first time camper!

Jacko_amz

Hi everyone!

Me and my partner want to take up camping for holidays (especially as we have a dog), for Christmas we got the tent but have nothing else. Does anyone have any advice on what is essential for camping trips?

we're planning to book our first trip end of June for couple of days to ease ourselves in Any tips from fellow campers would be great!

Thanks in advance,
Amy x

comeandgo

What sort of camping is it you are doing? Will you have a car to transport the items or will you be walking and back packing?

Jacko_amz

What do you mean by 'sort' of camping? we will just be going to campsites and using the tent, we will be taking the car for day trips etc no we won't be back packing

Amy x

labp04

This is a good website with an active and, usually, friendly forum where at least most of your questions will be answered

uk.campsite.co.uk

enjoy!

Marktheshark

Make sure you invest in a tent you can stand up in in good space, or whatever you do, your back soon puts and end to the idea.

Jacko_amz

ah thanks i'll have a look, we have our tent and its good for us

bex2012

You'll need something to sleep on/under and some way of prepping food. A lot of people use air beds, but personally I think they are cold (unless you put loads of insulation like newspaper under them). To start off with I'd use stuff you have at home, cups, plates, bedding etc. I use RUB ( really useful boxes) to transport stuff, as they are nice and solid and can double up as a low table etc. The little suitcase type stoves are good, you can normally pick them up for around a tenner if you look (try sports direct). Also, buy yourself some more tent pegs, you can never have enough.

Jacko_amz

Thanks bex x

xHannahx

We've been camping for about 5-6 years.
Do you want back to basics or luxuries? I think that was what meant by the previous question of what type of camping.

We have roll mats having grown to hate lilos as they are like sleeping on bouncy castles!
Sleeping bags
Stove, we use two small ones that run off aerosol can style things that come in a plastic case- ours were less than a tenner in go outdoors.
A camping table- ours is a fold out thing with chairs- about £30 from Tesco.
Torches.
Blankets.
Plastic or metal crockery
Cooking equipment
Cool box,
We have now an electric hookup, and low power kettle. Any electricals need to be low power for the hookup.
If you don't want a hookup a stove kettle.
There is a good checklist downloadable on go-outdoors website.
We started off with the basics (tent, sleeping bags, stove, cooking equipment and cool box) and gradually built up our equipment.
We have a big (cheap) tent for weeks away and a small domed tent for spontaneous weekends.

I also find camping resets my natural body clock- sleep at dark, awake at first light.

This years investment was a roof box as we were stuffing bits in every little space inside the car.
Next year we will probably upgrade the tent.

It's expensive starting out, but once you have the equipment it's very cheap holidaying.
We are booked to go away may half term, 7 nights £146. Means we can afford an early summer and mid summer holiday as well as weekends when good weather, instead of just one annual holiday,

Jacko_amz

Thanks Hannah that's a great help! err i suppose a bit inbetween of luxury and back to basics. I'm confused about the electric hook up? our pitch we've booked has this, is it just like plug sockets that we plug electricals into or have i got this completely wrong?!
Amy

eamon

If you go the electric hook up route then you need 12V appliances these are not they same as your household stuff and are not cheap. Portable gas stoves are probably best though hard core campers would use spirit burners. Assuming you are using organised camp sites then they all have shower/toilet blocks and sometimes cafes, restaurants & bars.
Once you have been camping a few times you will quickly know what items get used, not used and what works best for you. Organised camp sites also tend to have many rules break these at your own risk. As your are planning on taking your dog, check with the site first.
After many years of using inflatable mats I now use a camp bed (older) makes getting dressed/undressed easier.