camping with nearly 2 year old and 9 year old? Mad?

[hercules]

I'm sorry if it's been done before but cant be arsed to look.
I get a lot of holiday so it seems to make sense to get a tent. I havent been camping since I was a teenager. What are peoples experiences with small kids?

We are looking to buy one, since we are still in the process of kitting ourselves out. Is yours any good and if so, what is it. Oh and do you have a camp kitchen (shounds like I'm asking if you have flying ducks doesn't it!)

Anyone have time to make a list of buys for camping with kids?

You do find yourself thinking, 'Ohh a Vango, that looks nice'....how sad am I?????

I love camping with my two girls they were 2 and 4 when we went fisrt. Year before last we spent loads on equipment (about £400 for a HUGE tent, matresses, camping stove (with grill!!) gas lamps etc) and about £120 on a weeks holiday in Cornwall. We used the tent again this summer, but it rained so we came home early £62 for 4 nights! Went to the MN Summer party Also we went with Eurocamp to France last May Bank Holiday week (about £300 last minute) and it was fab, will do it again. Camping means we could afford a skiing holiday this year (disaster!) The girls hated it and wanted to go camping

Crunchie, £400! Wow what have you got ?

Flying ducks and a lovely muriel on the side of the tent, herc!

Ours is this one (only older of course). You need a big bottle of gas and one of these regulators too.

We had a really rickety old kitchen thing which DH got fed up with (he is generally camp cook) and now he just uses it on the floor; if our kids were still small I would insist on getting a nice new kitchen I think.

HMB We had an old table last year (my mum and dads from when I was a kid) and this year invested in a camp kitchen, It is worth it as it has a windbreak as well. We have a Vango tent (12 person ) and a different brand for the stove. Well worth it, I can do 'proper' meals. As I am veggie and my family aren't I often cook two things as once. We also have a small gas BBQ too. However we don'thave a fridge or lights

The vangos are nice! We almost got one buy dh wanted to stand up in the 'bed room'! So we have an outwell colorado. Ours only sleeps 8 tho....so we rare 'down market' from you

£400 inclded about £250 for the tent, about £40 for the stove. £30 ish for a double mattress, plus gas lamps, small table, 4 folding chairs etc. It sounds a lot, but I knew we wanted really good everything as we both camped as kids and loved it. So far it has cost us £200 each holiday (not counting MN weekend!) and if we use it 8 years in total it will be £50 a year. Not bad really

Thanks for comments - very helpful.

herc, have a look at this thread for some fairly definitive camping-with-kids information (esp from Katherine!)

Thanks - put it on my favourites!

We used a travel cot with DD when she was 20 months old. It worked out great.

A lot of campsites specify that they will not allow large group bookings - so only couples and families. You can't guarantee that there won't be pissed rowdy teenagers belonging to a family though but they didn't bother us. None of the campsite noise woke up DD - not even the dreaded snoring.

We used to love camping, then caravanning with the kids. I'd recommend the Camping and Caravanning Club for nice family sites in UK - less chance of rowdy teens. We were definitely not ones to 'rough' it - we took everything we could possibly fit into the car to make life as comfortable as possible.

without meaning to sound like a complete idiot, if you take a tent, do you normally get to park your car right next to where your tent is?

I quite like the idea of those portable bbqs and self inflating beds!

I just read that old thread Janh linked to. Katherine - camping with a 2 wk old baby and cloth nappies ...?! RESPECT!

Is she still on here?

Foxinsocks - it depends on the campsite. Most you do, but some you don't.

Our plans to get to a site on Windermere where the cars are kept separate keep getting kept getting frustrated last year. The idea of a car-free site really appeals to me, but I'm not sure what it's like in practice.

She is still here v occasionally, roisin - usually on a very old August babies thread with Marina and Wills and a couple of others - last time I spotted her she was digging up her living room floor at Christmas or something. Obviously she is not a mere mortal

Just spotted this thread and had to add my support for camping. Have 2 bedroom tent from Blacks. 1 inflatable double mattress in each bedroom. DD (4y) in one room, us in the other and baby in travel cot in the central bit. Cook on a trangia but one of these days I'll get a camp kitchen.

Great hol for kids - safe freedom.

If you're anywhere near N Wales the site at Betws- y-coed is civilised and ther's loads to do nearby

Sallystrawberry - I love cooking and eating outdoors too.

Admitedly it's never quite the same without a glass of wine or bottle of beer to hand

Ooooh - and how good does coffee taste when you drink it outside in the morning?! Mmmmm, I can't wait for the weather to turn so we can get away for a weekend at least.

Last year we went to Devon for a week. Two years before that the IOW. Plus we will have one or two nights away locally.

It's quite a new phenomenon for me - but I love it.

Does anyone else have tent-envy and go around their campsite tent-spotting?