Not sure I'm keen.... all that clobber!

[anonymousbird]

Hubby keen to get us all into camping. In principle, I think it would be fun. However, what puts me off is the practicalities - all the STUFF you need, how do you cook? will the children be comfy enough? how do you get anything dry/clean/washed etc?? I am not precious about the kids always being in clean clothes etc, but equally don't want us to look like a family of tramps who have had no sleep for a week.... DH doesn't really worry about stuff like this, but I can't help it.

Any suggestions or thoughts on how to ease ourselves into this, and is there any way of cutting down the clobber required or is that just unavoidable?? How do you deal with food and drinks etc??

Ie. a general plea for help to persuade me that we CAN cope with this as a family and I DONT need to panic about all the details!

Well you will need some stuff obviously (like a tent and a sleeping bag) but after that how much gubbins you buy really depends on what sort of camping you intend to do and if you like you luxuries or not.

There are mners here who goe camping with a rucksack on the train, and others at the other end of the spectrum who need a trailer, a roofbox, a ginormous car and fold away children in order to camp

You do NOT need to worry if the dc will be comfortable enough. They will be running around in the fresh air all the livelong day and will be so knackered they'd fall asleep in a pile of newspaper.

LOL @ family of tramps. Thing is you are kind of surrounded by families of tramps anyway so no one really notices or cares.

No need to panic. Lots of threads on here as to what you should consider taking

I don't camp so much as caravan but I just thought i'd say on all the camp sites I've been on I've always been envious of the campers - they always look happy, the kids are always running around having fun, the parents are usually in a big group with beer, wine and lots of laugh and the bbq's smell amazing.

I've no idea what you need (others will help you with that) but usually the tents are quiet when bed time comes because as the poster above says, the kids are worn out(and the kids seem to thrive on it)

(and everyone dresses and looks the same - never like tramps but like they are enjoying their holiday without having to care about what they are wearing

yes, think less tramp, more multicouloured fleece and croc shop

depends a lot on your budget - if you have lots of money, then you can eat out, so food not really a problem. We don't generally go for longer than a weekend - one night pub dinner, next night disposable bbq. Is always good to pick a campsite with pub nearby!

Most campsites should have hot showers, so getting them clean shouldn't be too much a prob. Some sites also have washing machines etc, and also playgrounds, and games room for when it rains - i prefer simpler campsites but up to you really.

I'd say minimum you need is a coolbox, and a gas burner thingie to make morning cups of tea etc on. You can get special sets of pots for camping that all fit cleverly inside one another, but i just take our pans from home.

Regarding being comfy - i think you need need need foldable chairs - you know the fabric type ones. also a big picnic blanket to lounge around on, obviously you can also use during day for picnics.

We got a picnic set that we use for camping - is just a bag with a picnic blanket, cool bit for bottle of wine, and plastic beakers,plates cutlery etc, also handily a little chopping board and knife, and a corkscrew! was only about a tenner i think.

Do you know anyone who goes camping, who you could borrow it all off to give it a go?

Buy pretty stuff from Cath Kidston and bring a pillow. Impossible to look like a Tramp with a bit of Kidston about you.

ooh yes don't bother with sleeping bag nonsense either - pillows and duvets all the way.

Sleeping bag NONSENSE

If I took the duvet I'd have to leave a child at home. Sleeping bags stuff down really really small and keep me lovely and toasty warm with NO THREAT of duvet hogging.

but yes, I take your point pootles. I guess if you are starting out then you don't have to go and buy a sleeping bag.

Well, why don't you spend a weekend in a yurt first? It's not obvious camping, but it does give you an idea of how you and the children would adjust to the outdoorsy environment. I now love camping in a tent, but I'm very glad we stayed in a yurt the first time, as it gave me an idea of the equipment needed, how you don't actually mind sitting around doing nothing, and how a fleece actually feels lovely in that situation.

As camping equipment can work out rather expensive, I felt that was money well spent - a lot of people buy the whole shebang, go one weekend, hate it, and sell it all for 20p two weeks later. Well, almost.

