Last time we went camping in UK was 1977 for a fortnight in August, thankfully we went in my Ford Thames Van, as the tent was washed away, so we spent a fortnight in the van.
It rained, and it rained and it rained.
During this time we vowed to never ever go camping in the UK ever again, and ever since then we have spent a fortnight campings in the South East of France during July.
And guess what, it has always been wall to wall sunshine and temps heading towards +40 Deg C.
It might rain for few days then again it might not...........I wouldn't bother to book a caravan though, either put up with the changeable weather here or chase the sunshine elsewhere.
Whatever you decide I hope you have fun :-)
We are booked for Devon it could do anything who cares I'm on holiday and I need to chill after a long slog at work which will be even more busier when. Get back tbh I would care if it snowed!
------------- Tim
Harlyn August
Hopefully somewhere for a weekend in Sept
The BBC weather online for Dawlish is showing heavy rain showers for Sunday and Monday with wind speeds of less than 20mph. Although nobody likes rain that forecast sounds pretty reasonable.
Netweather.tv on the other hand are also showing heavy rain showers but winds gusting up to 45mph.
Clearly the weather channels don't agree what is likely to happen yet, but I would suggest high winds are far more damaging to a tent than rain and certainly if wind speeds are forecast in excess of 25mph I would consider cancelling my trip.
That said, I have cancelled trips before based on wind speeds forecast by Netweather.tv and then discovered the winds were fine on the day. They don't seem too good at forecasting wind speeds although usually pretty accurate with rain.
I would wait until late on Friday/Saturday before changing my plans and I would check out at least three weather channels and go with the two that agree
Well we're off to newquay on Saturday for 2 weeks and I'll go with timpro on this one! while I'd like it to be sunny for the whole of the two weeks i'm a realist and if we get 3 or 4 beach days we'll be happy. It's time to chill, family time and that's what we intend doing
I am going away on Monday, regardless of weather.
As long as you have decent waterproofs with you there is no reason why rain should spoil your holiday, I actually find walking in the rain quite enjoyable.
We have camped for 20 years and 10 of those have been with the kids. I think we have cancelled a trip once because of the forecast (although we have come home early on occasions to try and pack up in the dry).
The chances of getting really extreme weather are quite rare. Obviously I wouldnt camp in gale force winds but its common sense and some of it depends on your site, whether it is right on the coast, whether you have any shelter etc.
There is no point buying camping equipment in this country unless you are prepared for a bit of wet, cold, miserable weather - even in the height of summer and if things really do get bad you can soon throw everything in the car and head home.
Just go for it, be prepared for some rain and be determined to enjoy it whatever happens. Oh and just think about those people in their static caravans who have paid £800 for their week away ..
If people buy a tent costing anything from £200 upwards then go camping when gale force winds are forecast (not to mention a hurricane) I guess they just like living on the edge
We've just returned from 2 sunny & hot weeks in Cornwall. Each night we'd check the weather forecast so that we could plan the next days activities. On quite a few occasions, rain was forecasted - it rained once and the site owners mentioned that this was the first rain in 2 months.
Take a chance & use your tent, make sure all of the vents are open to help the air circulate to reduce condensation at night and also when you are sat in it should it rain.
Stock up on beer/wine/cider, relax and enjoy your holiday.
Quote: Originally posted by Francais on 07/8/2014Last time we went camping in UK was 1977 for a fortnight in August, thankfully we went in my Ford Thames Van, as the tent was washed away, so we spent a fortnight in the van.
It rained, and it rained and it rained.
During this time we vowed to never ever go camping in the UK ever again, and ever since then we have spent a fortnight campings in the South East of France during July.
And guess what, it has always been wall to wall sunshine and temps heading towards +40 Deg C.
My brother camps in the south of France every summer, usually for three weeks at the beginning of the summer holidays, they've had some corking storms while they've been there even though it has been very hot. I've known them have to dig a drainage tunnel under their tent to let the rain run away. A friend I work with was in the south of France while we were at Fforest Fields, we were enjoying 'wall to wall sunshine' and they had what she described as the storm from Hell, torrential rain and very high winds, even the locals were frightened!!
I guess you've been lucky!
------------- May/June - Spring Valley
Aug/Sept - Leekworth
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Rain
