Would we be crazy to camp down cornwall for a week in this

[ifeelsleepy]

Okay so we will be first timers at this camping lark and we was shocked at the cost of holidays this year, so we came up with the idea of going camping for a cheap holiday.
We didn,t want to buy a real expensive tent at the moment in case we don,t take to it.

Anyway when I tell you about the tent we are considering to have as our home for a week down cornwall which will be something like a 240 mile drive from where we live, please don,t laugh.
It is a Pro Action 240 tent that sleeps 4 people with 1 bedroom and well thats basically it.
It does have a porch which is quite a generous space, an attached ground sheet.
I can stand up in it but I am only 5ft 2.
Although it sleeps 4 there will be just 3 of us myself, my 7yo ds, and my dh.

We have bought 3 single airbeds and plan to just stack them up pushed away up the one side of the tent when not in use, giving us room to move around in the day.
The inner size of the tent is 210 x 240cm.

Are we crazy to consider a week in this.
I do have visions of getting to the camp sites and all of these people having fantastic tents with several rooms and loads of room to walk around in etc, and there will be us with this relatively small tent.

Um... why would you be crazy to consider camping in this? It sounds like a perfectly fine tent to me. Remember, on an ideal camping holiday the only time you spend in the tent is sleeping.

I just spent ten days camping with DS, and this is our tent. If you think yours is small, think again

have you a link?

So the size of the entirety of the inside of the tent is 210x 240, or is that just the bedroom?

Our w/e tent is 305 x 380 (there are 4 of us) and it is cosy! Not sure I would want to stay more than 2-3 nights in it, particularly if the weather was bad.

What about buying a free standing sliding canopy or a Quecha day room to give yourselves a bit more living space?

I wouldn't worry about it. If you are happy in the tent then you go ahead!! Hope you have a great time.

I personally prefer a 5 man tent and as such we sold our 4 man tent tent to a friend.

And now wish we had not, as it was a great 4 man tent and would have been perfect with DD aged 2. But, for 3 people it might be a bit cramped for so long.

You would be better with a porch each end, as it means you have some space to relax in if the weather is bad.

I think a week is a long time to camp in a tent you don't know if you like, and if you have not done it before.

If its perfect, its great, if you hate the tent, it will be awful

That is the whole of it slubberdegullion.
I am not sure how to do links but we got it from Argos. cat no 340/9770 if you want check it out.
We got it reduced from £44.99 down to £22.49 and it didn,t cost us a penny as we had vouchers which my dh got from doing surveys online.

We do plan to do a 2 night stay somewhere local first.
We have also tried it out in the garden and the only thing I can say is that I got a little cold.
I am a bit dissapointed in the sleeping bags we bought, I don,t think they are quite warm enough.

Were you planning, as OMDB says, just kipping in it, and then heading out for the rest of the day? I'm sure it will be fine for that, and you can sit in the porchy bit on the floor (on a rug) for a brew and cereal

Can I ask why cornwall? If you discover that camping is not the thing for you then you'll have a long drive home. Can you try it out for a w/e camp at a site closer to you (or even in your back garden) first?

ahh x post!

layers is what you want to be keeping warm. Many layesr on you, and blankets underneath your airbeds.

What do you do with the tent in the morning? is it safe to leave it at the camp site? Do all of them have toliets and water?
Sorry for hijacking.

I love cornwall so much and really want to go.
Camping is the only way I am going to afford it this year.
To be honest we will probably be out all day and will be back around the 5.00pm mark at the earliest.
I am not sure what to expect really I suppose it depends on what there is to do on the camp as to what sort of time we will spend in the tent.

Yes I need to invest in some blankets as the sleeping bags are clearly not always adequate on their own.
I also need to look at what I will be wearing.
Depends on the weather alot I suppose.

avenanap
I expect you just leave your tent where it is.
I hope so anyway I can,t see people taking those big massive tents down only to put them up all over again.
As far as I know they do all have toilets and running water.
I expect the only thing to be careful about is what you leave in your tent when you go out in case it gets pinched.

avenap, sorry your post made me lol a little bit at the thought of striking camp and packing your car up to take it down to the beach in safety.

sorry. yes, fine to leave it there. yes to campsites having loos and water. In fact I think to call yourself a campsite you have to supply a loo and water...anything above that is a luxury

sleepy, what are you doing about cooking/eating etc?

I don't have a car, hence the 'can I leave it' question. I've never been camping before either. We are going to buy a tent tomorrow. I never went on holiday as a child. Thanks.

We have bought a camp stove not sure how we will arrange mealtimes.
We will most likely have dinner out and come back and cook our tea on it.
For breakfast we may just have some cereal and sometimes maybe cook some bacon and eggs on it.
I may even bring some fish and chips or a chinese takeaway back to the tent does that sound a bad idea.
Not sure what happens with washing up, will I have to make my way over to the wash block with a load of dirty plates.
I am not sure how I would organise alot of things really.

avenap - sorry. I didn't mean to cause offence.

sleepy, yes you load up your dirty dishes in your washing up bowl( camping essential) and there is usually a pot washing facility at the loo/showers block where you wash up. I think chinese in your tent at night sounds great.

avenanap I don't have a car either, hence my tent only weighs 2.5kg!

Yes you leave them pitvhed at the campsite. Just don't leave valuables in them.

Everything I take camping fits into two rucksacks, my big 50kg capacity one and DS's smaller 15kg capacity one.

We call it minimalist camping!

washing up bowl is a camping essential? Oops. I've got by so far without one.

www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3409086/Trail/searchtext%3ETENTS.htm

Does this one sound ok?

Right thats another essential to add to my list washing up bowl, I never gave it a thought.
This is what I have then a camping frying pan, some plastic knives, forks, and plates.
I also intend to get a fold up camping table, a camping kettle, a waterproof rug, and some blankets.
I have thought about a lantern but my dh is admanent that a torch left on is okay not too sure about that myself.
I have also thought about a camping heater but my again my dh thinks its not needed as we can just put on extra layers if a bit cold.
Oh I am also going to get 3 fold up chairs.

looks fine to me! Looks quite big in fact compared to mine

oh my gosh.

So does no one else do minimalist camping any more?! Surely I'm not the only oe who has never taken tables and chairs and stuff?

I would recommend head torches though ifeelsleepy, better than normal torches. A lantern could be useful, I'm sure essential kit to some.

I have wind-up torches, that way it doesn't matter how long we have them on for.

I have a wind up torch, a picnic backpac for the food (it has plates/cups/cuttlery inside aswell) so i'll need a cooker thingy and a pan. And clothes. And a rug. This should be it?

avenanap
I have had a look at the tent and it looks good for the money.
Is it just 2 of you going then and do you intend to go somewhere local or further afield.
How long are you thinking of going for.