Happy days...cold nights

Last weekend's camping adventure was to Hill Cottage Farm in Fordingbridge. The drive down was a long one but, as I had collected the kids, my husband had arrived before us and, once again, he had pitched the tent up and unpacked pretty much everything in time for our arrival.  How lucky are we? 

Just before this trip we were worried about the possibility of rain and very aware that we don't really have much in the way of outside shelter from the rain.  So we decided to purchase an easy camp awning which fits perfectly onto the front of our tent and serves as a great shelter.

Our inspiration came from this website, which is full of great tips and ideas http://www.getoutwiththekids.co.uk/camping/camping-tips/how-to-keep-the-rain-off-using-a-camping-tarp-kit/

On arrival the campsite seemed well organised with clear directions to reception and the pitches are numbered so it was easy to find ours. Our friends had arrived earlier too so after a few finishing touches from all it was time to start enjoying ourselves.

There was a playground for the kids, clean toilets, clean showers (behind reception) and a washing up area. All of the facilities were well maintained and there was electric hook up options for those who wanted it.  The night times are lovely and quiet and the view of the surrounding fields and woodland is very peaceful.

We decided to go to the local pub in Alderholt http://www.churchillpub.co.uk for dinner and a few drinks. It was an entertaining 10 minute walk through the woods and we were not disappointed when we arrived. There were games for the kids to enjoy and plenty of delicious food options for kids and adults alike. When we arrived back at the camp site we tried to stay outside for as long as possible but it was absolutely freezing and we were very tired so decided to have an early night. 

The next morning we awoke to lovely warm sunshine and in no time we were cooking breakfast and the kids were playing in the playground. We took a stroll through the woods again, this time to pick up a few essentials from the Co-Op in Alderholt and then we stopped in at the pub for a cheeky lunchtime pint and then headed back to the campsite to settle in for the rest of the day.

We were dying to try out our other recent addition, the Outwell Roast Gas BBQ with side table so dinner time couldn't come around quickly enough for us:

This BBQ was another last minute purchase and proved to be very useful. The side plates are great for extra surface space but they can also be folded in and used as cooking plates.  Another plus point was that the kids didn't have to wait too long for their food to be ready.

We all had a lovely time playing games, chatting and dancing into the evening until once again it became too cold to stay outside. One thing I have learned about camping in the New Forest is that the nights are freezing!

Once again the RAVPower portable charger proved to be extremely handy as we didn't have electric hook up and the BBQ proved to be our most useful recent purchase but we do need to purchase one of those electric mosquito bats and a heater would be very useful for those cold nights!

We are getting better at packing up now though and while we were sad to leave, we were looking forward to the next stop...Sandford.

Towels are essential

I am a camping addict now. We have recently joined the Camping and Caravanning Club http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/ so we decided to try out one of their club sites not too far away to get a feel for it.  The site we went to http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/uk/surrey/easthorsley/horsley  was simply amazing. It had a fishing lake, a recreation hall, a playground, a small shop in the reception and plenty of clean  and well-maintained bathroom, shower, washing-up and laundry facilities.

This time I arrived at the camp site with my two step children in the glorious sunshine to find that my husband had already arrived, pitched up and unpacked everything from his car (including the dog.) Happy days for us, maybe not so for him, but we appreciated all the hard work and effort he went to - especially as I had received a phone call from him earlier to say that as I had the water carrier, all he had to drink was beer from the cool-box (not a bad thing) or water from the dog bowl (yuk!) I unpacked the clothes, kitchen equipment and food from my car and we were ready to start having fun.

Our first evening was spent enjoying the evening sunshine, playing card games, exploring the camp site and, of course, eating.  We had pre-made a chilli con carne which we heated up and tucked into, with enough tortilla chips to feed a small village, before the mosquitos chased us inside and we decided to settle in, listen to the radio and play more card games. 

After a great night's sleep I woke at dawn to the sound of the birds chirping and the lovely relaxing noise of the water fountain in the middle of the lake and I felt happy and content with life.  Then I opened my eyes wide and remembered the one thing that I had forgotten.  Towels.  I had forgotten to bring the towels.  I had a tea-towel but that's hardly going to dry a family of four after a shower.  Oh no, this was not good. 

My happy, contented and peaceful morning soon turned into a frantic Google search for the nearest supermarket in an effort to go on a mission to find towels.  As it turned out, we had also forgotten tea bags and milk, so my step daugher (who was awake far too early) and I set off for the nearest large supermarket, in this case, Sainsburys.

With the towels, tea bags and milk purchased, we arrived back at the camp site to the smell of bacon sizzling away and the sound of the kettle whistling...it was breakfast time! We had a very enjoyable morning playing Monopoly Star Wars but soon the temptation of the playground was too much for the kids and it was time to make some new friends.  There was a fishing competition going on at the lake which the boys wished they could have participated in but we didn't think that we would have enough room in the cars for all of their gear.  Still, there's always next time.

