Quote: Originally posted by FionaW1971 on 13/2/2009
I think mostly its down to poor tent not pegged correctly, although very often a poor tent is blamed and its actually the position and pegging of tent. Poor equipment, bad weather, different expectations. Its not going to be for everyone but I reckon if you do your research on here, and ask plenty of questions before you venture out then you won't go far wrong.
I have to agree there Fiona. Even the crummiest of tents will afford reasonable protection from moderately bad weather if anchored to the ground properly.
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Delta Ground Anchors..the strongest, most secure tent pegs in the world! Nylon anchors twice as efficient as rock pegs in 'average' soil! Quality stainless pegs for tougher soil are available.
I know of a family that spent £1500 on tent and equipment. for starters. they never tried pitching it before hand, and they went from Lancashire to Cornwall 1st and only trip booked 2 weeks.
came home after 3 days. said it rained was crowded and the toilets stank.
I asked why they took on the idea of camping? they saw it on the telly and thought it would be fun! but said never again,going back to the canneries next year! what about all your camping gear? oh took it to cash generator got £325 for the lot.
....if you promote camping under canvas as a DIY chalet then you will have problems, if you go camping for camping sake and follow the weather, then your all in for a good time. Don't try to beat the elements they will always win
So watch the weather this includes wind speeds and night time temperature, Be prepared to say not this weekend
Keep it simple less is better you will note that most of us have 2 or more tents not because we're addicts but we have found that for a quick weekend you do not want to spend the whole weekend packing and unpacking then packing up again just to unpack when you get home. So a minimalist set up is required.
Rule of thumb is, the more you take the less likely you will go
Great post
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My OH told me in 2004 on a wet and windy night at flower of May in Scarborough, that this was the last $%$££$%^^ time she was EVER sleeping in a tent. We had a break for a few years due to illness and baby being born and done the static hols and the hotel breaks. I enjoyed them so did the rest of the family, but we all craved the outdoor life again. So with a bit more knowledge (from here among other places) we started again. small hiccup (see terrible tent thread). Then bought a tent with SIG and started really enjoying camping. Rain, Wind, Snow - you name it, we shrug it off. The OH loves it as much as me now and thats why we've got the Norfolk Lake. We plan to go much further afield this year, and decided it was time for some luxury. Im sure your family will love camping. Get your wife to have a read through the threads on this site. Im sure she'll end up as hooked as the rest of us.
------------- Always forgive,Never forget;Learn from mistakes,But Never regret;People change,Things go wrong;Just remember life goes on
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Our first camping trip was a week in Northern France. Our daughter was 18 months and a bad sleeper. She was very unsettled by the whole experience. She wanted to spend the whole day sitting in the car and being read the same book. She wouldn't go to sleep because of the noise and woke very early when the rest of the site was asleep. We found it a nightmare and gave up after two days. It just wasn't our idea of a holiday.
Three years later, two daughters now 5 and 3 we decided to try again. This time we got a bigger tent, prepped them well (lots of reading of Topsy and Tim go camping!!), had a practice night in the garden and all set of for three weeks in France. We all loved it. It was a brilliant holiday and one we hope to repeat year after year! Just goes to show, if at first you don't suceed....
i worked with someone who was given a complete set up went had an awful week weather kids moaning etc came home cut tent up skipped all other kit i think you have to have the mentality that its not two weeks in spain and embrace the joy that sitting outside your tent in the early morning sun eating a bacon sarnie watching a buzzard soaring on thermals only camping can give you this
I 1st camped in a tiny 2 man tent in '92 and hated it. I was so uncomfortable sleeping on the floor. In 07 we got a tt only because we couldn't afford to rent our usual static caravan. It was p*ssing down with rain when we arrived and didn't stop all day. For some reason dh had taken the awning off so everything got wet when we set it up, dh put a huge whole in the awning when we were setting it up, the groundsheet had small holes in so water came through it, when we plugged in the ehu it blew so we had to go and buy another one, once we had ehu we had to dry the beds, we pegged the awning out wrong so the beds were wet in the middle of the night. I just kept saying how do people think this is fun and i'm never doing it again; I actually got a good nights sleep. The next day dh duck taped the hole up, we aired the beds and apart from the puddle in the middle of the living area we had a fantastic week. We had one more lovely weekend away in it and got a caravan!
