Camping on a shoestring - help please :)

Tightwadways

Not sure if this is in the right place, so apologies if it's not. We've been bought a tent as an early Christmas pressie, which is great, but not being campers we don't know where the best places are to buy the rest of the gear we need - I picked up a wok type portable bbq from a car boot for £1 with the grill but that's as far as we've got...we're going next week If you have any tips/help/ideas please let me know!
Michelle

cheekymole

Freecycle - freecycle!

If you're going to go often and for years to come then buy new stuff which will last or check out the local papers
Argos extra has decent cheapish stuff
Water carrier
sleeping bags/mats/beds
table
chairs
plates
bowl
cutlery
pans

thriftmonster

A lot of places are selling off plastic picnic stuff cheaply at the moment as obviously being July, it's time to decorate for Hallowe'en!

Make sure you get sleeping mats - should cost under £5 each - as the insulatin value is important.

Lidl sometimes have camping specials but they're not always the cheapest.

culpepper

Dont buy those really fancy sleeping bags,get ordinary £10 bags then add a blanket.You make the blanket into an inner bag and then have the sleeping bag around it or under it if hot.
Use a bit of string twisted for a clothes line and poke the clothes through the twists.Its only going to be small things anyway like socks and dish cloths,swimming cossies etc.
Take a needle and thread incase the guy ropes get tripped over in the night and you have to do repairs to the loops.
Take salt and pepper,sugar,raisins in little containers.
Shampoo and toothpaste in a jar so they dont get squashed in the car.
Take spare socks
Take some games the kids can do , a board game book is good.
Flip flops and a torch for night time trecks to the loo (leave them beside you when you sleep).
Lock valuables in the car boot,dont leave them in the tent when you are not there.
You can get long life yoghurts.Take dried soups. Dried milk so it doesnt need a fridge.
Use an empty ice cream container for washing up.
Put matches in their box ,in a jar so they dont get wet.
Take a ball and a frisbee so kids can let off steam .

LizD_2

not really os, but when camping as a Guide, we used sticks pushed into the ground and put our shoes on them to stop them getting wet inside. Take plenty of biscuits to eat later on, the fresh air makes you more hungry.

This might be useful:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=35696&highlight=caravanning

TerminallyShortOfCash

Hello.
We always take a little meths stove with us - it's much easier (and cheaper) to use and means that we don't spend hours driving around looking for somewhere that sells the right sort of gas! Also, I always take quorn sausages and things to cook - that way if worse comes to the worse and they're not completely cooked, you're less likely to be badly posioned!! (Yes, this speaks volumes about my culinary skills!) :rotfl: I invested in a good cool box as well - I think that it was about £15 but is a good size and will last for years. I also bought some Techni Ice - 9.99 for three sheets which you hydrate in the sink at home then freeze for 12 hours - they stay frozen for up to three days and are ideal if you want to keep a cool box cold for a long weekend - they can be used hot or cold and as many times as you want.

emg

the bigger tesco stores also do quite a bit of cheap camping stuff

lindadykes

Terminally short of cash, where can you get the techni ice? We go to a lot of weekend motorbike rallies and there is no where to refreeze the traditional ice packs so everything is warm from Saturday onwards.

Stratford_Bill

Depends what you are going to do. You can go into the wilds with some pretty basic equipment and live off the land. Water is the most important thing. If you are camping in the south of England it is difficult to get unless you have a tap nearby. If you are taking water from a stream or burn. Take it from as near the top of the hill/mountain as you can (there might be dead sheep lying in the stream above you.) An empty plastic lemonade bottle is fine for carrying water. And Lofty Wiseman recommends a condom as an emergency water carrier.
I would advise you to practise using your equipment in your back garden first. At this time of year, a good sleeping bag is not so necessary, but a kipmat would be almost essential, because the ground beneath you can get very cold.
The army surplus shop is a good place to get equipment and clothing at a reasonable price.

If you are camping in Scotland or the lake District, a stocking mask a la bank robber will keep the midges at bay. Do not underestimate the midges. I do not smoke...except when I am in midge country. I don't like a pipeful of herbal tobacco, but the midges like it even less than I.

Wingman

Hi

If its your first time camping, I would see if you could borrow some gear off a family member or neighbour for your first trip! We spent a fortune on camping gear a couple of years ago and since decided that camping is only fun, when its not wet, not too hot, not full of midgies etc hence it doesn't see the light of day that much:rolleyes:

Camping is fabulous in perfect weather and not so fabulous when your cold, wet and hungry

franney

TerminallyShortOfCash wrote:

I also bought some Techni Ice - 9.99 for three sheets which you hydrate in the sink at home then freeze for 12 hours - they stay frozen for up to three days and are ideal if you want to keep a cool box cold for a long weekend - they can be used hot or cold and as many times as you want.

Sorry to hijack the thread but my experience with techni-ice so far hasn't lived up to my expectations It has stayed frozen far less than 3 days, probably more like 36 hours, if that