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Quote: Originally posted by jual on 04/7/2008

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We got quite a few comments when both our children were away for 3 nights and we gleefully got out the tent and took ourselves off to an adult campsite in the Cotswolds. They assumed I'd get my husband to book a 'nice hotel' and couldn't understand why not. They had a hope! We got so chilled out and relaxed that raising ourselves off the camp chairs was a feat in itself!

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Welcome, indeed.  First post!

And congratulations on the successful evangelisation.

They think we're mad anyway so we play up to it all the more.

Last week at sports day when all the others were trying to out do each other with the size of the villa, private pool, or the little handyman called Pepe who would be at their beck and call... we dropped the bomb that, yes, we were camping again ( their stress on the again, not mine) and that while we'd booked the eurotunnel and the dog into kennels, beyond that we've got the tent stuff, a big book of campsites, a map of Europe and a picnic!  You'd have thought I'd dropped my pants in front of the five year olds doing the egg and spoon ..or laid the egg myself!

It's about freedom for us. The freedom to just pick up and go where we fancy when we fancy and not two weeks feeling miserable because the villa turns out to be next door to a sewage farm or the hotel only serves breakfast between 6 and 7.30 which is about an hour after the very loud disco has closed.....and then being stuck there for two weeks fuming because you've paid a fortune and the reps won't move you..

The kids love the idea that we really are going on an adventure ... we have some very happy and funny memories that sustain us on long car journeys and many times their friends have said they wished that their mums and dads were as "exciting" "cool" and "fun" as us..

It would be churlish of me to report this back to the villa/pool Pepe brigade

Quote: Originally posted by Lilli on 06/7/2008

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They think we're mad anyway so we play up to it all the more.

Last week at sports day when all the others were trying to out do each other with the size of the villa, private pool, or the little handyman called Pepe who would be at their beck and call... we dropped the bomb that, yes, we were camping again ( their stress on the again, not mine) and that while we'd booked the eurotunnel and the dog into kennels, beyond that we've got the tent stuff, a big book of campsites, a map of Europe and a picnic! You'd have thought I'd dropped my pants in front of the five year olds doing the egg and spoon ..or laid the egg myself!

It's about freedom for us. The freedom to just pick up and go where we fancy when we fancy and not two weeks feeling miserable because the villa turns out to be next door to a sewage farm or the hotel only serves breakfast between 6 and 7.30 which is about an hour after the very loud disco has closed.....and then being stuck there for two weeks fuming because you've paid a fortune and the reps won't move you..

The kids love the idea that we really are going on an adventure ... we have some very happy and funny memories that sustain us on long car journeys and many times their friends have said they wished that their mums and dads were as "exciting" "cool" and "fun" as us..

It would be churlish of me to report this back to the villa/pool Pepe brigade

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I echo all of the above!

Lots of posts, so only read a few of them, but me and OH have already done the package holiday scene and for us, it was the regiment of getting up for breakfast and then getting back in time for dinner if we went half board, Don't even get me into the hassle of trying to get out of your hotel room (or appartment as we tried SC too) in time for the cleaner to come and clean....

We've also got terribly bored on holidays....we're not sunbathers and often, you have to hire a car or a deathtrap moped (yes we've done that too without helmets...don't tell me mom!!) and you don't want to cart yourself in a car every day...OH has to drive a long way to work every day, so the last thing we want to do on hols is get back in the car again!

So...relaxing camping, my time, my rules, we eat when we want to, sleep when we want to...generally lots of walks to great villages etc right on your doorstep...blessed with a bit of good weather, it can't be beaten....in fact I have slept better camping than I have in any strange bed on hols.  And been the most chilled ever!