Trifter

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Has the economic downturn upset your holiday plans this year? Can’t afford the usual fortnight away from home? Perhaps now is the time you should consider camping.

If you think that it’s a bit Spartan for you, think again. Gone are the days of crawling out of a tent on your hands and knees and washing in a bucket of cold water. Camping in a tent nowadays can be almost as luxurious as staying in a self catering holiday bungalow, once you have got together all of the equipment.

The good news is that this equipment, if looked after, will last you for many years to come.

Getting Started

First of all it would help to find out if you are actually going to like camping.

Try asking around your friends, relations, neighbours and work mates to see if you can find someone kind enough to lend you a tent and the equipment for a while. To save you from embarrassing yourself in front of other campers, have a bit of practice erecting the tent in your back garden.

When you feel that you have enough confidence, You are ready to try your first taste of camping.

I suggest that for your first outing, head off to a campsite close to home for the weekend. You will find that there are many camp-sites within an hours drive of even the most densely populated metropolitan area in the UK.

I started out camping at a site twenty five minutes away from my home. This gives the tenderfoot the comfort of knowing that if anything goes wrong, or if you have forgotten a vital piece of equipment, home is just around the corner so to speak.

Progressing to the Real Thing

So you have found out that the outdoor life is for you. What next?

Obviously, for a start, you have got to get your own tent and equipment. Some specialist suppliers do excellent cheap deals on basic camping packages, that’s usually a tent and sleeping equipment, or you could try looking through the classified ads in your local press and camping magazines.

If you do decide to buy second hand, insist on seeing the tent erected so that you can inspect it for tears, repairs and other flaws.

Depending on which kind of tent that you acquire, you may also need a ground sheet.

OK, I’m assuming that you have got yourself a tent, now what else do you need to get you started?

Next you will need sleeping equipment. You are going to need sleeping bags for each member of your camping party. Two single sleeping bags can zip together to form a double sleeping bag, so you will still be able to cuddle up to your loved one on a cold night. You are also going to need sleeping mats or air beds to go beneath your sleeping bags for that extra bit of warmth and comfort.

You are now all geared up for a good nights sleep, so what’s next?

When you wake up in the morning you are going to want at least a nice cup of tea, so next you are going to need a stove of some sort. You can get a simple, single burner stove that runs on a gas cartridge, ideal for boiling a kettle or one saucepan at a time, or if your cooking is going to be somewhat more ambitious, there are double burner cookers, similar to your gas hob at home, which run off of a gas bottle.

Any pots, pans and kettles that you use will have to be light gauge because cooking stoves just don’t generate the same amount of heat as domestic appliances. The good thing about this is, you don’t have to buy expensive ‘purpose made for camping’ utensils, you can look around supermarkets and hardware shops for budget brand pots etc, these are usually of lower gauge construction.

A word to the wise. Try not to cook inside the tent. The walls will get spattered with fat and not only that, there is a great risk that you will catch your tent alight.

Nobody wants milk that has ‘gone off’, so a cool box with ice packs to keep your perishables fresh is a must. You can usually exchange any ice packs that need refreezing at the site shop for a small fee.

That’s about all the specialised equipment that you need to buy to get you started. All the other niceties of camping (gas lantern, melamine tableware etc) you can get as you go along.

Heading Off Into the Wide Blue Yonder

Now it’s time to take the bull by the horns but where are you going to set up camp?

In England and Wales every square inch of land belongs to somebody so it is illegal to camp where ever you like, unless of course, you get permission from the landowner first.

In parts of Scotland ‘wild’ camping is legal, especially in the hills, as long as you are more than 100 metres from a road. Make sure that you check first though, before setting up camp. ‘Wild’ camping is best left to the gung ho, experienced camper!

Your best bet as a ‘leisure’ camper is to camp at a properly run, licensed site. These sites usually have, at basic level, fresh water taps, hot water sinks and flush toilets. Most sites have these facilities plus washing up sinks and hot showers and some even have laundry and ironing facilities. The top end, holiday camp style sites even have swimming pools, restaurants and bars with entertainment. These sites sometimes tend to be a bit rowdy and are also expensive, don’t forget, the reason that you are going camping is to save money.

Expect to pay £15-£20 per night for a family of four at a basic site and up to £30-£40 plus for a site with all mod cons, and the sky’s the limit for the holiday camp style sites. If you intend staying a week at a site you may get a discount for booking in advance and there are sometimes concessions for the over 60’s.

You can find a campsite in the area that you want to visit on the Internet or you could join a specialist organisation like ‘The Camping and Caravanning Club’ (http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/) which has some of the best family friendly sites in the UK.

That’s it, now you are a camper. Once you have your equipment you can spend all your free time away from home in the summer months.

Making a Checklist

The worst thing that you can do is drive for miles on a camping trip, reach your destination, unpack your car and then, oh no, find that you have forgotten that vital piece of equipment!

If you draw up a checklist (and use it), this situation can be avoided. Think of every eventuality and jot down what you are going to need to cover it. When you have done this, turn your jottings into an orderly list. You will find that this will have to be amended from time to time as your acquisitions grow.

Here is an example checklist that covers the basics, you can tailor it to suit your own personal needs. Don’t forget, this list isn’t definitive so be prepared to add to it!

Shelter

• Tent including poles, pegs and guy ropes

• Groundsheet (if required)

• Mallet (to drive in pegs)

• Lantern (for those dark nights in the tent)

Sleeping

• Sleeping bags/blankets

• Air beds or sleeping mats

• Pillows

Cooking

• Cooker or stove

• Gas bottle

• Matches or lighter

• Cool box

• Ice packs

• Water container (to save trips to and fro the tap)

• Kettle, pots and pans, plates, cutlery, cups, glasses

• Cooking utensils, (tongs, spatula, fish slice etc)

• Tin opener, bottle opener, corkscrew

• Sharp kitchen knife

• Storage containers

• Bin bags

• Kitchen foil, paper kitchen towels

• Washing up bowl, washing up liquid, dishcloths

• Tea towels

• Food and beverages

If the sites that you visit allow barbeques, add a barbeque, charcoal and tools to this list.

Clothing

• Warm clothes  (for the cool mornings and evenings)

• Cool clothes (for, hopefully, the heat of the day)  

• Shoes and trainers (a pair of wellies is also useful)

• Beachwear (swim suit, flip flops, beach towel etc)

• Sun hat 

Personal Hygiene

• Soap and shampoo

• Towels

• Toothbrush and toothpaste

• Hair brush and comb

• Deodorant

• Toilet paper  

• Wet wipes (not essential, but really handy)

Health and Safety

• First aid kit

• Plasters and bandages

• Antiseptic

• Pain relievers (aspirin, paracetamol etc)

• Insect repellent

• Sun cream (please God, let the sun shine)

• Antihistamines  

Miscellaneous

• Torch

• Mobile phone and in-car charger

• Camera,

• Radio

• Spare batteries

• Outdoor furniture (foldaway chairs and tables, sun loungers etc)

• Pen and paper

• Safety pins

• Needles and thread

• Kids toys (bats, balls, Nintendo Lite, board games, favourite Teddy etc)

Add whatever else you think that you will need, but don’t forget to leave room in the car for the passengers!
    
All that’s left to say is, have a safe journey and happy camping!