has anyone stayed in a ten for more than a month?

[badmummygoodmummy]

Will probs be 12 weeks, was it bearable? Any tips?

has someone suggested a caravan?

Where are you?

MB sounds fabulous - great areas

foam matt! that's the term i was looking for.

in the US it's a 'closed cell' matt. some brits call them Karrimats (sp?).

tent needs a good ground liner/tarp, too.

We have just come back from a one night Family Camp with ds's cubs pack.
Whilst the weather during the day was a fantastic 20degrees, the night was unbearably cold. We had a tent with sown-in groundsheets, two bedroom chambers like you describe. I wore fleece lined joggers, one short sleeved t-shirt, one long sleeved t-shirt, one sweatshirt and my anorak. I was in a sleeping bag and had a (thin) quilt stuffed down inside my sleeping bag to cover me. Oh, and two pairs of socks. And I froze. And needed the loo twice in teh night because I was so cold. The dc slept much better, wrapped up in joggers adn sweatshirts over their pjs.
But it was cold. We actually had a thin layer of ice over all the tables in the morning.
And it was not just me being a wuss - most people even hardened summertime-in-the-UK campers said how cold it was this time of the year.

I could not have done another night, neither could most of the parents on camp. But if you are normally quite hardy, and you have means of heating the tent / preparing hot water bottles etc it may be okay. The worst thing was how cold my nose was. And there was no way to wrap that one up....

Do you know anybody who has a trailer tent you could borrow instead, bmgm?

You would be fine with one of those - they have proper beds, on a proper floor off the ground, & with a huge extension thing in front, & an electric hook-up, you could live really well.

I am sure a static caravan on a site would be cheap at this time of year

I have camped in May and have it very cold.

I had a good 3 season bag, and was on a campbed, with a foam mat, and a rug over and under me and I was still cold

In the end I was sleeping in sock, Pjs, a teeshirt and a jumper.

Seriously, don't think that just a mummy bag will cut it, unless it is a bloody good winter expedition type

beetroot I am in manchester area, currently looking at statics rental lol

dont know anyone with a trailer tent

I guess you treat it like an adventure - and it will be. one tha tth kids will remreber forever.

are your kids at school?

oh, for nights, have a special bottle for potty visits or a bucket with kitty litter.

if you can get static caravan or trailer tent or campervan to rent it is a bit better.

yes at school betroot

unless you line the mummy bag with fleece and lay more fleece over the top.

i won't lie, it's cold.

Are they of any age where you could take them away? France for example?

but she's already homeless, Beety. i don't think her budget's going to stretch to taking the kids to France to camp if she's living in a tent to scrape up a deposit or wait for council to house them.

Can we put a shout out on here for the loan of a trailer tent? I bet someone on MN has one, or knows someone who has one.

where are you in the UK?

that could help us put out a shout for a tent trailer or a good static caravan park.

great idea, WW!

Expat - catching up here.

Just thought it would not cost much to drive to france and rent down south - especailly at this time of year.

It is too cold ot camp in Octber/Novermber in the UK

Kids are in school and IIRC, OP does not have a car.

Rates do drop this time of year - we live in an area with a lot of camp/static caravan sites.

I think WW's suggestion is a good one.

Just let us know where you are, badmummy and we'll see what we can do .

thanks for all your replies im near manchester

I am looking at statics atm

statics are good, BMGM, because many have features like double-glazing and heating.

believe me, miles over a tent when you can pop the kettle on in the morning.

also better for hanging out in the in the evenings.

They are also better at keeping all your stuff dry.

If it rains a lot all your stuff gets damp, and it is hard to keep warm and comfortable in damp kit.

I love camping but I think that it would be very hard for an extended period this time of the year. Even with a laundrette is is going to be hard to keep stuff dry.

Someone I went to college with lived in a 2 bedroom static caravan her whole life with 2 parents an older brother and younger sister. The grandparents kept telling her parents they could have some of their farm land to build on one day..........