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All these stories make great memories for your kids!  As a family we went camping every year, 2 weeks touring Scotland in July/August.  It rained nearly everyday and many times I watched my parents putting up a tent in gales, rain etc while I sat snug in the car watching.  When it was really bad, fellow campers would come and help.  I remember one holiday that we had to abandon the tent nearly every night because of flooding or to wet to pitch (I mean wet!) and find a B&B.  One holiday  near Fort William we had been to the cinima (a rare treat on holiday) and had fish supper afterwards.  When we got back to our tent it was flooded.  The river we had pitched near had flooded, it seemed such a great spot when we arrived in the morning!  I ask my Mum now why she went on camping every year and she said it brought the family together and all you kids loved it  You know the holidays that went well I don't remember so much.

We have only been camping for a year so no bad tales yet, but if I am lucky maybe one little one for the kids to remember!

Our worst calamity was when my youngest wet his sleeping bag, but he was too frightened to tell me as he thought I would shout at him. The first thing anyone knew about it was at 10pm the next night when we got him ready for bed! I had to dry the sleeping bag with a hair dryer, he went to bed in his clothes and I gave him my liner to keep him clean! Nedless to say he got more of a telling off for not telling me than he would of if he'd told me that morning. its not the first time he's done it so now when camping he wears pajama pants.

Also on one camping trip we went out for the day and my eldest (7) was desperate for the loo so he ran into the nearest door he could find, it was the one with the shortest cue (you think I should have twigged?) I ran in after him only to see 5 men lined up at the urinals!!! I don't know who was more embarased. My OH could speak for laughing!

This is what happened to a couple pitched next to us. When we arrived on site their tent, a small low strange looking thing was already pitched but no sign of the couple. As the day went on a strong wind comes up followed by thunder lightning and torrential rain, and the strange looking tent is looking worse for wear. We went over to see if it needed pegging down and discovered that it only had 3 pegs holding it down, one of the guylines was tied around a large stone and another was tied to a picnic table. At this point a huge gust comes and takes the flysheet off, flying round the site like a kite. we gathered up the inner tent and their belongings and took them into our tent, there was an only airbed and sleeping bags and a pair of boxer shorts. but there was this huge four armed silver candelabra with big green candles!!. The tent was one of the ones you cant stand up in, how they hadn't set it alight was amazing! we waited for them to come back, thinking it would be a couple of youngsters with no sense using candles in a tiny tent.

They came back after dark , to an empty pitch,and  we were a little surprised to see a couple in their fifties,in a transit van towing a big  box trailer. they were market traders and had been to a fair in the next town selling handmade jewellery.

Their stuff was all soaked so we lent them sleeping bags and they slept in their van, they declined our offer of our spare room. They told us that their son had used the tent the week before to go to FRANCE AND HAD RETURNED IT WITHOUT TELLING THEM THERE WAS A POLE MISSING, AND ONLY 3 PEGS. Oops, caps lock sorry. They had come to Swansea from somewhere up north, Put the tent as best they could the night before and left for the fair at 5am, when the weather was fine and no warning of the storm. The next day as they getting ready to leave they found their van had a flat battery and had to have a jump lead start from another camper.

These are great! 

Our most memorable experience (for the wrong reasons) so far, has been choosing to go to the West coast of Scotland when the weather turned against us.  We'd had a great few days in the East Highlands, but decided to try Glencoe when it clouded over and we also needed to head further South.

Well...... as we drove down Loch Ness the weather got worse ..... and worse ..... and worse.... until the windscreen wipers couldn't keep up with the vertical river of rain.

So we thought we'd got a lucky break when we arrived at the campsite and it stopped raining....    ....but the ground was sopping wet, the tent field had a river running through it, and because it had stopped raining EVERY midgie in Scotland was out looking for dinner 

We got out the car, started looking for the least swampy place to pitch, when the swarm spotted us and headed over to start sucking our blood.  They were on every spare bit of skin showing (including crawling through our hair)      At this point OH decided to start blaming me for us ending up in Glencoe (for the record it was his decision).  If he hadn't been such a fast runner, I reckon it would have said "killed by tent peg" on his death certificate.

We spent the rest of the evening with a citronella candle lit in the tent, praying for the heavy rain to return.....   

