Tips, never done camping before only…

[Newbubs]

4* all inclusives abroad lol..
are we mad?
need all your tips, ive never put a tent up in my life / nor has my partner lol
2 kids are 6 & 10 and we want them to have the camping experience.
where do we even buy a tent?
good camping sites north west England/ wales

You could try renting a tent/equipment to see if camping is for you before buying a tent and finding you hate it.

I agree with PP. Don’t go buying all the kit until you’ve tried it first. There’s a good campsite in Wales called Dolbryn where you can hire a ‘ready tent’.

Honestly, why would you even consider camping. It’s absolutely miserable, by the time you but everything you’d of had a nice holiday in Spain.

Borrow or hire everything.

Practice putting the tent up before you go.

What do you mean by the camping experience?

In your shoes I would definitely be going to a campsite where the tent is up already. Get some things to be able to cook though! For Sausages, beans etc. Take some board games, badminton rackets, cards. Find an area where you can go on nice walks. Choose a facility with toilet and shower block... Some will even have an entertainment area with pool table etc.

If you can get somewhere with electric hook up and then take everything you might need to make it less of a shock to the system! Phone chargers, fan heaters, fan, laptop with DVD player for nighttime? Etc etc.

We take camp beds and duvets because I hate sleeping bags and blow up beds (they always sink to the ground of a night.) In my experience if you're comfortable and sleep well of a night you'll have a much better experience as a whole!

If you're not going for electric hook up, get yourself a camping stove (one of those small ones with the gas canisters) and a camp kettle and some hot water bottles, fill these of a night for when you go to bed because your kids will probs get cold.

Best thing about camping is a fire, so you'll need some kind of fire pit which you can sit round. And don't forget the marshmallows to toast (take chocolate digestives too, invert the biccies, squish the melted marshmallow between and you've got yummy s'mores!)

Definitely look into borrowing or renting the big stuff. EBay, marketplace etc is full of expensive equipment being sold for s fraction of the price after one use.

Camping is not for the faint hearted! Both DH and I are ex Scout leaders so years of experience in pitching tents etc but a family camping trip is very different, you will need decent equipment (& lots of it!) to be even vaguely comfortable. If neither of you have camped before I would seriously suggest going to somewhere where the tents are put up for you. Or look at Eurocamp? We had some fab holidays there when our DS was younger.

Or enrol your DC in Cubs/Scouts ... we used to have wonderful camping trips when we took the Cubs and Scouts away.

Thank 👍🏻

@Yodaisawally theyve never been before 🤷🏻‍♀️

Go with friends who camp?

Do a short break ‘glamping’ in a ready set up tent?

To give your kids the camping experience I would not, personally, head to a ‘holiday park’ type site with loads of facilities, club, pool, EHU, carrying a ton of equipment.

I would do the opposite. Find a quiet ‘back to basics’ site with a natural setting and loads of space. One that allows campfires, and go for 3 nights.

Tent, mats, bedding, folding chairs, table, stove, cooking stuff, cooler. Portable BBQ.

Go out during the day, beach, castles, whatever. Get back to the site, BBQ or a one pot dinner on your stove, light the campfire, let the kids toast marshmallows.

If they love it this style of camping makes great weekend breaks. It makes camping the experience in itself rather than trying to recreate the home experience in a tent sitting on blow up sofas.

Thanks some good ideas @SausageAndCash

Borrow what you can and yes try a couple of nights somewhere local and then book that all inclusive

If you do decide to go for your own tent, buy one with a sewn in groundsheet. Much easier to pitch

Just book a long weekend.

We're keen campers but anything over 4 days and it gets a bit tiresome.

If they're used to all inclusives abroad why don't you camp in that type of resort? Back to basics on the accommodation front, but without the cold and without having to drive off site to find things to do.
Check out Eurocamp website and then google anything you like the look of to book a pitch directly with that campsite. I don't think there's just one type of camping experience.

I dont want to go abroad

Google 'tent', buy tent, put up tent in garden. Find it won't go back in the bag, shout, swear, kick it a few times then book a budget hotel.

Aldi have camping stuff coming in next week, if you're keen on buying bits.
But yes, I'd borrow as much as I could the first time, or go somewhere where its all provided for you.

aldi camping

Camping can be great fun. But it's much less comfortable or convenient than AI. Go with the right attitude and you'll have a great time.
I agree with the suggestion to try somewhere ready pitched to see if you like it. It's a lot of outlay if you have no equipment otherwise
Failing that, my top tips!
Borrow or buy a tent you can stand up in. We bought an airbeam tent last year and it's the easiest tent ever to put up. It's inflatable and has a ground sheet.
If you don't have a big car, get a roof box. You can get soft sided ones that pack away if you don't have a lot of storage. Excellent for bulky items like sleeping bags and pillows.
You can camp on sites with electric hook ups, which will run things like chargers and electric cool boxes (very handy).
Decide if you want to cook or not. When we go camping now I don't take all the cooking gear and we eat out/get takeaway more. You can get a simple stove for heating water or making an easy hot breakfast or 2 pot meal.
You will need something to sleep on, camp table, chairs, lights/torches, washing up gubbins, bedding. Lots of sites have good facilities for washing up, clothes washing, etc.
Have a look at the camping threads for good tips.
Decathlon is a great shop for reasonable quality decent gear, also supermarkets for entry level stuff.

This site is lovely
www.fforestfields.co.uk/

Try somewhere that they are already up
Look at bramley meadows on Facebook

Go with friends with kids if you can. They will entertain yours and you will feel all wholesome about them having good clean fresh air fun not bothering you for tablet every 5 mins. Problem with camping is it much more enjoyable if you buy all the bits but it's not at all cost effective that way. We had minimal equipment for years and got by. Pound land do camping stuff this time of year which is fine. Cheap airbeds from Blacks. A pump you can plug into your car rather than having to inflate the damn things yourself. We always take duvets and pillows, much nicer than sleeping bags. I used to think I hated camping but I'm a complete convert. Or maybe I just like drinking wine from lunchtime in a field (Should say have only been with friends who are much more camp savvy and know about things like guy ropes!)