What are your BEST and WORST camping experiences!

[BelleAtrix]

DH and I are packing for our trip next week, and its bringing back lots of memories - good and bad .

Best - Some disagreement here; I'm voting for the first time we 'comfort camped' in Cornwall (the bliss in a decent night's sleep under a duvet), dh is voting Glencoe (ok, cool pitch, but see below)

Worst - no one trip has been completely ruined, but we were nearly washed away in Glencoe, nearly blown away in the Norwegian mountains and nearly killed each other trying to get the farking MSR windpro stove working for the first time.

Next week is the first trip with ds - we're excited!! However, this is the first time we have a big tent, big stove, table, chairs etc etc - I think we need a trailer

What are yours?

oh, that reminds me of another worst lol - when the wild boars got into the food supplies (in the ardeche region) and we woke up to find we were miles from anywhere with no breakfast...

There is a common theme here of animals misbehaving

Scotland really is amazing for camping - if this trip goes well Hopefully a weekend in sept somewhere wild would be fun! I like the sound of a deserted beach (with no midgies and sun all trip; not sure if thats possible!)

Best - Little Travarack two years ago. We had great weather, the kids behaved brilliantly all week and we beat DS1's fear of fireworks by taking him to see them over Land's End

Worst - Two night big family camp on the south coast with DH's family. The weather was awful on the first night and the site quickly turned into a mud bath. Spent the second day traipsing round trying to find warmer clothes for the children. BIL went home! Second night had torrential rain and howling winds. We'd taken the children into our bed and had just settled back down when MIL raced into our tent saying that the trees were going to fall on us and we'd all be killed. We ended up all sharing the only hotel room we could find (me, DH and the two kids in the bed) and MIL and FIL on the floor at the bottom!

Worst - Camping in Darwin, Oz. The minute dusk fell we were ambushed by these horrific, giant flying beetles. We ended up 'batting' them away with our plates and they exploded in a shower of blood. Then a cyclone hit the campsite and we watched in horror as the groundsheet slowly started rising up (there was a flood of water below) We jumped ship and spent the night in the gents' loos

Best: Alice Springs, camping in the desert. The day was unbearably hot, but those desert nights, with that wonderful warm wind blowing softly through the tent - bliss

Bit of a cheat here but:

Best - outside in the sahara desert in Maurtania
or under a mosquito net in the Dogon, Mali sleeping on top of a house.
Actually, seven months camping through Africa (Morocco to South Africa)

Which is why I am so excited that I have persuaded DH to take up camping and we have just returned from our first trip to West Wittering which the boys, I and I think DH loved

So no worst camping experience yet, but we have three trips planned this summer so I am sure I will be back

Oh yes - worst camping in Kariba in Zimbabwe when woken by loud tramping. Awoke partner at the time, looked out of tent and an elephant was wandering around eating leaves off trees. We were ten feet or less from this gigantic mammal in a small two man tent and had to watch helplessly as it finished its meal and then wandered off. It took about ten minutes. Both amazing and petrifying at the same time

Worst - 1) waking up in the morning in a tent full of ants after they managed to make a hole in a tent's floor. After we removed the tent, we found that we pitched it on the ants' nest 2) arrived late into campsite (the wild one, no civilisation) and had to pitch up the tent in a complete dark (didn't have a torch for some reason).

Best - nice food from a campfire, which is extremely tasty when you are hungry even if it only is rice and sausages all cooked in one pan.

Worst - camping in the Bungle Bungles in the NT in a tiny single skin tent which had to be zipped up to stop us being eaten alive by mozzies in 46 degree heat. DH lost the plot. I've never been so uncomfortable in a tent in my life.

Best - last week may be a contender. On the Lleyn with friends, perfect cloudless day, kids running round playing beautifully, me sat outside tent looking at the stunning views with nice cup of tea and a fig roll. Heaven.

Worst - festival camping at Glastonbury 2000. Our tent was broken into, and all our stuff nicked. Friend camping next door had his whole tent stolen... causing incredible confusion! Certain items from both tents were subsequently discovered "for sale" in a couple of festival shops, and it seemed there wasn't much we could do about it.

Best - camp fires and wild garlic at Wowo. Fabulous.