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Camping

Our UK Camping forum has all the information you need on finding the right equipment for your tent or caravan.

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Original poster

anyone NOT going this weekend due to weather forecast?

58 replies

oiseau · 22/05/2008 14:56

It's our inaugural trip this weekend, bought all the kit, lovingly packed it all and it's sitting ready to go in the spare room. But the forecast looks shite for the SE ... We can't decide whether to go and risk putting the ds's off for life (and perhaps me?) or wimp out???

I really really really want to go but trying to make sensible decision.

what do you seasoned campers think?

OP posts:

Lucycat · 22/05/2008 16:15

at the moment if we can get the tent up by 4pm Saturday then we should be fine - heavy showers overnight - but I would much rather be sittin in the tent in the rain than at home.

A break is a break.

Fullmoonfiend · 22/05/2008 16:16

Rubberduck - pah, that's cheating, that is!

after the death of our beloved campervan we are back to 'normal' camping and I am dreading it, just for the amount of stuff needed

RubberDuck · 22/05/2008 16:25

Ah, but if you're going to cheat, you may as well cheat big .

It's all dh's fault. We started out looking at tents but he insisted that we'd need loads of stuff to be comfortable and would need a trailer. But if we had a trailer, we may as well have the tent ON the trailer so should get a trailer tent. Then we looked about on ebay and found we could get a trailer tent where the kitchen bit lifted off, or for the same money we could get an older folding camper. It sort of escalated from there!

Last year upgraded to a newer second hand folding camper (if that makes sense) with the loo and awning.

Fennel · 22/05/2008 16:34

We used to have a VW campervan (with little heater and cooker, very cosy in winter) and now have a tent, actually the tent is a lot better with 3 small children in it. More packing, but also more space when we're there. Less like being in a very packed noisy hyperactive sardine tin.

Milliways · 22/05/2008 17:12

There are 50 of us going, so we are taking a lot of gazebos/shelters & may even try & take a 30' marquee to huddle under

Can't believe it's going to be a repeat of last year.......

nikkid21 · 22/05/2008 17:47

I hope it's not a repeat of last year. We went to the Isle of Wight. Pitched on the Sunday and it was so wet that in the end I wore a swimming cossie, anorak and wellies to pitch the tent in. It was that or run out of dry pants by the first night.
We tried to go home on Whit Monday but the ferries were cancelled for about the 3rd time in living memory.

Have booked for a whole week at Osmington mills nr Weymouth leaving on Saturday. It's on a hill and v/exposed to the wind so i'm just keeping everything crossed right now.

Original poster

oiseau · 22/05/2008 18:39

OK - so no general consensus then! We think we are going to take a punt and go first thing Saturady morning so hopefully will get tent up before it starts raining ...

Oh and i had visions of idyllic sunsets with my boys and a campfire - oh well.

rubberduck - love your slide show, i want some of that! where were you?

My ds said solemnly to me this morning surveying our kit "mummy i don't think all this will fit in the car" - i don't either but dh is adamant!

OP posts:

RubberDuck · 22/05/2008 18:50

Was a mix of all our camping trips and places we'd visited while camping for the last 2.5 years So, North Wales, Dorset, Forest of Dean, New Forest... we like the sea as you may have guessed!

Always play that slide show when I start panicking about a camping trip as there's lots of happy memories even when the weather isn't as good as you'd hoped! And I cunningly didn't take photos of last Whitsun where dh put the camper down in torrential wind and rain while me and the dses huddled in the back of the car with a duvet over our knees!!!

Fullmoonfiend · 22/05/2008 18:59

rubberduck
That is camping with knobs on! Please tell us where you were, looks amazing.

Fullmoonfiend · 22/05/2008 18:59

ah sorry, x posts!

RubberDuck · 22/05/2008 19:00

LOL... click on the "i" icon in the middle of the photo and then it shows the comments on each photo - should say where a particular one is

Fullmoonfiend · 22/05/2008 19:01

oiseau, do you know, the weather forecast wasn't gorgeous for here today and yet it has been warm and mellow and sunny in parts. So I'd just go and hope for the best x we're all in the same boat!

RubberDuck · 22/05/2008 19:04

Campsites featured:

Aberafon, North Wales

Forest Holidays for Christchurch & Bracelands in Forest of Dean, and Holmsley in the New Forest

Golden Cap, West Dorset

Tatterdemalion · 22/05/2008 19:08

oh I was going to say " some of those look just like the Llyn". Thanks for the slide show rubberduck

zippitippitoes · 22/05/2008 19:08

lovely fotos

i worked out north wales and dorset

last year was the time of my awful fiftieth birthday the weather added to the fact it was crap

RubberDuck · 22/05/2008 19:09

Just hold on to the fact that Sat is supposed to be okay. Imagine Saturday evening, sitting outside with a glass of wine and no cares in the world... it will be good this weekend, damnit, it will!

PeachyWontLieToYou · 22/05/2008 19:10

may as well go, met office prediction for summer is wetter than average and we're not staying in all summer!

zippitippitoes · 22/05/2008 19:10

i went camping at the beginning of may bank holiday and the weather was supposed to be crap and it wasnt

RubberDuck · 22/05/2008 19:16

AND it was supposed to be raining today, and it didn't (well not here anyway)

Original poster

oiseau · 23/05/2008 11:26

Thanks for the links rubberduck, I did manage to work out the i button in the end!

our trip is still hanging in the balance ... ds2 has woken with temp and chesty cough - feel like someone is trying to tell me something!

argghhh I hate hate hate indecision!

OP posts:

RubberDuck · 23/05/2008 11:38

We're all packed - just cleaning out the fish tank before we pick up ds2 from nursery and go.

... tricky about the temp and chest cough though... you can bet your life if you cancel and stay at home they'll have boundless energy and health for the rest of the weekend and it will be sunny and hot to boot!

Original poster

oiseau · 23/05/2008 11:58

I know blardy typical.

You have a good time, report back!

OP posts:

RubberDuck · 23/05/2008 12:02

Oh good ... it's started raining properly.

Weekend's started then

RubberDuck · 26/05/2008 13:11

WE SURVIVED!

Nowhere near as bad as last year. Was dry pitching and dry packing up (the two important parts!). Saturday was lovely all day - not warm due to the wind but still sporadically sunny. Sunday was a bit pants weather wise but we did get to a local camp shop to stock up on bits for our summer trips (fire bucket, better melamine crockery, some unbreakable plastic glasses, new water pipe) so not totally wasted.

Lessons learned:

do not camp right by playground, even if you think it's FAB and you can keep an eye on your own children much easier. You become the local meeting place and a toy library (we didn't get all the toys back either ) and was noisy in the evenings. Better to be a little bit away but still within sight.
do not suddenly realise you are out of matches and milk half hour before the shops shut on a Sunday.
if you do try to rush before the shops shut on a Sunday, do stick within the speed limit ... think dh got flashed by a speed camera . The fine and points we could do without, but it was a fair cop guv (just a shame as we have both had clean licenses up to now).
never ever believe the weather forecast

TheHerdNerd · 26/05/2008 17:41

Ha ha, well done - good tip re. the playground!

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