Great Camping Hunt

BillScarab

mishe wrote: »

thankyou to all who imput to this thread very helpful. i have been camping once only hated it tent to small and very cold we now have a two year old so there is now three of us and we have been invited to go camping with friends and have said yes in a mad moment. anyway does anyone have any tips on camping with a two year old and what size tent to get to be able to fit a travel cot in it as well and have enough room for us. we will be camping for a week.:eek:

Your best bet is to go to a shop that has a display of tents up so you can actually look around them and choose one properly. It will also let you see the differeneces between tunnel tents, dome tents and frame tents.

Whereabouts do you live? I was at Barretts of !!!!enham in Worcestershire yesterday and they a decent display up. go Outdoors in Coventry always have a good display as well (apparently it is the biggest outdoors shop in the UK). But wherever you live there should be somewhere near.

EDIT: I didn't swear honest! It's Barretts of F e c k enham.

tracywoods

I have very fond memories of camping as a kid.

I am now looking to buy a tent to go camping with my hubby and 3 kids.

I am considering buying the 6 person starter pack from argos. It has 3 bedrooms with sewn in grownd sheets and a central living area. It also includes airbeds and sleeping bags for £150.

Does anyone know if this tent is any good or not?
It will mainly be just for weekend use.

Head_in_the_sand_3

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.
If you can arrange for a large group of friends to go camping with you then many places will off you group discounts - don't be afraid to ask !!!
Wilkinson's do a great range of camping equiptment at excellent prices, even better if you buy in September in the sales !!!
Haven holidays offer you a Freedom TRail membership (£25.00) for life which gives you 10% all bookings. They also have late deals on their website so it is worth checking out - my sister and her family are going to Haggerston Castle next week - a family of four/four nights £14.40 -yes £14.40 including their passes and electric. This is an off-season price but definately worth looking at.
Hope this helps..........

znbut9

We always freeze some bottled water. You then have the added bonus of having ice cold water for squash while it also keeps perishables cold. On a 5 day camping trip we usually take 3 X 5L bottles of mineral water and some spare cool bags using one in the cool box at a time. Also pre prepared and frozen curry and chili con carne are good as you can eat with crusty bread.

Z.

helwarren

We bought some cheap solar lights to stick in the ground, so when it is warm enough to still sit out at night we have no need for torches/lamps. Also useful when you do have that trip to the toilet block to have something to head for on the way back!

Attwools at whitminster (near Gloucester) have a good selection of tents erected for you to look at.

BillScarab

tracywoods wrote: »

I have very fond memories of camping as a kid.

I am now looking to buy a tent to go camping with my hubby and 3 kids.

I am considering buying the 6 person starter pack from argos. It has 3 bedrooms with sewn in grownd sheets and a central living area. It also includes airbeds and sleeping bags for £150.

Does anyone know if this tent is any good or not?
It will mainly be just for weekend use.

It may well be fine but Personally I wouldn't buy it. It includes 4 single airbeds and 1 double so you're getting an airbed you don't need. Personally I prefer self-inflating mats anyway. It also includes a 1 double and 4 single sleeping bags. Youy've no idea how warm these will be and again you're getting one you don't need. Also I prefer single sleeping bags, it's easier to keep warm in them.

I would rather buy all my kit seperately rather than buy what Argos think will do. It may well be fine but if it's £150 all in how good will the tent and sleeping bags actually be?

How about this tent for £110 Gelert Cadiz 7 it's a well known make and a good price. Or for more room this one Gelert Alaska 8 more expensive but a good roomy tent. Then get hold of some airbeds or mats and sleeping bags and you're away. Might be worth asking on your local freecycle for airbeds or have a look on ebay.

spammeplease

My new top tip, having read this thread is: When you find that idyllic campsite.... KEEP QUIET about it!! Anyone else who is in the know will not thank you for submitting it to ukcampsite etc, and the people who like the cooler side of camping will probably know already. The more people you tell, the more they will tell, and soon you won't be able to get near the place!

I first learned of this trick when travelling in India and Far East where there were 2 types of backpackers, the ones that would follow eachother around the Lonely Planet route, and the ones you would find in the coolest of places that somehow weren't in the guidebook. There is a similar subgroup of campers who all know the same places.

debmorris

We love camping. As mentioned before definetly get a bigger tent than you need and make sure you can stand up in it. But always check with campsites before you book about the size of their pitches, some are really picky and have marked pitches of 6m square including guy ropes. Our tent is 7.8m long not including guy ropes, and really doesn't seem that big to us. The best campsites, in our view, are the ones with unmarked pitches where you can camp where you like. 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!! We have tried many camp beds but a lot of them are too big to fit in the bedroom sections of big tents. We have opted for the self inflating mattresses which although expensive are sooo comfy. The Ready Beds you can get in Argos are great for the kids too!! I could go on for pages and pages but will stop now. But do listen out for weather forecasts as strong winds and tents don't mix!!;)

greennigel

We've got one of these camping foldaway picnic tables that we put up under the gazebo to make a dining room.They fold away to the size of a long brief case!
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/camping-equipment/5709388674104

savingcub

If any of you have children in either Scouts or Guides if you take something like their neckerchief to Milletts you can get discount. I think its 10%. worth it for small stuff,

also for those saying they get cold on an airbed, the top tip i have is one I was taught in guides and i still use when camping with my cubs. 2 layers underneath, 1 layer on top.