we have been messing about with canvas and caravans for the last 26 yrs
only go out 3/4 weekends a year now but use to camp from end feb to end of oct twice a month a glutton for punishment some might say but no always tied the wekend to a fishing trip..

brian

i have to say now i am in my 40s that i succombed to the greatest camping under canvas invention...the inflatable mattress,added years to the future of camping for me,
never really fancied a caravan,have spent a couple of weekends in them ,not quite the same but i can fully understand why people love them.
i think it has something to do with the fact it is easy to have a tv and people tend to sit inside them during the evenings,where as when we are under canvas we all sit outside the tent chatting away and always cook in the open when its not raining, it just seems more outdoors...

ij duffell I ONCE and only ONCE went in a tent to Newquay and never again, we had rain and wind all week, my tent ended up like a bouncy castle one night everything all over the place. We went with another couple and the husband had a habbit of swearing everyone all over the camp could hear him, all we kept saying was sssshhh ssshhhh we're in a tent, and he would reply I know we're in a bl***y tent. It was murder and hard work all week, so I said never again to tenting and turned to caravaning.

perrydog i can sympathise ,but as time goes on and experiance gained,
very qyuickly i found out why i had the middle of the field to myself,
and it does pay to wander around the site first to see where the peace loving campers are based.

Hi everyone,

Last summer was my first time camping.My fiance had done it loads of times and talked me into it,as i wasnt too kean with all they creepy crawlies..im bad enough in the house never mind on the ground lol.

Anyway,we bought our tent from a shop on ebay..3 bedrooms and large living area. To try it out we just took the dogs away for a few nights to Loch Awe up in Scotland,it was lovely.The first day i had good fun,nice warm day then the barbi and fire going at night,wasnt too happy when it got dark was glad i had my 2 big labs with me lol.

Next day it poured the whole time and i was so miserable and cold i had to sleep in the car that night! Talk about roughing it,next time there will need to be a heatwave before i go

The kids couldnt wait to go away,so i booked a week in a holiday park not too far away. For £14 a night we had electric hook up and a lovely park with things for the kids to do and most importantly the weather was great the whole week,i wasnt cold once at night. What a cheap holiday,i normally go to a caravan in one of the holiday parks which costs up to £500 for a week.

This year will be better as we have all the gear now just a few bits we need that we done without last time.So roll on easter and the good weather.

Oh and i wasnt bothered once about the creepies as the bedrooms are seperate and fully enclosed inside the actuall tent..great not even a midge gets in. We all loved it!

P.S. my brother bought his first caravan last year and went to spain with it,he has been camping abroad for years,if anyone wants any info on the camp sites hes been to just ask and i`ll find out for you.

Yvonne

Please explain NY to me ... do you really mean New York? Sorry to be thick!

duh. ithink new year

We used to go camping years ago but had the chance to buy an old static caravan 17 years ago so the only camping I do now is with my grandchildren in the garden during school holidays.We spend our summers in the caravan and I never tire of it.We only got services (electric,gas and drainage)in 2000 so bought a new caravan as our old one still had gas lights!.Some people may think we are mad but the site is in Teesdale known as Englands last wilderness.The view from our front window is amazing as there is nothing between it and the Lake distict except stunning countryside.I can hardly wait until it opens in March.I often wonder why I go abroad!

wow jaytrip that sounds fantastic,
when i started this post i said england was beautiful,i should of said britain,as scotland,wales,ireland and the offlying isles are just the same..
when the spring and summer are upon us and the sun is shinnig i love this land,
during autumn the colours from the tress are magnificent,and the frosty winter mornings are also truely a picture,but why so much grey and wet weather,it is the only downside.

Our friends lived in there caravan on our site last winter as they had sold their house and didnt find one till this spring.When we visit in the winter it is trully a winter wonderland.The spring is beautiful and we get lots of unusual birds on the bird table that we dont see at home only35 miles away.The summer is great fun and we have lots of barbeques with our friends on an evening when we sometimes have the site to ourselves during the week when everyone is at work and the children are at school.Autumn is absolutely stunning with the trees changing colour and then we have a Halloween party and finish off the season with a big bonfire and firework display.We often fly over the site when going on holiday from Newcastle airport and often wonder why we are going abroad.(The weather usually)Writing this has made me want to visit so if these gales subside this weekend we will visit next weekend!.

i was dragged round literally when a kid to all sorts of caravan rallies and as we had a lot of freinds there is was ok , but then we started going further afield and i must admit i enjoyed our 3/4 weeks trips down the the south of france , even to the stage that when i was 23 and recently broken up with a long term girlfreind when the parents said come with us to teh SOF i went and they left me to myself , made me sleep in the awning and i had a brilliant time
, but that was as far a s i was concerned the end of it , PHEW i thought so a cuple of years latter i was stuck looking for a job and applied to a major caravan dealer in cheshire and bingo 3 years latter i was still there and loved it , just proved little did i know what i had learnt (putting awnings up and other bits ) would help me into my first leisure job and ultimately into travel i do now

so thankyou caravanning BUT NEVER AGAIN

We too went camping for the first time ever last year for the August bank holiday. We went with friends to a basic site with just toilets/showers and had a lovely time. I had been prepared to hate it, but I could see how given better weather we would all really enjoy it. We have been collecting our own gear over the winter, got some good camping Christmas pressies and have some rallies in mind and some weekends booked for this year as well as the holidays abroad. We never went camping as kids which is a real shame because my two absolutely love the freedom it gives them. (I suppose we had more freedom as kids anyway) Apparently more people than ever before are taking up camping and caravanning due to terrorism and other factors.

We are hoping to go to the ukcs rally in herefordshire in august and also a lyme regis meet in september. its a shame you Will be Working in the summer, but at least you have a van that lets you go aWay in the Winter months, Which We arent able to do. apparently as long as you have the right sleeping bags it is possible to camp in any Weather in the uk but i am not about to try it!

We LOVE IT! too!

We try to go camping in our tent as a family at least once a year!
We live in S.Wales so were only half an hour to the sea side.

Mother & Father in law have got a caravan near Tenby, and we sometimes go there for the odd day.
Although last year we ended up in Breane Sands for a week.
http://www.hru.co.uk/ Unity Farm, absolutley Fab!
The weather had been awful until the day we arrived only a bit windy!
We had fab weather and came back with a tan

I'd love to go camping in France but it's convincing my husband that's the problem
At least in the uk if the weather is that bad then you can go home quickly.