Camping

Yep.

Hi, does anyone have any recommended family campsites in the south of France that see easily accessible by train? I’d like to drive to the eurotunnel and travel down with my family next summer. Thanks!

Calling all slug magnets!

I do a lot of bivvying - for the third, I awoke to a slug on my face while sleeping in the woods on the Gower this weekend. Actually, I had one on my face, and two in my hair.. the one on my face woke me up because I felt a pain a bit like a horsefly bite - apparently slugs don’t have teeth, but they “scrape” to eat things, including human skin. I have a small graze/scab on my face to prove it… nice!

I’d like to know if anyone has any tried and tested ways of preventing these slimy f*kers from violating you as you sleep? If not, this has happened enough times that I may have to splash out on a hooped/mesh cover Bivy bag.

I'm not aware of anything other than physical barriers. Maybe a midge head net if you don't want to splash out on a new bivvy?

Cheers for the gas help all. Managed to get a 907 cylinder from Halfords and got it filled at go outdoors. About 42 quid all in.

Put the family tent up in the pouring rain and survived, which I feel is some kind of right of passage. I’m sure my mum and dad did the same.

What so festival people use for mattresses? I've just been to a festival and could not for the life of me keep the pressure up on my mattress and spent most of it sleeping on the ground.

I've just got back from a week camping, and used two of these in my tent - Klymit static v

Didn't have to reinflate and they worked well for me and the kids

I spent a week on this and was very happy. Actually had to let a little air out as it was too firm on the first night.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/self-inflating-camping-mattress-ultim-comfort-double-136-cm-2-person/_/R-p-329980?mc=8611728

Fairly massive to store and transport though.

I’d like to know if anyone has any tried and tested ways of preventing these slimy f*kers from violating you as you sleep?

Add water to a pack of slug pellets and make a paste to smear all over your face.

Does anyone know of a suitable wild camping spot along this route from Eastbourne to Seaford?

It'd be much appreciated.

If you're not wedded to the South we've just got back from Citykamp in Angers. I'd really rate it with kids.

Google says Angers St-Laud is 2.5hrs train from Paris so much less faff than going all the way down the country.

It's on the Loire so you get that uplift in weather/temperature. There are rivers and lakes with beaches you can swim in. The site rents bikes and Angers has a brilliant cycle infrastructure - we were able to cycle into the city to the castle with the kids in a trailer without any quams.

Also might be worth posting in the parents thread https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/157546/?offset=29800#comment17111651

Be careful of sleeping on some bits of beach near Seaford as there are signs saying it’s part of a Port and camping is a criminal offence. I think it’s near Tidemills (which is the site of an old tide mill).
I’ve slept there and been woken by outraged dog walkers.

I've wild camped all around cuckmere haven before with no drama... on the beach and in the woods behind the road...

Is there a place to get tent poles and corner brackets and stuff? I’m making a DIY canopy for my cargo bike and I’d love a pick n mix of tent bits

Profabrics might have bits.

Edit - Quite probably a scam site, have removed link.

Go Outdoors had a decent selection of fibreglass poles last time I checked.

Definitely worth a watch :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqKzozWtm0Q

https://www.instagram.com/p/C1WhiTNME0d/

Vango F10 Xenon UL2+ tent worked well recently but where we were had a lot of sharp things so was thinking about adding a (possibly massive) groundsheet or footprint to the mix. As well as protection, it could give the vestibule bit where we did some cooking a floor to keep it all cleaner.

Thoughts?

Another note was socks. My shoes don't breath very well and wet socks = cold feet at night in winter.

Obviously I could change shoes but that's not cool. Merino socks maybe or more absorbant inner sole (that doesn't stink after a few days)?

footprint for the tent - yes, but I'm a big fan of having any vestibule space au natural. It won't keep it cleaner - use a small plastic chopping board if you want a clean space for food prep.

Yeah, probably not, coz we'd still be in shoes in it and actually covering the ground hides what's there so you end up with a wonky stove :)

Exactly.

Merino wool socks definitely. You do get what you pay for, except on Amazon where you can pay a lot for rubbish socks. Combination I’ve found useful for mountaineering and cycling in the winter:

Snug, not tight, knee length, mid weight, merino ski sock
+
Snug medium weight, quarter length merino sock.
+
Lambswool or good synthetic innersole
+
Snug fitting shoe with a roomy toe box (heel secure in heelbox, should be able to wiggle toes freely)

I’ve also had some success with rubberised socks, but the soles of your shoes will freeze your feet eventually if you’re not moving enough to keep your shoes warm. If you’re going to stay in place for hours, you’ll benefit from something to stand on, or electric inner soles.

Neoprene and non-breathable shoe covers leave your shoes drenched, and have similar results to neoprene socks: you’ll stay warm if you keep moving, but you’re stuffed if you stop or if it’s seriously cold.

I can't have that much stuff on my legs. For a fat guy, my tendons seem to be close to the skin and suffer when compressed and then moved a million times. At least that's what seemed to happen with compression stuff, obviously socks are a bit looser but have had issues with "normal" socks in the past and is why I often race in "zero length" socks to avoid the tendon issues.

I have some old Planet X merino socks. How do I know what a good merino blend is though?
Same goes for inner soles - what's a good one? I just use whatever came with my MTB shoes.

I don't stay still for long enough to freeze my feet like that. This was definitely a case of warm day, sweating feet that turned into very cold night and freezing feet. I had Lezyne socks on - they must've been freebies from an event because I don't remember buying them.

Dexshell socks are good in Scotland where it's wet and cold but not freezing. Less good in Spain where it was say 18C in the day and -5C at night.