Bruce takes his family camping for the first time in a long time!
For the first time since I was in the Air Cadets some 25 years ago I spent some time under canvas this summer. This time as a family with my wife and 5 year old son.
We bought our tent last winter and picked up lots of accessories from GO Outdoors after a recommendation by a colleague at work.
With the car loaded up we headed for Devon (from Manchester), and after some time we had arrived at Ladys Mile and set up our tent, inflated our airbed and had the kettle on the camping stove. There followed days of sunshine, fried breakfasts, fresh air, beaches and barbecues! Fantastic.
Two of my purchases deserve special recognition. Firstly, the Hi Gear Elite Double Burner And Grill, which as a camping stove has everything… two powerful burners that boiled my kettle in just a couple of minutes, plus a grill for the young man’s toast at supper time. Highly recommended. Secondly, the Outwell 24l Coolbox (12V/230V). I managed to bag one in the sale the week before I went on holiday. From keeping our picnic chilled on the journey (with the in car adapter), to keeping the beer and wine (and milk and butter) cold while the sun shone, it was superb. We even unplugged it whilst asleep with no loss of performance. Brilliant.
While me and my son can’t wait until the weather warms up again, my wife remains convinced that it is not for her, maybe she just hasn’t been bitten by the bug yet!
Bruce Thompson
Manchester