We had a lovely BBQ in the late afternoon, danced to some music on the iPod, played Twister, watched the kids chase each other around with water pistols squealing with laughter and before we knew it the sun was setting and the mosquitos were back out.

Needless to say none of us wanted to start packing up the next morning and there were plenty of long faces all around.  Two nights just doesn't seem long enough when you're having so much fun!  

Our two best purchases, which we found the most useful for this weekend were:

1. Our Outwell Drayton Kitchen Table:

The built in washing up bowl is so handy and there is plenty of storage underneath.  My step son even commented that it was like a portable kitchen, which I suppose, in a way, it is.

2. Our RAVPower Portable Battery Charger http://www.amazon.co.uk/RAVPower-16000mAh-Portable-Technology-Generation-Black-x/dp/B00OJXVDAU - this device kept our iPhones and iPads fully charged for the whole weekend.  It's quite heavy but surprisingly compact. 

We have more adventures booked up over the coming weeks so please keep an eye on the blog for more updates.  Happy Camping!

Smart Air Smug

Outwell, I salute you, your smart air tents are simply amazing.  We arrived at Ashurst Campsite (http://www.campingintheforest.co.uk/england/new-forest/ashurst-campsite) in the torrential rain but, thanks to the smart air technology, we were pitched up, unpacked and drying off with a cold beer within 2 hours of arriving.  

It wasn't long before it dawned on us that we didn't have anything to cook under in the rain (error) so we set off across the field to the nearby pub for some comfort food and few glasses of vino.

We woke the next morning to the feeling of warm sunshine, the sound of the birds chirping and, more importantly, NO RAIN.  It was time to get up and start the day but only after opening all of the air vents as the tent was heating up fast!  We were suitably impressed with the comfort of our double camp bed and our Outwell Contour Lux double sleeping bag. We both agreed that it was the best night's sleep we had experienced in a long time.

The shower and toilet facilities were clean with minimal queues and we were soon freshened up and dressed with the kettle boiling and the bacon sizzling away.  Unfortunately it was still rather windy and we couldn't put our windscreen up as the ground was simply too hard to be able to peg it down, so we resorted to using the small metal cooking windscreen around the hob and that seemed to do the job.   

Fully fuelled up and ready for the day we decided to do some exploring and walked around the beautiful surrounding forest.  We even spotted a pony or two.

There was a very convenient Welcome shop nearby (part of the Co-Op group) and several pubs, restaurants and take-aways all within easy walking distance.  We eventually settled in back at the tent for the afternoon and had a barbeque in the sunshine.  Time seemed to fly by and it was time to "bed in" again but not before enjoying a nice cold buffet spread in the comfort of our tent while playing cards, drinking wine and listening to the radio - bliss!

I could happily spend a week at Ashurst but they do not allow dogs and have no electric hook-ups which I imagine could deter some people.  However, I can highly recommend it for couples and families alike, the atmosphere is relaxed, peaceful and friendly.

Items we were thankful for taking with us:

• Rock pegs
• Good quality cool box
• Portable DAB radio
• Playing cards

Items we realised we needed:

• More rock pegs!
• Something to cook under in the rain
• Extra blankets (for the cold nights)

I can't wait for my next adventure.

All the gear...some idea?

A momentous day has arrived, it’s time for my first ever camping adventure. The weather, in true British fashion, is awful with the rain starting to come down thick and fast and the winds picking up. I’m quite nervous about the weather, especially after reading the weather warnings, but also very much looking forward to the experience. 

My husband, on the other hand, is quite an experienced camper so he is providing me with some comfort in the knowledge that at least somebody knows what they are doing. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately considering our love of shopping, he didn’t retain any of his previous camping equipment so that meant we had to go out and purchase everything…from scratch. 

Finding the right tent was an arduous process with lots of research on the internet trawling through various camping websites and forums and watching many, many pitching videos on YouTube. We asked for as much advice as possible from as many people as possible and ended up with this beauty:

That's right, it is the Outwell Hornet XL from the smart air polyester tent collection and it is everything we wanted in a tent: spacious, practical, easy to put up and pack away and good quality.  We have a groundsheet and a carpet for it as well as all the other accessories we are going to need to make our camping experiences enjoyable and unforgettable.

We stumbled across a fantastic shop to purchase the tent and many of our accessories from called The Family Tent Shop http://www.thefamilytentshop.com/ they have showrooms in Guildford and Shepperton. We went to their Guildford showroom and found them to be extremely helpful , knowledgeable and quite reasonable.

So far I have only experienced the tent in our back garden and I fell in love with it so I can't wait to experience it on the camp site this weekend...