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Topic: Camping without EHU for the first time

Nutkin

10/7/2014 at 9:52am
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I am a fairly regular camper but have always had EHU in the past. I am taking 6 children camping and am considering going without EHU for the first time. My main worry is how to feed them quickly and easily. Normally my husband does all the cooking using a variety of gas stoves, barbecues, teriyaki, pots, pans kitchen stand etc! I want to be able to cook simple things like burgers, sausages, chicken with equipment that takes up as little space as possible. I also need to be able to make my morning cuppa!

Or should I pay the extra £60 the campsite I am looking at will charge for an EHU pitch for 3 days?!!!

Any tips would be much appreciated!

Also, are there any other problems I may not have thought of in going without EHU. (I am slightly concerned that 3 11 yr olds may struggle to cope without an array of electronics constantly available

I would have to get some sort of battery light as well so any recommendations there would be good too.

Thanks for any help.

mazda323f

10/7/2014 at 10:30am
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£60 for three days electric

The most I've paid is £4 a day and I thought that was expensive

I'd go somewhere else.

Nutkin

10/7/2014 at 10:39am
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It's a Haven site (not camped on one before) and I think the extra cost is partly for a bigger, marked out pitch rather than just for EHU. I do prefer not to be crammed in...but £60 is still a lot extra to pay!

Am looking at other sites but need a lively site (on this occasion) to give kids a bit of freedom with lots of activities/entertainment.

roofie41

10/7/2014 at 11:37am
Location: East Yorkshire
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With that number of kids I would pay the extra for the ease!

Hadn't camped with EHU in the UK until just two years ago - now I've done it I wouldn't go back.

Good luck!

gari

10/7/2014 at 12:54pm
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Cereals or fresh pastries/croissant or porridge or scrambled egg or fry up for breakfast. Sandwiches (peanut butter, tinned meat, tuna or meat paste) or hotdogs or soup for lunch. Main meal - take some pre-cooked chile (or stew), pasta for another day (Pasta n sauce very easy) and burgers & buns or takeaway fish and chips for another day.
Part of the fun for kids is not having the same meals they usually have.

As for their electronics - charge them up before they go and warn them there will be no other chance to charge them. If their 11/12, if the weathers ok and there is a beach or playground on site they will be happy.

RTS5

10/7/2014 at 5:06pm
Location: North Wiltshire
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All (most?) electronic devices can be charged using the 12v socket in your car (if you will have it with you that is). Even items that only charge with a USB cable can be charged, as you can get an adapter that the USB plug goes into, which then plugs into the 12v socket. If they are all USB charging devices, you can get one adapter that they can all use with one of their cables (one at a time or course). It will be a heck of a lot cheaper than 3 nights electric.

With 3 of them, and good weather, there is a good chance they will not want to use them anyway.

quilly101

10/7/2014 at 5:47pm
Location: Herts
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Check out Park Resorts as well, they have entertainment and are usually cheaper than haven

xSASSx

10/7/2014 at 7:28pm
Location: Herts & Essex borders
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We've only been camping a year but done about 8 camps without EHU and only one with. We cook on a couple of suitcase stoves and a folding BBQ (in fact just the same as when we do have EHU). Pasta dishes are really easy and we always have a 'just add hot water' dinner the first night if we're arriving late, so supernoodles / cous cous / mug shots etc. cook extra meat on the BBQ and use the next day for sandwiches / pasta dishes (cheeseburger pasta is amazing!). Porridge is easy for brekkie and we love beans and bread too. Cereal and milk is fine if the weather is mild. Like others have suggested we charge gadgets in the car or we have a coffee stop at a cafe with free wifi and plug our gadgets in while playing board games. We have lantern from Lidl that can be wound up and runs off batteries but in summer the light is less of an issue. Keep freezing ice blocks overnight and a normal coolbag does the job for us.

