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Thanks for all the advise above. We are also new campers and are hoping to go away for weekends with our kids(2 1/2 and 6 months). Like Claire (original post) we live on the Wirral and we will definately be taking Pegwils advise and looking for campsites in Cheshire.

The Good thing is we have bought a Monty 6 and took it to Leasowe Common yesterday to set up and it only took us 1/2 hour (without Children)!!! So hopefully the set up time will be a little quicker!

If you feel like venturing a little further south into north Shropshire there's a farm site we stayed at a couple of weeks ago just south of Whitchurch. It's a fairly ramshackle farm and very basic but people who have stopped there have been very impressed with it. There's not a pub or streetlight for miles but if it's isolation you prefer it could be for you. Take a look at the reviews.

...... http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/reviews.asp?revid=4660

We have camped with our 3 year old since he was 6 months.  We often go for weekends, off next weekend actually, but only go 15 miles away.  We often have extra snacks, such as crisps, biscuits, fruit and he often is happy to sit in the car munching whilst we set up camp, which takes us approximately 1 hour from start to finish.

All our camping stuff is packed into lidded stacking boxes and large holdalls, so its all ready to pack into the car, what takes the longest is getting it all down from the loft, but its not a problem.  I often freeze a sausage casserole and then by the time we are ready to eat its defrosted and then we reheat it and have crusty bread.  So a meal that takes about 10 mins.

We also keep a bag of special toys for camping trips, so that they are like new each time he gets them out, he also adds a couple of everyday favourites.  All in all our weekends camping are fairly chilled.