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Brief Guide to Family Camping |
| So... |
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The children want to go camping – their friends have just come back from a magical time in a muddy field in Kent. Now a light is shinning in little Johnny and Martha; they regale each other with stories that grow more fantastic with each re-telling of how wondrous it will be to sleep under the stars, to sit around a campfire and cook the food that Daddy caught that day. The picture in your head is rather different – waking up in the morning in a damp tent, with a bad back, desperate for the loo but dreading the walk to the prison-block like wash-house, wearing your partner's jumper over your mis-matched nightwear.
Anyway, you don’t have a tent, any of the equipment – maybe a lilo, somewhere – or any idea where to begin to get even close to fulfilling your children’s fantasy. Those same children who have, meanwhile, launched a major pestering campaign to succeed in their quest to experience camping. Should you decide to surrender to the call of the wild, the following will help you get through your first foray into camping. |
| What type of tent will I need? |
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There are generally two types of tents – dome and frame tents.
Frame tents are of the “home from home” variety – they were very popular in the seventies, often including a bedroom, kitchen and living area complete with wardrobe and fantastically flowery curtains. The designs have progressed but they remain large, generally cumbersome affairs that require a lot of car space and a considerable amount of patience to construct. This is due to the jigsaw-like steel frame, which has to be erected first with the inner linings and exterior shell fitted in and over the frame. The big advantage of this type of tent is the space and height – they really are like mini-houses. A Lichfield Vermont 4, for four people, costs around £209 but weighs in at a hefty 21.6kg. Dome tents are the family campers choice. They are sleek, lightweight, relatively easy to construct and appropriate for all budgets. Fibreglass or aluminium poles are inserted into the inner shell, eased into a dome shape and anchored to the ground. An exterior fly sheet is placed over the top and secured with guide ropes – the two layers create a gap that provides insulation and an effective barrier between a dry inside and dew damp exterior – or even a rain soaked exterior in the extremely unlikely event of rain whilst camping! The lining also acts as a divider between sleeping and living areas, a ground sheet will be included but in some tents, such as the Vango Diablo 400 (for 4 people at cost of around £180), the ground sheet is integral to the lining, providing a bug and draft free indoors. When making your selection, make sure the poles are strong and flexible as they have a big job to do; also the material must be of good quality to keep you all dry – generally the lighter the better – and check out the seams, they must be well finished off and sealed or taped. Coleman produce a great basic 4 person tent for around £70, the Coleman Vermont, weighing in at only 10.49kg. |
| Will I be able to put it up without introducing my children to bad language? |
| It is a good idea to have a dry run at home before you go, out of earshot of the children and without the pressure of expectant but tired, possibly car-sick, mini-campers trying to help by inserting the poles up each others noses or using them as swords. If it’s all too much the Khyam Tourer 400 prides itself on the ease and speed in which it can be put up – the secret’s in the aluminium poles - but where’s the fun in that and at £270 it’s quite expensive for first timers. |
| Size? |
| Seems easy – count up the number of people in your party and opt for that size of tent. Except some of these tents can be very snug. Do you want separate compartments for you and the children? How big are the children? You may want to consider adding an extra ‘man’ when deciding on size to allow room to roll over at night without everyone having to do it at the same time. Most websites give helpful diagrams on how the tent is laid out and how many men get to lie next to each other – you can find some at www.campsites.co.uk. |
| Price? |
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When buying tents, price is generally an indication of quality and durability. However you have to decide if this will be a one-off experience for a sunny weekend in the back garden– in which case a budget or borrowed tent would be appropriate.
You may decide this is going to be the family holiday for the next five years, in which case a greater investment will have to be made. Reliable makes include Coleman, Gelert, Khyam, Lichfield, SunnCamp, The North Face, VANGO and Wynnster. The price range is huge, from £34 for a Campus Calgary 4 (a perfectly good little tent) to £550 for a Khyam Ultimate Classic (all singing and dancing). A good tip is to go for last years model – tent companies bring out a new version annually, presumably to embarrass serious campers caught wearing last years tent. Consequently, the passé purple number from last season will be sold off at a good discount. |
| What about all the other stuff? |
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Something to sleep on, sleep in and to make a cup of tea when dawn breaks will be required.
Sleeping bags present themselves as a huge challenge – goose, duck down or synthetic? Sewn through, box wall, slant box wall? Single layer, double offset or shingle? My children chose theirs by colour, which proved a surprisingly successful strategy! Whatever you chose, the basic principle is to trap in warm air to prevent the body cooling down, but it should also be breathable. For children, synthetic is probably best unless they are reliably dry at night, although down is more adaptable to changing temperatures. Whatever you choose, opt for a cotton lining, like the Coleman Hudson Junior (£14.99) The Gelert Snuggle at £12 is good value and looks great. All sleeping bags are rectangular or tapered in for a closer, body bag fit – it depends on how much you like to wriggle around. Sleeping bags can come with a hoodie, for that completely mummified effect. In my experience you either wake up boiling hot with the sun beating through the tent or cold and damp because you unzipped and lost the bag in the night when your feet couldn’t stand being bound any longer. Look for a bag with a double zip that gives your feet an escape route. An absolute key point is to buy one that squeezes away into a small sack; anything else and your car will be full of impossibly large swathes of polyester. For first timers, a good all rounder is the synthetic filled Campus Scout 300 at £12.95. The other essential item is what to sleep on – airbed, inflatable mat or just a foam mat. Mats can be cheap - £7.99 for a Stormlite – and instant, just unroll it. Inflatable mats with a foam core give more cushioning and self inflate when unrolled, such as the Gelert Adventure Self Inflating mattress for around £16. Airbeds offer a choice of soft or firm - Campinggaz do a Quickbed for £10. The down side is airbeds have to be pumped up, which can be a pain especially if you forget to pack the foot pump. A car battery operated pump is quick, but noisy. A cooker is useful – unless you plan to make use of the pub across the field for all your dietary requirements. You can get a Campinggaz Camping Chef gas cooker with 2 burners and a grill for £49.99. A single burner Campinggaz Bistro Activ Gas Cooker claims to be quick boiling at £25 but, for the same price, a Gelert Double Burner Gas Cooker will cook the beans and sausages at the same time. A lantern for when the camp fire burns down is a comfort but a torch is a necessity for the late night dash to the loo. The Coleman Northstar Battery Lantern (£24.99) has a built in night light, but for those who like to play with fire there is Campinggaz Bluet gas lantern at £19.99. |
| Shopping List |
The following may be helpful as a basic checklist for your camping trip.
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| Where to go |
| There are many fantastic campsites all over the UK – the best are generally small, family run establishments that really take pride in their campsite and facilities. Try www.campsites.co.uk for suggested camp sites around the UK. Finally, have fun. It is a great experience, especially for the children – they can enjoy a wonderful sense of freedom and release on the right campsite. |
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