nouveau staycationers - will they stick the pace?

[BariatricObama]

i was completely amazed last year by the fully booked campsites and number of newbies. do you think this is an ongoing trend or do you think alot of folk will realise it is not for them?

I think there may be a lot of tents on Ebay this spring

i think a lot will stick it out but there must be load who were seduced by the whole 'cool camping' cath kidston apple cheeked children myth and actually just had a shite time.

I agree. You have actually enjoy being slightly cold and a bit damp, stuck in a tent playing uno to really do camping in the uk.

You need to work those small pleasures of a cup of instant hot chocolate in a melamine mug sat in camping chair watching drizzle.

Coolcamping has raised expectations WAY too high.

bought dd uno this christmas!!!!!!!! i forsee ALOT of uno playing.

cool camping and outwell with their aspirational videos

Uno is great. Much better than poxy snakes and ladders.

Our local camping shop had outwell aspirational dioramas set up (I have mentioned them before) with Outwell family models posed in wholesome arrangements. The entrance of the tent is cordoned off so you look in across a velveteen rope as you would do in the 'King Charles I bedroom' in a stately home.

Some of the models were missing limbs which lent a slightly macabre feel to the whole set up.

lol did they have pot purri and an old lady telling you about who slept there

Sadly not. But I knew who was sleeping there, it was Mrs Outwell the bilateral amputee (poor thing), spread eagled she was on the double self inflating mats with matching double sleeping bag. Her ds (above elbow amputee) looked on from the matching table with matching wine glasses.

Nah of course they won't stick with it - last year's rain will put people off - that and the realisation that it's not Spain.

and they can't afford to head across the water to France either with the state of the pound - at least i hope not!!

perhaps it's all our fault - building up camping as the ideal holiday on here?

Maybe they can't afford not to do it. Camping stuff is really quite expensive now. If I had an £800 tent sat in my garage with all the stuff to go in it I'd feel obliged to keep at it for a bit.

Saying that my mate got a once used Cabanon Biscaya and ALL the (once used) kit for an absolute song on ebay a couple of years back. Some people have more money than sense. Imagine buyig a biscaya and then deciding after a couple of nights that camping really wasn't for you.

plonkers.

Well we went camping for the first time as a family last summer, and subsequently spent half the summer in a tent! We definitely plan to do the same this year.

I grew up camping, and did the whole Duke of Ed thing, so I was quite used to it. However it was the first time that my DH had ever slept in a tent!

He's still not quite as won over as I am, however with 3 children who also love it he is out-voted. That's the wonder of democracy

but slubber - loads of them had their cheap as chips starter packs from blacks. i don't think many first time campers spend £800 on a tent in fact i don't think i would!

You are probably right, although there are always a few threads on here and ukcs where camping virgins are looking at the £££ mofo tents and all the whizz bang gadgets and matchery to go with them.

helyg has a point though. Kids tend to love camping regardless of the weather so if parents have been naggedto go back we might see the newbs from last year having another stab at it - but this year with better quality waterproofs.

Well, we went camping for the first time last year, and loved it. We've only camped twice, but did stay in a yurt another weekend and a bus end of season, so I know ds (almost 2) loves the outdoors and evenings together are great. Having booked a couple of weekends and a full week for this year, I sincerely hope we don't go off it, as dh will kill me I've just bought new camping mats to replace the inflatable mattress!

I was amazed on ebay earlier to see a complete "starter package" - including tent, sleeping bags, mattress, cool box, lanterns, pots, pans etc, that have never been used, for sale. I'm confused as to why you'd buy everything, and not even try it out...

nice to hear folk enjoyed it.

last year was the first time we found ourselves having to book campsites!