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Would we be best to book one week for our first camp,  I am very tempted to book up for two weeks, but I'm wondering whether we could be taking on too much.

I'm looking at booking up with Silver Sands in cornwall

What do you guys reckon?

I would personally have a weekend away first, then you will find out what you have forgotten to take with you.

Hi Tanya,

My advice would be book a short three night stay, somewhere not too far away from home before you plan a longer trip. My reasoning is as follows:

1 night - no experience at all.

2 nights - you only get one breakfast in the out doors

3 nights - a long weekend, two out door breakfasts (the best meal of the day) and long enough to suss out what you would need, how you would do it differently for a longer trip etc. Also you need only take one day off work if it was over a week end.

Do it close to home and you only have a short drive to the site so you have a long time to set up before you need an evening meal. By the way a neat bit of advice I was given was to prepare something simple at home for the first nights evening meal and freeze it, like a curry, then you only have to re-heat it for your first experience of cooking while camping. I still do this as getting there andsetting up can be quite exhausting!

Have lots of fun what ever you decide to do.

I'm thinking of doing a first camp too with my two girls, but wondered how cold it would get at night this time of year, we've got some good vango sleeping bags (escape 350) but would we need blankets/duvets too? I'm not getting ELH so no means of heating the tent, I really only want to take the basics at this stage but I don't want them to be so put off by the cold that they don't want to go again.

I did think we had left it a little too late in the season to go, but I see some campsites stay open all year round!!

Bless us newbies!!

I took my daughter this weekend, just me and her.  She did not get cold at all at night, infact I had to open the door of the tent to cool us down at night.  As long as you use layers of clothing you will be fine, also a wooly hat at night helps loads.  I went on a guiders camp in November 2 years ago, I went to bed in my pajamas with socks and my hat on and all I needed was my sleeping bag.

As I said, just remember layers at night and they will be fine.

I'd go with 3 nights to start with. 2 nights feels like all you are doing is packing and putting things back again. 3 nights will feel like you've been away.

Personally, I don't camp for more than 3 nights anyway, I prefer my own bed at home and the warmth too much, especially at this time of year.

I would say that camping in September is not really a good intro to camping - as the nightime cold might just might put you off.

You'd be better to go to bed with clothing, hot drinks and extra blankets. Despite the 'heat' of recent days - even in September - it gets very cold of a night. Even if you have a gas heater - as soon as your turn it off - the temperature will drop.

Put your head out of the bedroom window at 7.00 am tommorow morning and you'll see what I mean about the September cold.