Camping Top Tips!!!! Come on over and fill this thread with your red sock knowledge!!!

[Nixz]

This thread may be a total killer but I could do with a load of tips myself and think it would be fun!

I have so far learned that sites will freeze ice blocks for you!

Please feel free to leave questions or advice on anything to do with the great outdoors
Thanks!

Oh filly you're such a purist. You make me feel quite ashamed by my materialism but camping does bring it out in me. I searched high and low for tasteful melamine plates to get rid of the horrid plastic ones. I did a google search earlier and got quite excited about a melamine cafetiere... though I wouldn't actually buy one. It would be safer than glass though - I find things tend to get knocked around much more because you don't have the storage in a tent, and the trip to the washing up can be a bit hairy with glass.

4, 8 or 12 cup plastic thingies
Individual insulated one

OK enough of cafetieres I don't even drink coffee}

We tend to break glass cafetieres even at home. And especially when packing for camping. Yes all our camping equipment is plastic I think.

We don't take loads of camping equipment, no tables or benches or beds, just carrymats. and the cafetiere. and a corkscrew and a lot of wine.

we have just bought some v nice melamine picnic/camping crockery from Johm Lewis and have already used it quite alot, despite not having been camping yet this year - the DTs like to use it for garden picnics so we feel justified in our extravagence

lol at you all justifying your plastic fetishes

you need one of these

but NOT in nhs prosthetics issue grey, pls.

The range has some long stemmed wine glases with no base, you just stick them in the ground! fab.

A tip we like (remembering the ice apcks was one of mine, and I thank you for ytour acknowledgement ) is to take a doormat- a £2 savers rubber one, none of thsi posh crap but its good to pop outside the tent for a place to take off boots etc outside the tent

cheapish FJ style mug

albeit in grey

cheapish FJ style mug

albeit in grey

oh

and people who take umpteen windbreaks are anti social and should take up something more suited to them- eg plane spotting

(WHY do people do that?)

And if you're in a quiet site near a stream, streams make fab milk / wine coolers

love those cafetiere mugs filly, may have to order a couple

windbreaks - we've never had one before but have jsut got one for this summer, to use, dare I say it, as a windbreak - unconventional I know

but its the same PRICE peachy

its almost certainly the same MUG

just with no choice of colours

yes but theres a hawkins in Cardiff for sure yousee, so plus other places which saves ordering

true

but

a. bus fare is £2.20 so not much difference and anyway if i go to town in end up in waterstones, which is unwise.

b. rankness

(actually they used to sell them in lakeland also, of which there is one in cardiff)

habitat has the most beautiful melamine plates this year.

We have a Kelly Kettle. Wish there was a smug emoticon!

absolutely with you on the proper mugs sal.

I have a Smarties one and dh has a kitkat one - bought for £1 each from Woolies in Pwhelli the year we forgot ours from home.

I will not drink tea from a melamine mug - one does have standards you know?

anyway most melamine mugs are too small

we have those inculated metal ones

and proper knoves and forks yes

and napkins inthe et but they ever yet ahev come out LOL

I like tin mugs and plates, a cup of tea drunk from a big tin mug is so cosy and comforting

"everything will be fine as long as you have enough cake"

I think I may adopt this as my philosophy of life

we take home made cake (choc and ginger next time fo D-Dad who is coming), and home made jam

I take a banana cake, flapjacks and some sort of sponge thing.

puppydavies - the cake comment is a quote of the week!

I got lovely polkadot plates from poundland.

F and Z - that is my philosophy!

Great thread - been really useful for us novice campers

My main advice would be not to stay in a campsite - horrific places IMHO. Get away from it all - so much nicer than horrible toilet blocks and dealing with other campers who get drunk/rowdy/stay up all night/throw rubbish around etc.
Nothing tastes better than food cooked over the coals of a campfire. Mmmmm I miss camping - has been ages!

I agree with sweetydarling - but not for a first trip! Much better to try it out first in a place where's there's someone to borrow matches and a mallet from. Trust me, you will have forgotten them!