We have been on many outdoor style holidays, staying at campsites or holiday parks. We tend to be caravanners and often, but not always, opt for locations by the beach. We have had lots of precious moments from waking up to see rabbits hopping about outside our window, to exploring Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door for the first time last year, and discovering adventurous nature paths from our holiday site to the beach.
However, I reflect back on our very first holiday as parents – a caravan trip to the seaside – and we were so unorganised and unprepared! Don’t get me wrong; there are lots of special memories from the trip – Squiggle’s first touch of sand, putting her toes in the sea for the very first time, sleeping away from home with her for the first time ever. It was wonderful in so many ways.
But the caravan was basic with no heating, so it was very much like camping in a tent. Plus it was out of season too, so not very warm- and as new parents we forgot so many camping essentials! We even had to dash out in the evening to get supplies; we were literally banging on the window of the nearest store just as they closed up, begging them to let us in for 2 mins to make a quick purchase – cue a supermarket sweep style grab for blankets and extra thick sleeping bag! Oops!!!
Halfords have created a useful Guide To Camping with lots of helpful essential packing tips, so luckily you don’t have to make the same Rookie mistakes as we did! There are also suggestions for campsites; from beach lovers to cycling and outdoor adventures, wild camping, and caravanning sites, plus other camping ideas too – there is even a playlist if you need some musical inspiration!
What are your top camping tips? I would love to read them! Leave me a comment.
*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Halfords.
your photography is stunning! my brother loves to camp so I’ve passed this post on to him!
Thank you, I hope your brother finds it useful!
The view is incredible! Would love to visit sometime 🙂 and omg, rabbits <3 haha http://www.clairebearblogs.com
Stunning photos you’ve got there! – We aren’t much of a holiday-goer family unfortunately, I wish we were though! I can imagine I’d make the rookie mistakes and forget all the basics too haha! My daughter is desperate to go camping, so maybe in the near future it might be a possibility! x
I remember doing the same with one of our first family holidays! Choosing a caravan but with no heating in colder months. We all slept in huge jumpers. Never made that mistake again. There are so many things you don’t think of if it is your first time. We have only camped in a tent once (with 3 kids 5 and under) but I took a my carry potty for the kids to use in the night so there was no going back and forth to the toilet block which was quite a walk in the dark
I have to confess that most of the camping trips I went on as a child were on sites with beds, fridges and so on. Not proper camping really! I ought to put that right by taking my kids on a real camping trip. I’ll give the guide a look!
Yes, definitely so important to be organised when camping with kids. I’ve led Expeditions in both the UK and abroad but nothing quite compares to the chaos of taking your own little ones away haha. Thanks for sharing.
Such great fun! We can’t wait to take the children camping!