Brief tips from GO Outdoors and Camping & Caravanning Club
Thinking about camping for the first time, but not so sure? We’ve got together with Camping and Caravanning Club to offer you some brief handy tips that may be of help.
Festival goers
A good night’s sleep is essential to recharge your batteries at the end of each day’s festival activities. Ensure you have a good quality sleeping bag plus roll matt to insulate you from the cold floor.
If you are a novice tent pitcher, make sure you spend your time enjoying the music and not struggling with tent poles – the new inflatable tents could be the tent choice for you – incredibly fast to pitch, look great and very functional.
Practice pitching your tent in your garden or a park first, especially if it’s new. You’ll feel much more confident on arrival at the festival.
Think carefully about where you erect your tent: choose the flattest ground possible, remove obvious debris that might be uncomfortable to sleep on or even damage your groundsheet. Hedges can form great windbreaks, but avoid camping in the shade of a tree – this will reduce bird droppings on your tent, and rain dripping on it long after a storm has passed. Also little hollow in the field might look like it offers shelter, but a little overnight rain might just turn it into a pond.
Put your torch or lantern in a dedicated place each night, otherwise if you wake in the night you can end up stumbling around tripping over things trying to find it. And don’t forget the spare batteries.
Avoid pitching too close to the toilets – they’ll be busy day and night for the festival duration, and users don’t close toilet doors quietly.
Make sure you don’t leave your tent behind at end of a festival – they’re lightweight and built to last these days, so do take yours with you, and consider the joys of camping throughout the year, not just at festivals.
Make sure you barbeque outside (whatever the weather) and never take a barbeque inside a tent, due to the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. Even a cooling barbecue can give off lethal amounts and there have been a number of deaths in the last few years.
Families
Families, if you are opting for a UK staycation, take a tent and a gazebo for a under cover social space for those British summers
Get the Kids involved, they will love to help putting up tents, hammering in pegs, preparing food and doing the washing up on site – it’s a great way to prise them away from TV and tablets, and to send quality time together in the great outdoors.
Did you know, Camping helps make kids happier, healthier and smarter? Research shows children who camp outdoors at least once a year go on to do better at school, as well as being healthier and happier, according to their parents –
For more on the benefits of camping with kids, visit:
http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/newsandevents/nccw/get-kids-camping-research-results/
Make it Romantic
Alfresco cooking and a private dinner for two under the stars are just two of the perfect ingredients for a romantic night away.
Choose a pitch on a site where romantic sunrises and unobstructed views of mountains or other scenery can be enjoyed from your camping chairs.
Don’t skimp on the bedding, cushions and air-beds – they can help turn your tent into a lovely cosy boudoir.
To create a romantic mood, opt for a few warm light outdoor lanterns – stay clear of naked flames and candles
Reluctant campers
Reluctant campers who don’t want to pitch their own tent, the inflatable tent is the answer to your problems and can be pitched in meer minutes. Not to mention you will be ahead of the camping curve with one off these.
For those of you who want the super easy option, there are plenty of campsites around the UK that offer ‘glamping’ accommodation such as tipis, yurts and safari tents. The Camping and Caravanning Club has just launched Ready Camp, which are stylish pre-pitched tents that are fully kitted out. Just turn up and enjoy (www.readycamp.co.uk).
Camping Tips are brought to you from GO Outdoors and The Camping and Caravanning Club – Summer 2015
