 2 ring gas burner for heating water and frying bacon!!! Really think we need another gas burner though (going again next weekend)
Freeze all your meat etc. Put all in freezer bag with loads of ice blocks and freezer drinks for kids and place in too. We did this and went saturday morning, the stuff we used sunday night for BBQ had only just defrosted and had kept everything else cold too!!!!
Loads of extra blankets
Dont forget dust pan and brush and also bag to put dirty washing in!!!

Yes that one looks fine!

do you have / can you borrow a roofbox? we find ours is great for keeping all the stuff that you don't want lying around the tent in - like tentbags/sleeping bag stuffsacs / beach stuff / even spare or dirty clothes. It also means that if you haven't the biggest tent in the world, you don't have to have all your stuff in the tent with you.

Another invaluable item is those collapsible crates, we use them for shoes / to stand bottles in etc.

An untidy tent is a depressing place

The good thing about a Haven types ite of course is that they have shops on site, so you could just take the first nights food and then get the rest there- that's how we play it now. last time I took a large tub into which I had placed tuna steaks for all of us, covered with a can of coconut milk and juice of 2 limes, then frozen. We grilled the tuna (defrosted during journey but you could sue an ice bag if you needed it to keep for a long journey) added chilli to the adults helpings, and also grilled small corn on the cobs and asparagus- delicious! Smelt fantastic too as the sun went down

How long gas lasts depends on the size, a small one lasts us (5 of us) 3 - 4 days, the one we have for the combo alsts about 2 weeks altogether, then we just get a refill which most sites do anyway.

Sunncamp and Coleman are both good names, Coleman has recently moved into the premium amrket though so anything over a year old wouldn't be necessarily of quite the same level- saying that, it'll still be good. Coleman, Sunncamop, Gelert, Sunncamp, Outwell (I suppose- gee [wink to Luce and her Outwell cronies), Khyam (only for the best people dontcha know), Wynnsyer are all good names, plus there's lots of other names that are good but less well name- Royal for example.

We've always camped with babies and the best way I've found for making sure older siblings don't roll on them in the night is to use a Samsonite pop-up cot. I'm sure someone on MN was offering one in the last day or so for swaps but might sell. It's small, weighs next to nothing and has fly screens. I took it abroad too and carried it as hand luggage through airports incase we got stranded and I needed somewhere to sleep my LO's.

oy peachy! I heard that!!

crony my arse

but I do love my new Outwell doormat - I can pretend to be a posh new Outwell owner

Oi yerself Is aw you trying to persuade some poor innocent to join you in your addiction on the other thread, when all she wanted was a good honest much cheaper Khyam like mine.

[wink

You off for Whitsun Luce?

I ahve no dormat

what with my new tent, canopy and CARPET a doormat seems, shall we say, a little passe

Yep, just modifiying my camping list as we speak

We are off to N Wales again. To a site called Eisteddfa near Criccieth.

It's our nearest 'seasidey nice place'

You off to Cheddar?

carpet

you girly poncey softy

Great so 2 gas thingys ahould do.
Will have a look for that pop up cot, sounds easier than a travel cot, ready bed sounds ok too