We had a caravan 20 years ago and outgrew it. We camped 15 years ago in good weather in Dorset & enjoyed it. We then went on several Eurocamping holidays to France and enjoyed them. I have changed jobs and frequently stay away in hotels, that has spoiled me. We camped last year in the Lakes with a brand new tent, sloping pitch, rain, muddy site, feeling permanantly dirty, I didn't enjoy it, I could have quite happily put the tent and everything else on ebay. Haven't even thought about a holiday this year, if the weather could be guaranteed I would have no problen camping in the UK. Maybe we should try France with our own tent, the problem is the weak pound has made France so expensive. I drive 40,000 miles a year for my work so the thought of towing a caravan for my holidays doesn't appeal.
we have had loads of good holls in tents i have had cabanon frame tents ridge tents but got fed up packing it and un packing it so got a caravan and its just not as much fun so sold the van and whent back to a tent avango aspin had some bad winds in barnmouth but still enjoyed it so other harf seid lets get a tt so we got one and are still enjoying it now have done the eurocamp thing but are takeing tt to france this year camping is some thing you just have to like if you get bad wether just have to make the most ofit
....if you promote camping under canvas as a DIY chalet then you will have problems, if you go camping for camping sake and follow the weather, then your all in for a good time. Don't try to beat the elements they will always win
So watch the weather this includes wind speeds and night time temperature, Be prepared to say not this weekend
Keep it simple less is better you will note that most of us have 2 or more tents not because we're addicts but we have found that for a quick weekend you do not want to spend the whole weekend packing and unpacking then packing up again just to unpack when you get home. So a minimalist set up is required.
Rule of thumb is, the more you take the less likely you will go
Great post
Must say I have to agree. Well said Oldham 9but think maybe I am a little addicted but once I get it right then I may stop )
Quote: Originally posted by soulcamper on 14/2/2009i worked with someone who was given a complete set up went had an awful week weather kids moaning etc came home cut tent up skipped all other kit i think you have to have the mentality that its not two weeks in spain and embrace the joy that sitting outside your tent in the early morning sun eating a bacon sarnie watching a buzzard soaring on thermals only camping can give you this
That really make me want to go now. I can just picture that - smell the bacon and hear the buzzard and almost feel the sun - almost
I think if you get the weather you will love camping, but if its wet you will hate it especially if you have a small tent, Last year we camped for 3 nights at Blair Atholl and it rained most of the time, and we had a tent with 2 rooms and a central area, but we had friends with us camping too and trying to fit 6 or 8 people into thes small areas is hopeless, so we both have bought Vango Diablo 900 XPs , so if it rains we will have loads of space
------------- If you Get the Weather you Cant Beat Camping in Scotland
We got into camping last year after talking with friends and laughing about the good time we had camping 20 years ago. It was within days that everyone was looking in Argos and buying 'beginner' tents and basic kit, then not long after we had booked into a local site, half an hour away.
Unfortuately after that first night one of our friend's complained bitterly that she was so cold she didn't even get undressed, stating that she was soooooooo uncomfortable and hated the whole experience. Other friend's had come in a caravan, so she spent the following morning sat in there, while her OH packed everything away........... She has managed another couple of nights under duress, but complained so much that whenever we have discussed any of our future trips, she puts her fingers in her ears singing 'la la la la la la' and refuses to talk about it.
We however, are thankful that we got back into camping and can't wait for the season to start.
Pitching your tent and setting up your stall is a knack, you won't get it all right in one trip but if you keep at it one day you will wonder what all the fuss was, having said that, some people do get it right first time and then some of us still bugger something up after years at it, e.g. setting everything up before realising the gas bottle is sat on the drive at home
I like that Caster, when we had our caravan, we drove 180 miles to our site, pitched the van & started setting the awning up only to find we'd left the awning panels in the attic. I guess these things happen to everyone now & then but I did chuckle when I read your reply & it reminded me of ours.
We've sold the van & decided to try a tent, the kids want to go camping so I thought we'd give it a whirl. I have to admit, I'm scratching myself where I don't itch now wondering if we've done the right thing.
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Topic: Who doesn`t like camping?