And actually, I say equipment "needed", but I realised that you don't actually need much as all. Yes sure, you can indulge yourself and go for anything really if you want, but sometimes you might prefer to take almost nothing at all.

For me, for example, I've since figured out that I actually love comfort inside (fat airics and duvets and pillows for me , but I prefer the site itself as simple as possible. Fire a requirement, but shower can be basic (for weekends, mind you). For overnight camping only, I can happily shower before I leave on a Sat, and as soon as I'm home on a Sunday night. The thought of loud music and a clubhouse thing fills me with dread.

The site I have a wee eye on does have some yurts and I LOVE the look of that, and MSL, I think you are right that this could be a good half way intro to the general idea of it all...... Hmmm. Think we must just pick a weekend and go for it.

Oo, yes, yurts. How civilised!!!

I also have v. v. bad back (two lots of surgery later type bad back) and am a bit worried about sleeping arrangements. Are blow up mattresses the way forward??

This is all good advice, thanking you.

Can def borrow a tent, even just to try it in the garden for general idea of how much room/how we would sleep etc might eeeeeeeeease me in.

Ho hum. Now just need to decide where to go....

First of all, stop worrying about your kids' comfort, kids don't care about that stuff, they can sleep anywhere, they will be happy and exhausted, I have never met a child while camping who has complained about being uncomfortable.

As for equipment, you need as little or as much as you want, it is down to you, I'm the camper slubber mentioned who goes with a backpack on a train, and as long as you have essentials for keeping warm and fed that's all that matters.

You can feed a family with A trangia, or you can invest in a cobb with kitchen table, windbreaks, sinks and all that malarkey.

You do not need to worry about being clean. You will be surrounded by other campers in the great outdoors, you want to blend in, not stick out like clean ironed thumbs

One of the joys of camping is that it gives you a break from the relentless drudgery of everyday life that is housework and keeping up appearances. Your kids will love being liberated and allowed to be dirty and muddy and wild!!!

Go camping, gowaaan gowaaan gowaaan

I'd say do it if you can. Take wine and marshmallows to grill, and something very very easy for first night, e.g. a mixed salad, lamb chops and corn on the cob to grill, a really nice bread and butter, and just relax. What I also learnt is that you don't have to take so much food. Most places have little shops on site, and with England being England, it's not very often that you'd have to go far for a supermarket, so no need to carry all from your local Tesco. You could also go to a local pub or something the next day if you don't fancy cooking on your first try, but it is actually quite lovely just sitting outside with nothing rushing you.

self inflating mattresses ar ethe way forward, not blow up airbeds.

Fat airics are all the rage

yy If you have a bad back then being warm at night is a must. Self inflating mats much warmer than airbeds.

Oh god yes agree with Sal. If you are going in a car, don't bother buying all your food in advance from esco and lugging it with you, just get it once you are there. After all, almost everywhere in England has a supermarket close by.

Also, most take-aways will deliver to campsites, so you can always find out a few local take aways near your campsites, take their numbers with you, and order in one night.

Everything tastes better outdoors anyway.

Suddenly the simple custard cream becomes a great culinary delight when taken with a cup of tea as you sit outdoors watching the dc run themselves ragged.

cor and bbq a bit of meat and stck it between some nice bread. Well it's master chef eat your heart out.

Oh yes I agree slubber, even the simplest food tastes divine when camping, especially when you get back to the campsite in the evening after a long hard day of climbing. I can eat a bowl of chickpeas with salt and lemon and pita bread and it tastes amazing!

So disposable BBQ's are the de rigeur cooking facility?? Don't they smoke everyone on the site out? Or is that all part of the fun?

We have a little single gas ring knocking about from our boat days. Enough for a cuppa and some "grilled" meat. Actually, I forget that we practically lived on a boat through all summer weekends and holidays for a few years. That was BC though. Just seems like a whole new ball game with them in tow..

We now use a Cadac, before that we used a double burner / grill over the fire. I don't think the smoke of a disposable BBQ would bother people though.

Well, if you lie close enough to the grill you won't be cold...

It's this one, Starlight.