Chicken boarders

[ubereglu]

hey liz, wave at us too

 

 

Will do if I end up visiting Redcar, although quite unlikely this time as Vikki lives in Durham and we're staying near Gateshead, might go to Saltburn again though-pretty!!!

 

Where are you in Durham Katie?

[Olly]

I agree with the crate of essentials, that's what I keep in the garage with kettle, mini-cooker, crockery and cutlery, gas lamp and so on.

 

Controversial here - I don't recommend an airbed; they're probably ok in summer, but if it's cold then you're just sleeping on a cushion of cold air, also I find them hard to sleep on because of the rolling around. I really recommend Thermarest self-inflating roll-mats - they aren't thick but they're just enough to insulate and cushion you. I have a mummy-shaped sleeping bag, and I was the only one last weekend who didn't complain of being cold at night - the people who took duvets were all chilly! It's worth putting a blanket underneath the airbed for extra insulation in cold weather.

 

My essentials: deckchair and table, no-water handwash stuff, sharp knife and chopping board for any cooking.

Windbreak to mark off your area and keep the draughts out. Warm clothes and woolly hat for sitting around in the evening.

Crocs or flip-flops so you can slip in and out of them easily when going into then tent, AND wear them in the showers!

Buy a cheap tarpaulin or two from Homebase or similar, and use them for standing things on so they don't get wet, covering deckchairs at night, as a doormat, extra insulation, whatever you want really - they're invaluable.

Take a tubtrug if you have one - great for stacking washing-up, collecting water, and innumerable other uses!

And take lots of games, kite, frisbee, books, puzzles - the best bit about camping for me is the sitting around and chatting with no pressure to do anything.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

We tend to do the "belt & braces" route with bedding....rollmats on the groundsheet, then a cheap & cheerful fleece blanket, then a blowup mattress, then a "mummy" style sleeping bag and if the weather is cool another thicker fleece to throw over the top. Take a comfy pillow too, a folded up jumper is just not good enough once you leave the Scout movement !!

 

Should you actually manage to find a hot period, we also have either a sheet stitched into a bag shape to slot inside the sleeping bag to allow for temperature control, or a duvet cover with all poppers/buttons etc removed...they are so uncomfortable to sleep with rubbing round your neck!! You'll probably still need all the other layers as the temperature drops considerably between 3 & 5 in the morning. Thick or fluffy socks are obligatory camping kit for bed along with flip flops for the showers

 

Olly, we looked at those self-inflating beds....aren't they expensive but so comfy, they had one on a layer of cobbles in the shop & I couldn't feel a thing! DD wants one for her next Cub camp......!

 

We also have the crate of bits & bobs stashed in the loft - trouble is it's quite heavy to lug up & down the ladder in DS's bedroom! To collect water, we usually go & buy a 5 litre bottle of water from the supermarket & keep refilling that, it's small enough for the children & can either be recycled at the end so no storage, or dried out & used next trip. The proper water carriers tend to smell very strongly of plastic in my opinion . And a tug trug or two for washing up etc & storing "toot" in...wonderful things!

 

A friend has borrowed a heap of our kit, so we will have to get everything back in it's place once it's returned...or take it out for a test-run to make sure everything still works !!! I'm starting to feel the need for camping trip...anyone fancy babysitting 10 chooks & 3 labs for me......

 

Sha x

[Chucky Mama]

Something to keep the midges away. I bought some solar lights from poundland and set them around the tent so that we didn't trip over the guy ropes (also handy to see which tent is yours on the way back from the toilets!).

[Olly]

They are expensive Sha, but worth every penny - in my experience air-beds only have a few years of life, whereas I've had my Thermarest 10 years+. (OK, I know someone will now post telling me they're still using an airbed from 1962 .. )

 

I'd forgotten the sleeping-bag liner though - essential both for warmth and comfort, you can pick them up for a few quid or make your own as Wildmum says. I have one, and it means that if (when!) you roll over in the night, the sleeping-bag stays where it is and you just turn over in the liner. Means you don't wake up in the morning trapped upside down with a zip mark down your face!

 

Oh I love camping. I'm going again in August, can't wait.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Means you don't wake up in the morning trapped upside down with a zip mark down your face!

