Great Camping Hunt

Savvysal

kirkie wrote: »

What sort of fridge/coolbox do people use? How do you keep things cool for a few days? Just thinking that if it was plugged into the car it would drain the battery or do people have a separate battery?

Hi

As I mentioned in an earlier post I recently bought an electric coolbox from Aldi for £29.99 - much cheaper than the Camping Gaz one I saw in Argos for £79.99. It's huge (30 litres), works absolutely fine either on mains leccy or the car cigarette lighter and comes with a 3 year warranty. I will keep it in my car so that when I'm driving around it will keep things nice and cool and when its not running on the battery I will be using conventional icepacks or packets of ice cubes (depending on whether or not the campsite does a freezing facility)

Savvysal

debmorris wrote: »

Avoid the Camping and Caravan Club. They should be renamed "the Caravan Club" they don't like tents. We bought membership last year and only stayed at one site and the owners spent the whole time marching round with clipboards and made us take down our windbreak because it was too big!!;)

Hi

I'm sorry to hear about your experience - they're not all like that really and they are known as 'The Friendly Club'. They've been more than accommodating to me and my family over the past few years and I've stayed on quite a few sites up till now. The Camping and Caravan Club do have a 6 metre rule between units though for reasons of fire safety, but as long as your unit and ancillary equipment e.g. 'pup' tent, gazebo etc fit within the guidlelines they're usually ok about it.

Whilst tents under 5m wide are usually accomodated without problems, I've found that even with my largest tent a 7m x 3m Kyham Ontario 8 tunnel tent was still allowed on site - I just made sure I telephoned in advance to ask first and booked a standard grass pitch incorporating enough space for an awning to comply with the 6m rule.

I for one would much prefer a 6m rule on sites than be crammed in like they are at festivals like Glastonbury- they wouldn't stand a chance of escaping if a fire were to break out. And lets face it whilst tents are fire retardant, they're not fire proof, so it wouldn't take much for them to go up in flames.

Savvysal

curtlyb wrote: »

.

B&Q do a tarpaulins which are the same material at the groundsheet, but bright blue :rolleyes:

10m x 10m (massive) for about a fiver, just pitch your tent on top and cut it 3" smaller than your tent all round.... sod paying £25 for a purpose made one

Like what was said earlier in the thread, it's a cracking way to position your tent before getting it out of the bag.

Hiya

Great Idea - I'd not thought of visiting B & Q before, which is why I said in my earlier post that I'd resorted to making one out of an old footprint sheet from a former tent. As for my extra groundsheet, that was from the tent before back in the days when I was very much a novice and didn't know about footprints. But as I always say, you learn something new each time you go. Good times!

Savvysal

Head_in_the_sand wrote: »

Hi,

I'm new to this site so I hope I haven't duplicated anyone else's reply.

We have gone camping for the past 10 years and always on a very tight budget - single working mum. Once I have planned where we are going I always go to the Tourist Information Centre to pick up as many brochures as I can on the area. They often contain money-off vouchers/free passes etc for local attractions in the area.

I too am a lone parent on a very tight budget. Apart from being a Camping and Caravan Club member (sorry I know I've been sounding like their number 1 groupie lately lol!) I am also a member of English Heritage (£38 per year) and the National Trust (£68 per year). Has saved me a small fortune when taking the kids out and about to see interesting historical sites and beauty spots both on UK based holidays and closer to home. My kids love it - we've been to more castles than you can shake a stick at and they are more than happy romping around pretending to be characters from 'Lord of the Rings'

johnmc

I go camping 3 or 4 times a year.

For a large tent. Check out Argos.

Bed. I use an airbed. Make sure you don't overinflate. For lightweight camping I use a cheap lilo. Use todays clothes as extra insulation, and to absorb moisture, on top of the bed and tomorrows in a pillow case for your head.

Forget sleeping bags unless weight / bulk is an issue. Asda do 13.5 TOG double duvets at about £8. If you must buy a bag then shop around. Mummy style is best. Make your own liner with a sheet sew up.

Ebay do lots of LED headlights at reasonable prices.

Bottom line is to be comfortable even in the worst possible weather - ie, British summer.

nova77

We are going camping this weekend with a 5 month old and i've just bought a pop up cot from ebay (still pricey but cheaper than brand new!) and as soon as she outgrows it i'll put it back on as they keep the value really well.
Readybeds are quite good for toddlers too and loads of places do funky kids sleeping bags

Hope she likes the pop up cot or i might not get a lot of sleep!!!:D

Also i was pregnant last year when we went and was soooooo uncomfy on both airbed and roll mat so if you have a bump bring plenty of pillows and/or padding:rotfl:

big_gay_kirk

A bit of an extreme solution now... if you want really cheap camping, become a leader or helper with he Scout Association.. not only is it very rewarding, but most groups camp a lot.. and dedicated Scout campsites are fantastic.. everything from backwoods style sites, such as consall, to large, well equipped sites like Beaudesert, to unusual sites, like Willesley with its church and Rhydd covert, with the lions and wolves of the W. Mids safari park merely a half inch of steel away.. and the most expensive of them are less than five pounds a night... just don't expect electric hook ups! Our local site is £1.75 a night, with showeres, toilets, altar fires and a campfire circle, views across a lake... lovely.. and only available to scouts and guuides... we're all over the country, and I promise that becoming involved in Scouting (or guiding!) will be one of the best moves you can make!

jamesh008

Always lie down on the ground BEFORE you set up your tent. This way you can check the most comfy position for sleeping in and put your tent exactly where you want it.

Are you hiking or driving? This question will make you think about the type of equipment you really need to buy and use. Don't buy a 3lb Everest capable two man tent if you, the wife, kids and dog are off to the beach for a weekend, and if you take your 30 year old frame tent onto the South Col you are going to die!

Argos do a great campbed that is small when rolled up but far comfier that a campmat or thermarest. However you would not want to put one in a rucksack and hike with it.

I find a good bottle of wine (or two) makes for a better nights sleep on a noisy campsite.

jamtart6

whats the consensus on thermarest vs camp bed for warmth?

frogeye

Does anyone know of any bargain windbreaks available at the moment? I'm after 2 or 3, but not sure if I trust the budget ones on ebay. Thanks