Camping on a shoestring - help please :)

franney

lindadykes wrote:

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.

I got mine from Lakeland

rainbowkanga

Hi

We've got three children and camping was the only way we could afford a holiday. We tried it and loved it and found that it has over 7 years now owes us next to nothing. We often go camping from Easter and I'm sorry to disagree but I would buy the best quality sleeping bag that you can afford as yes in this heatwave it won'tmake any difference but in a cooler snap (and 4am in normal August temps can often be quite cool) you will definitely notice the difference.

There is always loads of camping stuff in small ads/ebay/freecycle as everyone says. There are a lot of online camping shops you could browse to see what you would like. I think its a balance. We thought we were not natural campers so bought some things that we thought would make it more comfy - air beds rather than rollmats. Though more expensive in the short term, it was definitely worth it becasue it meant we enjoyed the camping!

Have fun!

aimeelister

franney wrote:

I got mine from Lakeland

did a bit of looking http://www.lakelandlimited.co.uk/product.aspx/!5723

Might invest in some of this as its got to be better than the little ice-blocks we use when camping!

coffeebean

Have a look here:- https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk for all the information you will ever need about camping. The forums are very friendly, you don't need to register to read them, and the campsite search facility is brilliant. It also give you a list of 'essentials' to take.

Hope this helps,

redballoon_2

tesco sell disposable bbq's that are really good and very cheap!

stumpjumper

you can take pans and cutlery from home. If space allows take your duvets instead of buying a sleeping bag (that's what we do).

Take plenty of blankets to wrap around you in the evenings as it can get cold even in summer.

Topher

Definately agree about the air beds.
We've tried
*roll mats.... too big - a - change from real beds for me to sleep on.
*An integral pump flock coated airbed. Very poor insulation from ground chill (even in fairly mild daytime conditions,) and very inclined to hold moisture in the bedding.
*A plug in flock coated airbed. Much the same set of problems as above, not always provided with electrical hookup at campsites, and converter from car lighter socket desparately slow.

Ended up with old fashioned Lilos (Approx £10 Argos) Rubber skin coated with canvassy layer, (Red & Blue)
Minutes to blow up, better insulation, (also use "foil" mat underneath), very comfortable, no unusual amounts of moisture.
I recommend them,
T

Chipps

Have you got some camping chairs (or folding garden chairs) I know I need to sit on a proper chair, not just on the floor... too uncomfortable!

The first time my family tried camping (when I was a child) we had no money as my dad had been made redundant, but wanted to go away for a holiday. So we got an old tent (and when I say old, I mean r e a l l y old), sleeping bags & groundsheets, and a paraffin stove. We had no chairs or anything like that, but took some large buckets with lids (I think they had been paint buckets!) There was one each to sit on. They were also used for storage, apart from one which was for my youngest sister... who always needed to "go" in the night & couldn't be relied upon to get to the toilet block! We went to Norfolk for our holiday & had a great time, although we did feel like the poor relations with all the posh tents around.
After that we got a slightly more upmarket one, until eventually we had a really fancy tent, and always had great holidays. But I have never forgotten that first one where we really slummed it!

Tightwadways

Thanks for all the replies on this, especially for the link to the recipes, as I hadn't really thought that far ahead, so very helpful for shopping tommorow. We have now borrowed a lilo, sleeping bag for eldest, got a cooker and already had tripod type chairs and deck chairs, we've also borrowed a top box to fit more stuff in our estate Here's hoping it's good fun anyway

Topher

Three hearty cheers for anything to sit on.... saves snapping your back when cooking low down, and its somewhere to bask (which is partly why I do camping in the first place)
We bought really lightweight chairs from CCC but they were £14 each, bought at a time when we could afford them. I've always been glad of their lightness, as I can sling four of them over one arm & carry something else in that hand too. Cheaper ones can be heavy, check them out, even the car boot ones.
We have tripod stools that can be carried on a strap, and full deckchairs,... depends what style of camping we're doing.
a) Hey it looks sunny let's go.....
b) I think on the third weekend of next month it would be nice to go to.....
T