Camping Must-Haves and What You CAN Leave Home Without!

Camping can be ideal as a low-cost family holiday option when money is a bit tight. However, on your first camping trip, it can be very easy to get bogged down with the different products available to buy, until you end up spending the cost of a week in the Algarve. As we've got better at camping, we have found some products that have been invaluable, and some that haven't. This is our guide to your camping essentials and how to keep the costs down by avoiding what you really don't need. This post contains items we've bought, and some we were sent to try and really liked. I have marked the review items, with an asterisk * for clarity.

Top Tips for Camping When it Rains

Everyone hopes for good weather when it comes to the annual family holiday, but none more so than the dediated family camper. Like all holidays, once it's booked, it's booked and you are pretty much condemned to suffer whatever is thrown at you and, usually, the worst of these will be the weather. We've just returned from our third camping trip, through Campsites.co.uk and we had spells of dreadful weather during each of them. This time, the tail end of a hurricane made us glad of our storm pegs, and this was just one of the things we learned from our previous trips. With this in mind, this post contains advice from myself and other campers on how to brave the worst of the British weather in a tent! 

Forest Glade Holiday Park: Family Campsite Review

Regular readers will know that sometimes I review things I've been sent to try and sometimes I review things I have purchased myself, but I am always honest in my reviews and upfront about where they come from. This time, though, it's a bit more complicated, because I bought and paid for this holiday, but the lovely owner gave me a refund when I said I would be happy to review it. The park is just stunning and there is so much I want to tell you about it, along with millions of photos I've taken for you, which I've tried to whittle down a bit. I hope you enjoy my unbiased review of the beautiful Forest Glade Holiday Park, situated in the Blackdown Hills between Cullompton and Honiton in East Devon. 

Things I Missed on Holiday; A Camp Fire Song

We had a lovely time camping, but I did miss one or two little luxuries. You know, like running water that didn't taste of hosepipe and cold drinks on demand. The only thing cold was my feet at night! For #Prose4Thought this week, I've written a camping-inspired poem and tried to include all the things I thought abut while I was away. To get the full effect, you have to read it to the tune of 'My Favourite Things' from The Sound of Music. Extra points for singing out loud. 

First Time Camping; The Good, The Bad, and The Snuggly!

Yesterday we returned from our first ever 'proper' camping trip having only ever been 'glamping' before. Glamping has become popular in recent years, but you can't beat the challenges and achievements that come with residing under canvas in a field! We had a brilliant time, but it certainly had its ups and downs and, along the way, we learned a little bit about the dos and don'ts of camping life. Read on to find out where you probably shouldn't pitch your tent and how we coped with the dramatic weather changes! 

We're Going Camping! Excitement and Some Beginners Tips!

There is much excitement in The Parent Game household today, as we have just had word we are going camping! I had never even been in a tent until last year, when we went on an amazing adventure to Roebeck Country Park on the Isle of Wight. It was a glamping holiday, so not 'proper' camping, although I thought it was camping heaven, as we arrived and the beds were made! This year, though, we are going for it, with our own tent and totally self-sufficient, with the help of Scotts Menswear and Blacks. As I've not been camping in a tent before, I have requested some advice and assistance from my favourite bloggers, who have some sage advice on the subject. 

Roebeck Country Park, Isle of Wight Review

The build up to our holiday had been fairly intense, with lots of child-based excitement and sleepless nights, but finally the day had arrived! We were so excited, we left the house at midnight, for the three hour journey! There is definitely an arguement for travelling in the early hours if you want a stress -free road trip, but even I thought that was going a bit far! This is our review of our stay, although I'm not sure I could really do it justice, there is so much we loved about it. Roebeck Country Park is situated near Ryde on the Isle of Wight and we visited during May half term.

Camping. Great Entertainment on a Small Budget.

I have always taken my children on standard 'holiday camp' type holidays, where you stay in a static caravan or a little chalet and there is lots available on site, such as a swimming pool, restaurants, entertainment, etc. In recent years though, this option has become more and more expensive. Sometimes even more expensive than travelling abroad! This year we went on a traditional camping holiday, kindly supplied by  Roebeck Country Park for us to review. We were all really surprised by how positively it compared to our previous holiday choices and I wanted to write about this aspect as I would never have realised how enjoyable it would be and how little we would miss the holiday camp environment.

Exciting Holiday News with Roebeck Country Park!!

We have had the best news ever this week! News so exciting, L cried tears of happiness and has talked of nothing else since I told him! We are going on holiday!! This is the first holiday we've had in quite a while, so it's a fairly major event and we are really looking forward to it. L is growing up so fast and he has been mentioning for some time now that he would love to go 'proper' camping. For the uninitiated in the language of small boys, 'proper' camping must take place a significant distance from the place where you live, ie; not in the garden or under the dining table. it must involve an atual tent and there will be no corner-cutting when it comes to cooking and eating al fresco.