What exactly do you need to 'go camping'? Cos we've never been...

[sorkycake]

and we are going this July, in this country.

There will be 5 of us, 2 adults and 3 children under 6.

My brother has a tent we can borrow that has two rooms and a funny bit in the middle, but what else will we need?

The campsite is v. basic, a field with loo's I think.

How will I have a cup of tea?

Shall I have to borrow a copy of Ray Mears' book?

[sorkycake]

How do you heat up bottles?

Where do you all sit?

[ivykaty44]

You need:

Sleeping bags
Gas cooker - camping one
kettle
pots frying pan and bacon
mugs plates cutlery
loo paper
folding chairs
table folding to eat off

you all sit in the funny bit in the tent betwen the two rooms when it's wet, otherwise you sit outside on the folding chairs and the kids run around.

Use kettle and camping stove to heat water for hotty bottle - take wooly hat and bed socks aswell if you think you will be cold.

[sorkycake]

Blardy 'ell!

um...thanks

Where do you wash? Or do you not?

I'm not sure I'll cope without a bath.

[ivykaty44]

I stay in a motor home and have a wash in the sink if camping "in a field"

Usually though stay in campsites with showers and loos, hot water and a place to wash the dishes.

Oh and don't forget the corkscrew probably the most important piece of equipment you will need...

[mrspnut]

Take lots of blankets, and duvets and sleeping bags. Take warm clothes and thermal socks.

Camping is fantastic unless you get cold.

You might be better finding a campsite with a few more amenities for your first trip because it's amazing how restorative a hot shower can be.

[ivykaty44]

dish cloth
tea towel
bucket - for washing up
washing up liquid
dustpan and brush (for brushing the "bits" out of the tent before you pack it away.

tin opener
tin of beans
tin of sausages and beans
tin of hot dog sausages

all these for back up - just in case

[snice]

torch & batteries
wellies

[mrspnut]

This is a good starting point

[Surfermum]

I boil a kettle on the camping stove and wash in a bowl. Or walk to the shower block.

Has anyone said cool box? You'll need one of those with cool blocks to keep the wine chilled, oh and the milk.

I have a bucket to wee in at night if I can't be bothered to go up to the toilet block. I used to use dd's potty but had too many near overflow situations, so upgraded.

[sorkycake]

I thought the first list was bad!

Then I looked at mrspnut's link and all I canremember from it is beer & a dishcloth, so that's us sorted then.

Thanks a lot ladies

[SheherazadetheGoat]

ew! @ surfermum's bucket!

have a practise run at putting the tent up if you don't want to get divorced.

[sorkycake]

are they hard to put up goat?

I'm not sure this is such a good idea

I'm not so good with steep learning curves tbh

[Fillyjonk]

you need

patchwork bunting
small vase for wildflowers
bird identification book
star finder
beer/wine
a book or two by tove jansson (no you do, really)

we sit on the floor, if its damp on a tarpaulin with sleeping bags on top

we eat off our laps. we also usually plan on having a few meals out. breakfast/lunch is good to have out.

if it rains for more than a day we bail out.

um seriously we don't take lots of the stuff mentioned and we are fine. And there are shops in most parts of the uk...

I NOW take a stove, but until dd1 was walking not toddling, I didn't, we ate picnic food with a few trips out to cafes. It is a tiny, single burner, stove, we take at most 2 small pans.

No tables or chairs!

DO make sure you are warm at night. Buy as many seasons on the sleeping bags as you can, good air beds (colemans) and a rug/blanket for underneath. Pillows good but not essential. torch suprisingly not essential really, though take at least one.

Incidentally I do basic amenities type camping and until last year (only 2 kids!) got everything needed for 4 of us inside a small skoda fabia (no roof racks either!)

[Blandmum]

Torch eassential. not because you need it, but because it is so much fun for the kids!

Make sure you are warm at night and comfortable enough to sleep. The rest is a nice 'extra'. Small gas burner to let you have hot drinks would probably be an essential for me, and so is some wine!

Bucket with a lid!

But I'm a real softie camper and take all manner of stuff

[sorkycake]

Lol bizarrely enough Filly I have

patchwork bunting - check
wild bird ID cards (flowers and fauna ones too, fab) - check
Wine/beer - check
stargazer book - check

will have a look for Tove books...am I right in thinking she wrote Moomins?
We visited the Baltic recently and they had wee porcelain moomin mugs, I think they maybe essential too

[Fillyjonk]

oh that is true, esp the first time

else how do you make shadow puppets?

[Fillyjonk]

why yes she DID write the moominbooks

no but you need SOMETHING to get you into proper scout style camping mode and out of grumpy day to day mode, or I do anyway. Swallows & Amazons might work also.

[Blandmum]

I have wild flower books. They often stay in my book case, but the corkscrew always gets packed!

Best thing for eating off is the £2.99 bag of picnic stuff they sell in Asdas

[sorkycake]

Ah, and I thought you were advocating moomin adventures

Oh I hope that's what camping is like, living in moomin valley!

[SheherazadetheGoat]

lol @ fillyjonk and her tove jansson fetish!

in fact you don't need a tent you can all sleep in an enormous shell.

[SheherazadetheGoat]

big fleecey blankets are good for sitting up after the sun goes down.

[2sugarsagain]

A hotel booking

[Fillyjonk]

tbh i think it CAN be, at least a little, like the moomins. Because you have lots of time and not much stuff, so life is slowed down and reduced to the essentials.

unless it rains, then its a bit crappy.

[Fillyjonk]

link to shell pls goat?

can you get them in the uk or will I have to pay import taxes?

[brimfull]

you need the whole fekkin house
don't bother