Happy Camping

“Hmmm .. very odd people” -  Gramps on camping and caravanning folk.

Odd or not, more and more of us have jumped on the camping bandwagon in recent years to take advantage of the ever improving Great British summer, the cheap as chips prices, and also do something to reduce the Hagrid sized carbon footprint that package holidays stomp into Europe year on year.

With tent technology and camping equipment having moved on somewhat since the halcyon days of real canvas tents that weighed a tonne and took 6 hours to pitch, there’s never been a better time to get back to nature and enjoy the great outdoors.  You can pick up family tent starter packs from around £120 (try Millets or Blacks) that come complete with everything you need to get started … beware though, if you do get the camping bug you will quickly become susceptible to tent envy (we’re very proud of our Vango Colorado 800DLX) and start spending hours in those outdoorsy type shops lusting after the latest camping stove and head torch.

Having just returned from our first camp of the season (we’ve been a bit slack this year), I thought it only right to impart some fatherly wisdom on how to make the most of camping with the kids:

* to avoid excitement induced sleepless nights and general meltdown in the run up to your trip, don’t tell young kids that you’re going until after they’ve had a good nights sleep and most of the packing is done

* on the packing front, try and do the bulk of it whilst the kids are out of your hair and make sure you put the important stuff (tent, kettle, tea bags, kids toys, gin etc) somewhere easy to get to .. the last thing you want is to have to empty the whole car in the pouring rain to find the mallet and pegs.

* safety in numbers .. go camping with other people so that some of you can keep the kids entertained and out of the way / make tea / distribute biscuits whilst others set up camp .. it’s also much more fun in a group

* if at all possible, go for more than one night … setting up and packing away is time consuming and can be stressful with kids in tow, so make sure you have at least one full day where you can just enjoy yourselves and your surroundings

* unless you’re lucky enough to have a massive car or a camper van, buy a roofbox .. you won’t believe the amount of stuff you’ll end up taking with you, so the more space you have the better

* once you’re committed to camping, a decent camping stove is a must when you’re cooking for the whole family (we like the Campingaz Camping Chef) .. a wind break and umbrella are also useful

* if you’ve got room, squidge in duvets, blankets and pillows .. they’re much comfier than sleeping bags and you can use a couple of old blankets to carpet your groundsheet which makes it much quieter when you’re in and out of the tent after the kids have gone to sleep

* go with the mindset that you’ll be grubbing around for a few days and don’t be precious about keeping the kids clean … they’ll love it, a bit of mud and dirt isn’t going to kill them and you’ll be much more relaxed if you all just go with the flow and have a bath when you get home

* wet wipes and sunscreen are your friends

Check out The Happy Campers by Tess Carr and Kat Heyes for some inspiration, top tips and yummy camping recipes and head over to www.ukcampsite.co.uk for the most comprehensive UK campsite listings and reviews on the web.

Daddy.