Total Camping virgins, all advice gratefully recieved and appreciated.

[2beautifulgirls]

Right today i have had the brainwave to go camping sometime in the Summer holidays with the DD's and DH.
So the nearest DH and i have been to camping is at music festival without the DC.
So what advice, recommendations have you got for us novices. The DD will be 4 and 2
I want everything from where to go, what pitch, what to take, what kind of tent, sleeping bags. Where to avoid. What not to take.
Sorry but COMPLETE Novices and if you can't ask on mumsnet where can you ask?

Get a decent sized tent that has plenty of room for you all to sit inside. Try and get to a show or to a shop that has a display so that you can see the tents yourself and decide what will really suit you and your fanily.

What to take depends on whether you want to go back to basics and really minimalist or whether you like a few home comforts. I think Sallys takes her straighteners lol

Also have a look on ukcampsite as it is really good for info and site reviews.

With sites it also depends on what you want from your holiday. Do you want kids clubs, enetertainment etc or would a quiet more basic site with just loos ans showers (and maybe a small play area) suit you better. We like the latter so can recommend a couple of those to you.

Probably the latter, if you could recommend anywhere. Thanks for all the advice so far, getting excited about it now.

My friends got a Halfords starter pack for their first weekend trip, and now a few trips on are considering buying a bigger tent.

We got stuck in and bought a whopper 6 years ago, which is still going strong after many lengthy trips!

If you are going for a short trip, there are some decent sites in the UK, but I would definitely recommend France for a proper hol - we go to the sites used by Eurocamp, etc with our own tent. The weather is the main advantage! But the facilities are usually much better too.

make sure you get a tent with hydrostatic head of at least 3000

(halforsds tesco ones are normaly 1500) it means how much water needs to be on the fabric before it leaks.

IMO with 2 children you do NOT want it to leak in the rain therefore a hydrostatic head of 3000 is essenitial

also do NOT assume you will be warm with just an air bed and a sleeping bag...

you need to insulate yoursleves from the cold ground.
I lay a blanket down 1st (or a picnic rug) then a foam mat (tesco sell them for £3, then the airbed, then a fleece throw (as a sheet) on the airbed, a sleeping bag AND a duvet.
IMO it is sooo important not to be cold, and if you just do airbed / sleeping bag you will freeze!

In terms of where to go go to www.ukcampsite.co.uk/ and its has indeepnanat reviews (by us campers) of all campsites in the uk. (and a few in france) you can click on the area you want to go to and read what people who have been to the campsite actually think.

Nowadays some campsites have family bathrooms which would probably be useful for you with shc small chldren, IMO most showers provide more than enough room for 1 adult, but wouldnt be great for an adult wth another child!

If going for more than a few days it would be worth going to a camp site with freezers (to re-freeze your ice blocks)

Have fun!

Ebay! We have just bought a large tunnel tent on there for £53, immaculate condition and would have been £300 new (just put it up in the garden)

Look for tents near you that are pick up only as likely to get less bids and you don't need to pay postage (I am not v good at ebay and fairly new to it so feeling pleased with myself!!)

Well we love this site. No play park but some beautiful walks and a river running along the bottom of the camping fields. The first field has no direct access to the river which you might prefer having little ones.