Camping tips...

pixiedust09

What a great thread :T. I've been camping for years, cheap as chips mini break and perfect if you have dogs and won't put them in kennels like us , they are family and have to come too:D .
We don't venture too far from the camp site so a camping chair with bottle holder is a must for us. We take our food and milk frozen so it stays fresher for longer, a bucket has many uses, and like someone else mentioned warm socks and a hat are a godsend to sleep in if its chilly. Will try the idea of a space blanket under the air bed next time we go. Also a spare loo roll is an essential.

emilykf

For the ladies - invest in a Shewee! Saves long treks to the toilets; the worst thing for me at festivals is waking up at the crack of dawn hungover and dying for a wee and having to queue up to use the nasty loos.

beedeedee

Drachenfach wrote: »

For those wanting to keep stuff cool without a fridge, an old Scouting trick is to pop the perishables in a saucepan or similar inside a washing up bowl, half filled with water (the washing up bowl, not the saucepan!). Put an old tea towel over the top, so the ends are trailing in the water, and leave in the shade (not inside a tent).

The evaporation from the wet teatowel will keep the food as fresh as is possible.

We did this last year for three weeks in the South of France - it worked brilliantly and we always had cool milk and drinks.
One other little tip is to use j-cloths instead of towels for drying off after a wash or shower.

heretolearn_2

If you can go for a tent that you can walk into (even at a bit of a crouch) rather than have to crawl into. If the weather is wet it stops you getting a soaked neck when you bump the top, and dragging all the water/mud in with you so much.

Nappy sacks are waterproof and smellproof - good emergency toilets for in your tent in the middle of the night.

Inflatable mattresses are rubbish - they always go down and leave you freezing on the floor with no insulation. Foam mats/self inflating foam mats are better if you can't do a proper camp bed.

Invest in a good sleeping bag - doesn't have to be one of the top range ones, but if you spend £20-£25 your comfort level will be hugely improved. The ones that come with those family camping packs or the cheap ones from the supermarket are rubbish and you'll get cold, even in summer.

Camping Gaz lanterns heat your tent up nicely.

Keep all shoes/coats and anything that got damp/dirty OUT of the bedrooms at all times. Keep bedrooms zipped at all times for insect-free camping.

thriftwizard

Whilst on the subject of getting cold at night, thermals are worth giving up a bit of packing space to. In last week's blistering heat, I wore a thermal vest & leggings to bed under a nightie and had heat-holder socks on on two of the nights as well. Despite being of an age where I seem to have my own integral central heating stuck on max half of the time, I wasn't too warm at all; just right in fact. Would have slept like a log if it hadn't been for the band in the next tent, but that's another story! Failing thermals, a trackie outside your PJs does the job nicely.

[Deleted User]

PasturesNew wrote: »

Using portable gas things indoors can cause carbon monoxide and death.

Firstly, I don't recall suggesting using it indoors :huh:

Secondly, carbon monoxide is only produced, when gas is burned in the presence of a limited oxygen supply.

Provided plenty of oxygen is available (eg through a wide open window and/or door), no CO is produced.

Peggybabcot

If you have EHU (electric hook up) then take a slow cooker with you. Whilst the rest of the family are getting showered etc in the morning I slap some meat and veggies and a sauce of some kind in the slow cooker and leave it on low all day and come back to a yummy meal. It only takes me 5-10 minutes to prepare and saves a fortune on takeaways as more often than not I don't feel like cooking when I've been out all day.

thriftwizard

Always take a torch, even if you're glamping in a yurt full of magical tea-light circles & Moroccan lanterns. Chances are you wouldn't be able to find the matches, light one & carry it over to the loos at 4am, particularly if you (or your small child) are in a hurry... and yes, a bucket with a lid is very useful in an emergency!