 

....and that is such an attractive look I get fed up with waking up in a knot with the sleeping bag wrapped tightly round my legs ...I am obviously a right fidget at night

 

Sha x

[Willow]

We're just back from a few days camping in Devon. First time as a family and it was good (used to camp a lot as a kid - with 4 siblings hotels were out of the question )

 

Airbed not the ground or a carry mat I prefer an airbed without a built in pillow. http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6340032/Trail/searchtext>AIRBED.htm is not bad and 2 singles are more flexible than a double plus less to pump up in one go

 

I cut a cheap pillow from tesco in half and put each half in a pillow case to make sleeping bag size pillows.

 

It was cold at night so decent sleeping bag is a must. And have some layers you can wear in bed just in case. I have a strappy pj top and found my shoulders got cold so I needed an extra tee shirt on top.

 

Crocs are perfect for camping. Next time we go it's a pair of crocs and a pair of hiking boots per person and no other shoes

[Snowy]

Some good ideas there about the mats under the airbed - we have a great quality, queensize airbed that we bought in France a couple of years ago. It inflates in two seperate halves, so we can each have out half the way we like it. But it does take a while to warm up (even with two of us together! OH is normally very good as a hot water bottle!) Will be trying the mat and fleece idea. Also love the idea of using duvet covers as sleeping bag liners - will be using that one for my next trip!

[PurpleTree]

I made my own sleeping bag liner, using 2 double flannelette sheets sewn together. Lovely and cosy.

 

Only 5 days til we go to Holland Was writing a list of all the things we need to remember to take, it was quite long. Top of the list was 'tent!', most important. My sister-in-law went camping a little while ago, was half way to the site and remembered they'd left part of the tent at home and had to go back for it. Luckily they weren't camping too far away.

[Snowy]

I've forgotten the gas bottle for the cooker before now. OH was well impressed The year after we took our double airbed, but not the bungs for the air outlets (OH in his wisdom felt they were better stored seperately from the bed ) Touch wood - nothing was forgotten on the last trip. I now have a permanent list on the laptop so just print it off each time and check things off as they go in the car. OH thinks it's a bit extreme.

[Willow]

now have a permanent list on the laptop so just print it off each time and check things off as they go in the car. OH thinks it's a bit extreme.

 

Ooo I'd decided I was going to do a list for next time we went camping - can I be very cheeky and ask if your list is sufficiently generic you would be happy to pm to me as a starter ?

 

Lists for holiday packing are the only way to go ! I used to travel a lot for work and early on realised the only way it would work was a list that had absolutely everything in detail on it and I ticked each item everytime as it went in the case - although I still managed to get to a conference in Singapore where I was a speaker so visible on stage and discovered I only had stockings not tights and they weren't the hold-up style either

Singapore hotel staff are not the resourceful type and couldn't suggest anywhere I could buy any tights so eventually I coaxed cellotape out of them and cellotaped the tops of the stockings to my thighs with lots and lots of tape

[Snowy]

now have a permanent list on the laptop so just print it off each time and check things off as they go in the car. OH thinks it's a bit extreme.

 

Ooo I'd decided I was going to do a list for next time we went camping - can I be very cheeky and ask if your list is sufficiently generic you would be happy to pm to me as a starter ?

 

Lists for holiday packing are the only way to go ! I used to travel a lot for work and early on realised the only way it would work was a list that had absolutely everything in detail on it and I ticked each item everytime as it went in the case - although I still managed to get to a conference in Singapore where I was a speaker so visible on stage and discovered I only had stockings not tights and they weren't the hold-up style either

Singapore hotel staff are not the resourceful type and couldn't suggest anywhere I could buy any tights so eventually I coaxed cellotape out of them and cellotaped the tops of the stockings to my thighs with lots and lots of tape

 

:shock:

PM me your email Patricia and I'll send it to you, I 'borrowed' it from the UK campsite list

[missuscluck]

My boys like to do camping 'in the rough' and they take the micky out of me with my air bed and my hairdyer that I plug into the car cigarette lighter

 

Ok, so my hair would probably dry quicker in the sun but It makes me feel better

 

We will be off camping in the summer I think. Nothing arranged as yet though.