Hi all, firstly a quick thanks to everyone who has unknowingly been helping me and my family in our quest to start the camping life. A real treasure trove of information and a great friendly attitude across the forums where I have been lurking under cover for the past few weeks.
Anyways we are a family of five myself, the wife and 3 children ( 8,10 & 13) and have just purchased our first tent after hours of research and what would be best for us we have opted for the Kampa Croyde 6 Air Pro, favourable reviews, plenty of space and quick to put up (hopefully), but my god it's heavy and i did have a bit of a meltdown about pitch sizes but accept that there are some sites that we won't be able to go to but still plenty of good options out there.
Looking at a short weekend away in a couple of weeks at a local site down in kent and then we are booked for a week away in North Devon in August.
This coming weekend is going to be about getting some gear together, a kitchen unit,cooking stove, fridge ( tabletop or mobicool C40, really can't decide on that), comfy camping chairs and i'm sure 101 other things, 99 of which we probably won't need. Oh and a roofbox as the tent takes up nearly half the boot.
I'm sure i'll be back seeking some much needed knowledge in the future but for now we can't wait to get started.
Thanks
James.
P.S Apologies if I posted in the wrong area but here and the equipment pages is where I've been covertly researching.
I was just planning on taking a shovel and digging a hole to be honest but thankfully there will be toilets on site. Thanks for the advice though any more handy hints are more than welcome. 😜
Have you brought the electric air pump for the tent? I have the Kampa hayling 6 and brought my pump which is called Kampa breeze. It plugs into the cigarette lighter and works brillant. My husband is disabled and can't put the tent poles up no more with me and I managed the air tent on my own but I struggled to get the tubes up to to 7psi so brought this and is brillant. But you do need an extension lead for it as the cable isn't quite long enough especially if you are pitch quite close to some else. I got the pump from winfields the cheapest place I found and extstion lead from go outdoors. Enjoy your tent it's a great one. 😀
Thanks for the reply Stella, i'm hoping for now my back will be up to the task of inflating if not its definately an option i'd look into otherwise it will be down to the lovely wife to beef up her muscles. Can't wait to try the tent now, hopefully should be able to do a short maiden camp next weekend.
James.
Sounds obvious, but just remember to do a test pack before you go on holiday to ensure you have capacity in your car for all your gear plus room for the family + clothes holdalls etc. It's surprising how much things mount up in size and weight when building up camping gear. Also consider the setting up and packing away time when you are starting/ending a holiday.
Our first family camping holidays were tremendous fun but having way too much stuff made hard work for ourselves at the beginning/end of our holidays. We've pared down a lot now and swapped some gear from more compact/lightweight alternatives - it's so much easier and quicker to get set up now.
Re pitch sizes, we've been to some lovely sites with nice big pitches, there's plenty of them about.
------------- Aug 2017 St Martins Campsite, Scilly
Jul 2017 Trewan Hall, Cornwall
Jun 2017 Higher Kestle Farm, Cornwall
Mar 2017 Pitch Perfect camping Bath
Aug 2016 Brittany/Normandy:-
La Ferme Croas Men (near Morlaix)
Le Ranolien (Ploumanac'h)
Le Bois Courdrais (Cugen)
Chateau de Montfreville (Montfreville)
Some good advice there Mitzi, thankyou. I've got it planned in my head how its going to go, the execution of events is rarely the same though. Hopefully next weekend will be the first mini test with most of the gear in the boot and then for a longer trip clothes, sleeping bags and other pieces in the roof box.
I dare say we will be taking a bit too much to start with but its all part of the learning process and can be adapted to our needs over time. Also hopefully the kids can help in the packing/unpacking, i may need to get some cold beers on hand before we start....just in case.
Thanks.
James.
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: Can`t wait to get started
Good luck
