Camping...be honest...do you really enjoy it?

[OrkneyGirl]

I'm typing this in a field in Cornwall. I love the idea of camping but, honestly, is it really a holiday? My neighbour is snoring. I've got to wash up at a sink area with no roof. The tent is starting to ming because it's been so wet. I could go on! And the one thing I never seem to get right is sleeping comfortably. I've tried blow up mattress, camp bed, blow up mattress on camp bed - all just a bit uncomfortable and making me want the comfort of a double bed with a cosy duvet!

I'm not a huge fan ( I love my hot weather holidays) but DH loves camping so we compromise and we go once/twice a year BUT we have a huge airbag tent think it's 8 berth.
1 bedroom is a dressing room/loo, for wee's only.
We have 2 Dellonda Camping Fridge/Freezers 1 for fridge, 1 for freezer.
2 plate induction hob plus gas hob and BBQ, he cooks and washes up, I make drinks!
Sleeping he has a carp bed ( I think) I have a proper mattress ( one of the generic name one memory foam) and a topper, proper quilts and pillows, comfortable chairs, dinning table, proper kitchen set up. A whistling kettle and proper mugs/cups/glasses.
Tent has a 'lounge' separate kitchen and we have a big awning, 42" tv for bad weather (not really used) so apart from the bloody shower/bath thing it's like a tiny home :)

Can you not? I know half a dozen places 😊 We're actually going tonight, but I tell a lie. This place is going to be £24 for me, 2 kids, the van and two small tents- but it does have exceptionally nice, clean shower blocks. I do not give a flying fuck about dishwashers and microwaves- I don't even have them at home.

Camping rules:

1. 3 nights max is my limit
2. SIM matress is a must
3. Quiet sites only
4. Sites that allow fire pits only
5. Free showers only
6. Less than 3 hours away from home

Been for a fortnight before, love it. I live the simplicity of the life and love sleeping in a tent. I was in the Guides and used to camp in my garden, I think it reminds me of those times.

You usually need to be members of eg Camping and Caravanning Club to access these prices IME, but if you do a couple of long weekends a year the membership fee is more than worth it.

Membership costs £53, so no good for someone going camping for 1 weekend a year.

The sitting out by the fire on a camp chair with a large gin, looking up at the stars and chasing with friends is brilliant.

The rest of it can naff off.

I camp with scouts because I have to and because of what it does for the kids.

I camp for the occasional reunion with old uni friends and to be fair it is good because all the kids run feral and we do a lot of the campfire and gin thing.

When with scouts I use a camp bed with a sim on top. When as a family we take a double air bed, a bottom sheet and our duvet.

For family holidays we get holiday cottages. Beds are good. With teenagers around walls and separate bedrooms are good. My teens are great really and they absolutely appreciate that at times they need to bunk in together and with uncomplainingly all 3 of them share a room if it means we can do something special but right now we are in a holiday let with 4 bedrooms and it is bloody brilliant.

There are so many glamping pod or off grid wood lodge, treehouse type places these days that you can get the whole back to nature, campfire, dark sky side of camping but still have a bed, roof, toilet in your accommodation and running water.

Nope. Look on Google maps for "Farm camping". You sometimes have to zoom in, zoom out, refresh a few times to find all the sites that don't pay for a boost. I know a place in Morvah that's £5 per adult per night. My favourite site on Dartmoor is £10 per adult, £5 per child per night- right next to the river where you can swim. They've even got a shower this year 😆

Hearing how lovely France is makes me want to try camping abroad. Need to get bit braver but weather and facilities are tempting!

French campsites are fabulous. What makes it even better is a wide selection of various mobile homes to rent, no tents necessary.

Actually, I'm not going to be coy about it- campsites are suffering this year, because of the weather. Check out:

Huccaby Farm, Dartmoor
Noongallas Farm, nr Penzance
Keveral Farm, nr Looe
Trees Mill Farm, nr Fowey
Can't remember the name of the farm in Morvah, but it's literally the only one there
South Penquite Farm, Bodmin Moor (where I'm writing this from, in fact)

Oh god no, my idea of hell

Indeed, which is why I said it was worth it if you do a couple of long weekends a year. 2 trips of 3 nights each can total £120 with membership at club sites vs £300 for a non-club site with the same level of facilities. Even after paying the membership, you would be £127 better off overall.
However, if you are willing to be a little bit social with your fellow campers, it can indeed be worth it for 1 weekend a year: club rallies sometimes have a price per pitch as low as £10/night and they are rarely more than £15 IME. Although rallies are, understandably, not to everybody's taste!

So basically according to this thread, camping can be quite enjoyable. All you need is a massive tent with many different rooms that you can stand up in. And then you need to pack and bring all your domestic furniture and appliances. Oh and eat out in restaurants. 😁

It is a slog, and not in the least relaxing. There are always some gloriously happy moments, and the kids love it. We never go for more than three nights. We have some friends who love camping and we join them.

Or just buy a folding camper which has everything apart from your food and clothes already fitted in it.

Or just buy a folding camper which has everything apart from your food and clothes already fitted in it

Or just stay in a lovely mobile home/chalet/hotel/AirBnB which also have everything fitted in? I can of course understand the cost issue, but for the price of a folding camper or fully equipped luxury tent, you can certainly have quite a few alternative options to choose from.

You don’t get many options for £300, which was what our first folding camper cost. We had it for 15 years. I don’t think you get any options for £20 a year.

Yes I enjoy it, under very specific circumstances:
In France, on a decent size pitch with water and electricity on the pitch
Hedges round the pitches to stop the tent blowing away
Dry weather but not so dry it is impossible to get the pegs in the ground

We have done safari tents the last couple of years and that is a way more relaxing way to camp.

The big thing I loved about my folding camper and now my caravan is knowing that no one else has slept in the bed except me! I've probably watched too many episodes of Four in a Bed to ever enjoy a hotel/B&B/Static caravan holiday again but the prospect of hundreds of other bodies leaking all sorts of fluids, shedding dead skin cells etc onto a mattress cover that's not washed every time just makes me cringe. Not to mention the state of the carpets with thousands of pairs of shoes walking all sorts of crap from the outside. At least in a tent or caravan its my crap and only grass and mud!!!

Yes, to camping, but...

Not if it is raining. In fact I now would only go if the forecast was decent.

Minimal kit (I have a tiny tent and a jetboil type thing which is all I need for basic cooking) but go big on bedding (Decathlon blow up bed frame and air mattress, sheets, pillow, duvet) and really really good food and wine.

Never a full service campsite - a sparsely populated field where we can be far from other people. I'm fine with basic facilities as long as other people aren't annoying me.