-------------
2013:
Newperran; Mounts Farm; Waveney; Holmsley.
2014:
Hopleys; Wellington; Pendyffryn Hall; Burnbake; Foxholes Castle; Woodview; Penrose.
2015:
Cliff House, Feb;
River Dart, Easter;
Nantcol, May;
Cornish Coasts, July;
Hurley Riverside, Oct.
2016
Stowford, Sandymouth

74giggles

12/7/2014 at 5:50am
Location: Suffolk
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Depending on the abilty of the 11 year olds, why not get them to help with the cooking? They might enjoy cooking their own burgers on a bbq, mine do but they happily go camping minus the electronic games. We camp without EHU when we go away as a family and when they go with the Cubs and now Scouts as they're older.

saz121299

12/7/2014 at 7:59am
Location: Sherston Wilts
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Disposable BBQ's are a must for us, as are pot noodles, pasta/tuna/mayo cooked on a little suitcase stove with aerosol gas cans..... :-)

-------------
Enjoyed tenting,
Enjoyed trailer-tenting,
Now loving caravanning 😊😊

Gemling

12/7/2014 at 6:58pm
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We find a double gas stove is great for us. We also like having one small suitcase stove for things like a cup of tea, saves getting the whole set up out. We also have a folding BBQ and use that as well.

Brekkie is usually a fry up on the double stove, or alternatively we get the multipacks of little cereal variety packs you can get at the store. Just to make things a little more special. I remember my parents buying these when we went camping as kids and we loved it. We always thought they were a special treat.

Bringing a slow cooker with a meal already cooked in it is a great idea. We actually have a ctock-pot designed to travel with (works just the same as a normal slow cooker, but has clasps on it so that the lid can be held closed and comes with a bag to carry it in), so usually bring something with us.

Nutkin

12/7/2014 at 8:38pm
Location: None Entered
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Thanks for replies so far. I was beginning to think I'd pay the extra and go for the bigger pitch and EHU...but looks like all the pitches have gone! So now it looks like I am going to have to manage without (I am fairly limited as to what sites we can go to as they need to be fairly close to home, and have swimming pool,entertainment etc.)

So, given that I am not going to have EHU what cooking equipment should I take? I have a double burner, a small cadac, a couple of single burners, and a portable barbecue to choose from. Or is there some "wonder gadget" I should buy - I am always glad of an excuse to buy new camping equipment

I need to be able to cook for 6 people.

ANGEDAWS

13/7/2014 at 9:13am
Location: Northern England
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Hi

I actually think its a good idea to go non EHU once in a while because you forget how to do it and there may be times when you need to go without electric.

We camped for 7 years as a family, sometimes for up to 10 days, without EHU. Fair enough the kids were smaller and there was only 4 of us but we just had a double burner stove and later one of those single suitcase type stoves if we needed it.

Have you thought about keeping stuff cold? The Haven sites we have been to havent had anywhere to freeze ice packs. If you are just going for a weekend it will be fine but you may need to plan your meals if you are going for longer. If you are desperate to buy a new gadget I would be looking at one of those posh cool boxes, Icey Tek or Igloo. Another good idea is to make a pot of chilli or spag bol and freeze it before you go then have it the second night so it helps to keep everything else cool.

If you are on a Haven site with a gaggle of kids I think they will only want limited time on their gadgets anyway, especially if the weather is good.

Good luck! I am taking my two teenage kids for a couple of days on my own without EHU in the holidays so I am hoping the sun will shine.

Nutkin

13/7/2014 at 9:13pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: Outwell Montana 6 and Nevada M

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Funny you should mention posh cool boxes - I was looking at them earlier! I am probably going to have to get one - we are going for 3 nights - so trying to decide if I can manage if I take lots of frozen stuff.

I am hoping, as you say, kids won't need gadgets too much - mine are used to amusing themselves without them pretty much but I'm more worried about the "extra" children I'm taking!

I usually like barbecued type food, but I will think about taking a pot of something, it would definitely be easier.

TBH I think the main inconvenience for me in having no EHU is that I will miss my electric kettle for my first cuppa of the day!

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