Message Forums

for us its the love of it....... (well me anyway OH may have a different story lol..)

friday afternoon the adventure begins........

theres no better way of seeing our fantastic countryside than living breathing & sleeping in it.......

being more fairweather campers heres hoping 2013 is just sublime.....

We only go camping once each year, for a fortnight in the South East of France during July, the cost of a pitch for the fortnight is around £500 for a 4 Star campsite, it will be less this year as we are going to a 3 Star campsite.

Compare that to renting a Static at £600 per week or Villa at £1.500 per week, in the same area, OK you have to factor in the cost of your kit, but that soon pays for itself with each holiday, for us it's a no brainer.

I camp because I like being out of doors. I also like what my friend calls "the enforced relaxation of camping", where you have to accept that it takes much longer to do stuff like cook, shower etc and stop trying to rush about. The only holidays that come close in terms of the chill-out factor for me are narrowboat holidays.

Hotels are nice for a night or two for a treat, but I hate the way you can't just go and get a cuppa when you want and have to be on your best behaviour in the public areas. Grumpy or unhelpful staff can ruin a hotel stay, on a campsite they just give you another thing to laugh about.

We usually have a break in a cottage later in the year, when the days get shorter, but for 2 people they work out disproportionately expensive and the last couple of cottages have been a real disappointment (one was grubby, damp and had mould on the walls in places, despite being four-star). The nice ones have been great, but it's not as much of  a change as camping.

We find it cheap as we don't feel the need to keep buying loads of kit, and will probably sell the Khyam as we find the Icarus suits us so much better we just use that all the time. The only things on my wish list are a Cobb and an Icey-Tek, although I might consider getting a double camp bed to make getting up and down easier on my old knees.. Having said that, to many campers our set-up would probably seem alarmingly basic, we don't do EHU and it all fits in the back of an estate car. It's how we like it though.

The only significant expense we might consider is a camper van, for quick weekend getaways. That's a big investment though, and I'm not convinced it's worth it, especially with the cost of tax, insurance etc. We wouldn't use if for longer trips as they just don't have the living space we like (and need, with the dogs).

For us, we just love camping and the fact that it's cheap is a bonus.

Once you have your set up, it should be a really cheap way of getting out and about to the places you want to visit.  My set up is really old now, but still going strong and I don't camp on the big sites.  I bought 3 new tents in the last 18 months, one for my sister and her family, two for me.  They cost a bit, particularly as the only one worth keeping is the one I bought for my sister, and I shan't spend any more on camping equipment for another few years now. The only thing I find annoyingly expensive is the petrol.

If I won the lottery I'd still camp rather than stay in cottages, etc. as I just love the whole experience and IMHO its the best option if you have a four legged friend to consider (as I always have and always will).

When I'm retired, if petrol remains the big consideration I'll have to find a way of using a scooter or motorbike, with a sidecar for the dog!

Ridiculous prices dk168 - I always wonder how they get any business but some folks must have money to spend!  Like you, I immediately convert prices like that into how much more camping I could do!