Camping

While we are here...

What are people sleeping on?

We used to have one of these - it was fucking awful .

I got one of these - a bit of a torture rack. So narrow you can only sleep on it flat on your back in coffin pose, which is not how i sleep.

We camp with two kids so are car campers, rather then the weight weeny "get it all in one backpack" type.

So go on... what is everyone sleeping on?

Your Farr's meadow mention up thread had me nostalgic for when we stayed there years ago. Waking up to the sound of neighbouring pitch parents scrubbing airbeds down after their kids had swum in the river.
Glad you kept the E. Coli at bay.
Hamperley just has a communal firepit in the woods.

Just bought a Trangia 25, it's a thing of beauty

Get a proper, 4", blow up airbed. Buy a self inflating one, or buy an electrical pump. Make sure the pump fits your airbed - some of the cheaper airbeds have weird air inlets. DO NOT attempt to blow the thing up yourself, and don't waste time with a footpump, or think that your track pump will cut it.

Worth spending money for a quality product, there are lots of bargains at the moment. The cheap ones tend to leak more.

Just back from Batcombe Vale (somerset) - can thoroughly recommend. Lovely friendly little site with decent facilities. Good pub nearby (Three Horseshoes) and a good chippy too. They were very good about gently shutting down some of the more boistrous parents. Dog friendly. Ice cream van came round on Friday night which went down well in our household.

Both mornings daughter woke up and exclaimed how much she liked just listening to the birds (as opposed to aircraft and police sirens I guess). A really good first camping trip as a family.

Sleep mats. Talk to me.
I / We as a family HATE airbeds

Sleep mats. Talk to me.

I / We as a family HATE airbeds

Car camping?

I hate airbeds but turns out I just hated crap ones. Picked up an Outwell Dreamboat Double 7.5cm which is great. We no longer have a car so it's used as a spare bed.

EXPED - Megamats also worth a look but even spendier.

I use a 4 season multimat expedition in winter, a ultralight multimat in summer. Both foam, both lasted for years. Anything else is tomorrow’s landfill

Car camping. Family of four. Have a two room tent, so experience with airbeds is not great. It's not great when not camping either.
Kid + parent in each room...

YOWSERS
Outwell is a bit spenny

The airbeds that just have air in them are pretty awful. they never stay up, you wallow about in them, and they can be pretty cold. They are though pretty cheap.

The "self inflating mats" which have a mix of foam and air are a lot more comfy and warm. The 10cm ones seem a good bet, but they are massive when folded up. We went for a Zempire Slumberlite Pro for about £90. Still not cheap, but as we spend a couple of weeks a year on it, seems worthwhile.

We've also just upped our tent game - found a De Waard Albatros in decent nick. It's huge -both when up and when packed away - and is as easy to handle as a baby belgua whale, but I'm very happy! Want to try and get a late season family weekend in if possible. Will be sad if we need to wait till next year.

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How big is your car? For big car camping I've used a foam futon thing, doesn't really roll small but does the job very well. There's loads of options.

We are away car camping with the fam this weekend.
Invested in some campbeds with a self inflating matt on top. Am expecting PUREFUCKINGLUXURYANDNOTHINGLESS

Anyone want this for free?
No regulator on the gas line, and a knob is missing (still works with a leatherman twist).

Collect SE4

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It seems that campsites may be opening along with self-catering accommodation after 12 April. I'm thinking of booking a few days with my partner and our parents so we can all get together before we move abroad in May (and camping seems like a safe option – they'll have all had their jabs by then too!).

Can anyone recommend any nice sites for simple tent camping (ie. not surrounded by loads of cars vans) somewhere in between Bristol and Nottingham? Ideally near to nice walks - Cotswolds, Peak Dist, Malverns etc. Thanks

Malverns

https://www.outtograss.com/ is pretty cool, you'd have to avoid a party weekend maybe.

Enjoyed staying here a few years back: https://g.page/painswickglamping?share

Camping though, not glamping. Owned by the farm just up the hill, which also provides meat to the nearby pub https://goo.gl/maps/cwK4cCSY5pu7hepB6

mountainedgeresort.co.uk is nice, good walks nearby (good for mountain biking too...)

Thanks, will check them all out. Half of the sites I've looked at say they're opening on 12 April, and the others say 17 May. Quite confusing, and makes clear that no one really knows yet...

Had an email from Caravan and Camping club. They are opening their sites 12th April without showers and latrine blocks open.
Showers etc. open 17th May.

They do say they have asked for guidance regarding the issue though and will update

Not sure if there's a more popular thread for this, but, non-shit tent pegs, recommendations? Any ones that I can find advertised as extra-sturdy, I can also find pictures where they're bent out of shape (possibly user error but hard to know)

Got a little pop-up tent for my daughter and half the pegs are buggered already.

Whittle your own from foraged Hazel.

https://www.ukcraftfairs.com/guide-to-peg-making

I just got some from decathlon, quite thick and come in 2 lengths.

Alpkit Spikes are always reliable on hard, stoney ground.

Most people bend pegs by hammering them too hard when they won't go any further. Just move them a bit and try again.

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