We (me, hubby and our 3 yr old son) set off Saturday morning for our first ever camping trip. We didn't venture far - just to a campsite 30 minutes down the road, but the experience was wonderful, despite a few hiccups.
The highs:
:: not caring about time, just doing what we wanted when we wanted
:: cooking outside - our single burner suitcase stove rocks!
:: eating outside - sausages never tasted so good
:: no TV or any other mod cons to distract us from family time
:: having time (away from mod cons) to have real conversations with hubby
:: the sense of adventure we had pitching our tent for the first time
:: making toast with our fold-up toaster - so quick! so yummy!
:: visiting Standen (NT property)
:: spotting an adder (yikes!) sunbathing by the little stream behind our tent
:: watching our little one wake up and wander out of the tent into the sunshine then exclaim "mummy! we're still camping!!"
Low points:
:: choosing to pitch our tent only yards from a busy road - too noisy
:: broken tent pole means we have to wait til it's fixed/replaced before we can go camping again
:: friends deciding they all want to join us next time on hearing about EHU for TV's and satellite dishes (fine if that's your thing, don't want to offend anyone, but we camp to avoid these)
So, despite a severe lack of sleep due to traffic noise we can't wait to go again and are well and truly hooked!
That is so true Camping Nutcase - we did feel like we were thousands of miles away. Nothing else mattered. We completely forgot about the hassles of our day-to-day lives and just enjoyed being a family.
Thank you to everyone on here for all the hints and tips I've picked over the past months!
loganberry are you still staying close to home on the next trip or are you going to venture out a bit? there is a meet in september at pillaerton farm there are quite a lot going from here going check out the details on the meet forum if you fancy it.
------------- A tent is like a newborn born baby..... to some they all look the same..... but if its yours it's beautiful.
:o) gillychick
Willows - Laceby March
Lee Valley - London May
Nanctol Wales June
Croatia September
undecided October