camping is too quiet.... so i'm going to post some pics of my new tent

[tyaca]

it's the same as this one.

tis a monster, non? i am very excited. i got it for £150 on ebay. the one we have also includes a canopy, which opens at the side.

next year will be our third year camping and i'm thinking we will just do one three week trip to france rather than attempt fewer, shorter trips. dh is flat out in term time (boarding house master) and the weekend trips we had planned last year were not welcomed cause spare weekends we just wanted to be very lazy at home. i was even very grateful to be able to cancel summer half term trip cause of the weather. come summer, though, a different matter. we did 8 days in france in august, first trip to forrin since kids came along 4 years ago. and have now decided that big france trip is way forward. and then that tent popped up on ebay and well, how could i not, eh?

the camping kit we have so far is with small and wild sites in mind, but am now thinking about things like ehu and fridges. the dimensions of the espace aren't enormous ( 4.5m x 5m, smaller than the monty 6 without any extras) but i am a bit worried about how much of that is width.

what a boring post, but a new tent is a new tent, right? the many bags are in the dining room where dh left them two weeks ago. i can't imagine suggesting to dh that we attempt to pitch it any time soon . so i thought instead i'd share the joy with some camping MNers.

[MrsMc82]

Love it!! V retro-cool and will be super for camping en france.....
Camping section is indeed far too quiet....
We went to france here in one of www.camping-plage.net/tithome-caravane-bungalow-location-mobile-home.html?PHPSESSID=c60268a2a1a1941945f18825fe2e6d13these and site is highly recommended..... Hoping to go back next year in our own tent I think.....Happy new (tent) home!! :o

[Blu]

Wow, Tyaca, that's like a large bungalow - good price!

[tyaca]

knew someone may be interested in a look. i made the kids look at those online pics today, but in truth they weren't that interested .

[Blu]

I wouldn't like the lack of a sewn-in-groundsheet in the porch area in this country, but it will be fine in the dry slug-free sunkissed sites of France I am sure.

Camping is v quiet, isnt it?

And has been all summer except for 'I am a camping newbie, link me some tents / SIMS / sleeping bags I should buy'.

Not enough camping this year - I have a list of places I wnat to go next year. I know what byou mean about the mad dash term time weekend trips to places you can have a fire - but I love them all the same.

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

Lovely, and perfectly suited for going places where warm and dry weather is more likely than here on our weather beaten shores!

Hope you have many happy trips!

[cheerup]

If you want a groundsheet for the living area, I recommend a pond liner. It's what we use in our Cabanon Estoryl, it's cheap and it works a treat. That said, the Estoryl weighs a tonne, takes up half the car and is no fun whatsoever to put up in 40 degree heat so we might be letting it go next year in favour of a Base Seconds Full to go with our lovely Quechua Base Seconds 4.2.

Enjoy your Espace though - they are lovely and we considered upsizing to one before our puny-ness became so apparent!

[cece]

I'll see if I can add some pics to my profile of my new Samara - not as fab as yours though...

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

That's a big tent cece!

[cece]

LOL yes it is very roomy! Can't wait to try it out. All put up by me and my DD.

[hillbilly]

Camping is definitely too quiet of late - I'm already planning next year and wondering whether I can persuade DH to camp at Easter :-)

[Blu]

Where is on your list for next year, hillbilly?

[QuenelleIsOrangeAndGoldForNow]

It is quiet in here isn't it?

I love your tents tyaca and cece.

Easter's early isn't it? My DH would take some persuading too.

I'm thinking South of France in early July for main holiday next year. I will be looking for a Domaine de Mathevies equivalent en Provence.

[hillbilly]

Blackberry Wood (we have a weekend credit with them), Forgewood again (it's our favourite) and we are always looking for new places within 2 hrs of London that allow campfires :-)

I also might try to persuade DH to go to France so will no doubt be researching that soon so any recommendations for places down as far as La Rochelle would be gratefully received!

[Fuctifano]

That is a beaut! Perfect for France.
We went for walks around our site in Burgundy this year and took advantage of our sunglasses to have a good stare at those babies. Am I the only one to have had an inappropriate giggle at the seller's pitch in the ad you used?
Yup I have the sense of humour of a twelve year old boy

[tyaca]

hillberry, i really liked nethergong if you're looking for fires near london.

cece, your tent is indeed big. bigger than mine i would hazard, though it probably weighs quite a bit less and has a more sensible pack size. dh is patiently waiting for me to come to my senses and let him get a modern tunnel tent.

right now easter seems like a really good plan. too cold and dark too early though? saying that, sometimes life with young kids is just ten million times easier when we're outside. i've bought the wrong tent for three day uk april trip though...

[YouveCatToBeKittenMe]

I also have that tent

You'll be pleased to know that it was one of only very few on the campsite to survive the gales in Wales (ooh that rhymes!).

I however did not fully recover from the gales and promptly bought a caravan
Haven't been persuaded to sell the tent yet thou.
It is big. Takes us 2 hours to get it fully set up and equipped inside

[Blu]

Nethergong is on my list for next year.

Welsummer is a lovely woodland and fires site - it's v small, but less dank than Blackberry Wood. The boys found it too small compared with Forgewood because of less roaming potential. Better for smaller kids.

[hillbilly]

Thanks Tyaca - I'll look at Nethergong. I think I remember Blu talking about it this year.

We went to Welsummer Blu, for August Bank holiday and I agree about the roaming potential. DC (7 & 4) were a little scared to go in the woods on there own in case they could not find their way back so definitely Forgewood wins in that department.

I hadn't realised until recently that Blackberry Wood was all in the woods so to speak. I'm not really a fan of shadey camping so may rule it out.

Camping season seems such a long way away ;-( but at least we are going to Centerparcs for a weekend soon :-)

[Blu]

I went to the Blackberry Woods 'wild side' adults only section, but had a good walk through the whole of the main site, and all of it was in woods, yes.

There is a section where they have the helicopter and the bus that they hire out, but i don't think there was camping on that fireld.

It was August when I went and there was nothing growing on the forest floor - just earth and old leaves. Some more gladey parts. And plenty of v muddy parts because of the long wet weather. It seemed dank compared to the woodland at Forgewood. In truth, though it is a site people love and return to time after time, it isn't a site I would rush to book as we prefer a mixture of woodland and open field.

The adult site had little grassy glades, and again mostly shaded because of the surrounding trees. But the sites did all have grass. Most are not big enough for more than one tent.

[CaveyLovesPendleton]

Your new tent is a thing of great beauty tyaca