Camping

[Cautiontothewind]

Hi.
I really wanted to try camping this year as we've never been and I really feel my kids aged 4 and 6 will enjoy it. I've bought a tent second hand, an ullswater 6 man one just for us to give it a go before shelling out hundreds potentially!
My husband isn't quite so keen (actually not keen at all) so I was wondering what necessary things I should buy to make it as comfortable and nice as it can be please! We'd be looking at going April/May time so it's warm.

An air bed plus a four season sleeping bag (think mine was £60) makes it lovely and cosy. Bought mine after a sleepless night in August in Cornwall, made all the difference.

I'm not a fan of electric hookups, because I prefer the campsites which are more natural, and you can just pick a spot in the field.

We take Down coats as they pack up small but are very warm, hats are good too, as it will be cold at night, its something you must do when the kids are small, we bought a £100 caravan, fixed it up and had a great time then saved up for a better one
Oh Hot water bottles are fab

Late May bank holiday (half term week) is usually fine for temperature, unless you are really unlucky (at least in southenn england, never ventured far north at that time of year!). Yes, it will get cold at night but not ridiculously cold.

Early May bank holiday can be really variable though, we've woken up to frost before now. It's perfectly possible to camp in such cold weather, with decent kit, but may not be much fun as an introduction.

@Cautiontothewind air beds offer no insulation at all, you are basically sleeping in a large bag of air kept chilled by the cold ground.

SIMS are expensive but the foam core is a great insulator.

Kids are usually fine on the roll up foam mats. Even better if you still have any of the interlocking foam play mats to put in the tent floor.

On your air beds foam yoga mats will give insulation.

If cold is likely to be your DH’s objection, wait til June.

I would definitely get electric hook and a simple fan heater any fan heater will do cheap or expensive just make sure it has a safety cut out and don’t place directly on the floor or too close to the tent walls.

We actually have a plug set with a little battery remote so we can turn the heater on before we leave our sleeping bags in the morning to take the chill off the tent.

For the children we take a little box of Lego, colouring in, head torches, a couple of magazines, shut the box is a big hit in our house. I do take a laptop that lives in the car for those terrible weather days to watch a dvd.

Just as weather can be bad however we also camped in the heatwave and I will say tents can become too hot as well we where abandoning tent by 7am and not stepping foot back in till around 8pm when it finally cooled down.

Also depending on how toilet trained your four year olds is take pull-ups even if you wouldn’t normally use them because trying to wash a sleeping bag and getting it dry again before bed while camping isn’t fun or easy depending on where you are.

You only need to look at the camping equipment sale pages for it to be obvious how many people spend a fortune on new kit, use it once and hate it.
Decide what type of camping you want to do.
As for 'wild camping' I'm sorry but there's not many places in the U.K. if any where that is legal, safe, and you won't piss off the locals.
I've camped all my life, including with 2 kids from 3 months old. I love it. But it does get cold at night and without decent kit (and preferably decent weather) you might be disappointed. For a first trip, borrow don't buy, book a campsite you can drive to, and with a toilet block, and wait until June.

What 'style' of camping is most likely to appeal?

There is a big difference between sites where pitches are marked out, in rows, tents next to each other, many with EHU, and the more back to basics 'wild style' campsites: camp where you like, usually far more space between tents, campfires are allowed, probably no EHU...and may even have compost toilets. Though not necessarily.

I much prefer the second style, as we enjoy the whole process of cooking over a fire, as an activity in itself.

Have you got friends who camp who you could go with the first time? Or borrow kit from?

I love camping, but can't bear camping with anyone who moans - I took our kids on my own as DH is a reluctant camper!

Porta-potty is useful with kids.