I posted this on a previous thread but in case you missed it ...

A few years ago we were on holiday at Forest Glade, Cullompton.  A horrific thunder storm took off in the middle of the night. (The worst storm in living history according to the locals).

Well the dog was terrified of thunder storms and she lost control of her bowels in the bedroom of the tent.  The smell was awful so Jeff and I raced to the tent door fighting to get out – with the dog between us.  The dog, who was black, disappeared into the darkness and was only illuminated when the lightening flashed.

Jeff grabbed a brolly and dashed out to try to catch her – unfortunately, he forgot he was in the nude.  I had these tantalising glimpses of a naked man with a brolly chasing a black shadow all over the camping field every time the lightening flashed.

Eventually, he caught the dog and brought her back.  The downside of this adventure was that Jeff had a heart attack that night and spent the rest of the holiday in Exeter hospital.  The medical staff pee'd themselves laughing when they heard the story and recorded it all in his medical records, which followed him to his consultant and caused equal mirth at our local hospital.

This was one of our most memorable holidays but for all the wrong reasons.

Quote: Originally posted by Fogey on 21/5/2007

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I posted this on a previous thread but in case you missed it ...

A few years ago we were on holiday at Forest Glade, Cullompton.  A horrific thunder storm took off in the middle of the night. (The worst storm in living history according to the locals).

 

Well the dog was terrified of thunder storms and she lost control of her bowels in the bedroom of the tent.  The smell was awful so Jeff and I raced to the tent door fighting to get out – with the dog between us.  The dog, who was black, disappeared into the darkness and was only illuminated when the lightening flashed.

 

Jeff grabbed a brolly and dashed out to try to catch her – unfortunately, he forgot he was in the nude.  I had these tantalising glimpses of a naked man with a brolly chasing a black shadow all over the camping field every time the lightening flashed.

 

Eventually, he caught the dog and brought her back.  The downside of this adventure was that Jeff had a heart attack that night and spent the rest of the holiday in Exeter hospital.  The medical staff pee'd themselves laughing when they heard the story and recorded it all in his medical records, which followed him to his consultant and caused equal mirth at our local hospital.

 

This was one of our most memorable holidays but for all the wrong reasons.

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I`m actually crying laughing here! That is SUPERB! Sorry Jeff!

I notice you`re going to Barnard Castle Fogey, that wouldn`t be next week would it? We`re going there then and I just wanted to check so I can practice my straight face if I see Jeff!

Quote: Originally posted by Fogey on 21/5/2007

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I posted this on a previous thread but in case you missed it ...

A few years ago we were on holiday at Forest Glade, Cullompton.  A horrific thunder storm took off in the middle of the night. (The worst storm in living history according to the locals).

 

Well the dog was terrified of thunder storms and she lost control of her bowels in the bedroom of the tent.  The smell was awful so Jeff and I raced to the tent door fighting to get out – with the dog between us.  The dog, who was black, disappeared into the darkness and was only illuminated when the lightening flashed.

 

Jeff grabbed a brolly and dashed out to try to catch her – unfortunately, he forgot he was in the nude.  I had these tantalising glimpses of a naked man with a brolly chasing a black shadow all over the camping field every time the lightening flashed.

 

Eventually, he caught the dog and brought her back.  The downside of this adventure was that Jeff had a heart attack that night and spent the rest of the holiday in Exeter hospital.  The medical staff pee'd themselves laughing when they heard the story and recorded it all in his medical records, which followed him to his consultant and caused equal mirth at our local hospital.

 

This was one of our most memorable holidays but for all the wrong reasons.

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I didnt think my memoirs could be beaten!!!  Im just glad Jeff was ok!  Have a great holiday!

Steve

We have just got back from a weekend camping in a rather blowy field.  We saw this woman standing for around 15 minutes with her arms out stretched in the air holding on to two crossed over fibreglass poles, whilst her OH very neatly hung the inner sleeping tents over them. I had just said to my OH there must be an easier way to do that.  As the bloke was trying to get the fly sheet over the swaying poles he looked over at the tent next to him, that appeared to be identical to his and realised his mistake.  He stood there and gave HIM self a great smack on the head and let her put her arms down.