Guide to camping

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Guide to camping
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monkey1973

Joined: 17 Jan 2005
Posts: 683
Location: Bonnie scotland

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 05 5:38 pm Post subject:

RoryD wrote:

Is Kinloch Rannoch far enough west to be midge country? ...........Am I being a big blouse?

I hope not and yes you are

(although I'm saying this before I go and I may concur wholeheartedly when I come back)

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 05 7:02 pm Post subject: camping

always take a dog

if it gets cold at night you can put the dog in your sleeping bag.........they don't stick their elbows into you like kids do and will be pleased to have only one meal a day so puts cooking down to a minimum.

and of course if you have 3 canines and it gets really cold you can have a "3 dog night."

in the south atlantic mr nanny and those out on a yomp used to put penguins in their sleeping bags to keep warm.

when ever we go to the zoo, he has to go and look at the penguins and they just run up to him...perhaps they recognise daddy

RoryD

Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Posts: 692
Location: West Yorkshire

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 05 9:14 pm Post subject:

monkey1973 wrote:

RoryD wrote:

Is Kinloch Rannoch far enough west to be midge country? ...........Am I being a big blouse?

I hope not and yes you are

(although I'm saying this before I go and I may concur wholeheartedly when I come back)

haha

In case... get some Jungle Juice or similar, and some mosquito coils which burn (unenvironmentally?) but slowly and can build up a resistance for the inside of the tent.

Agree with all of the other comments esp the Auchentosh (sp). You really don't want to be going for a wee in the middle of the night so whisky dehydrates you nicely.

Other things....ok I know it sounds daft but take a washing up bowl to put all of your crocks in. Easier than carrying plates across the campsite.

nettie

Joined: 02 Dec 2004
Posts: 5888
Location: Suffolk

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 05 9:35 pm Post subject:
Make sure you take bog roll, you never know what the loos will be like (in my experience, don't look up if you don't like creepy crawlies!) Also if there are two of you it helps to have a three man tent so you've got enough room to store your bags n stuff.

mags

Joined: 02 Aug 2005
Posts: 21
Location: Devon

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 05 9:47 pm Post subject:

We love camping. My partner and I off to Northumberland for two weeks on th 15th. We always take air bed and our duvet(nicer than sleeping bags), and a throw to put on the ground sheet in sleeping area, gives it a real comfortable homely feel, nicer than walking on plastic too.

We were in Scotland last August, pitched right by the stream. I was bitten once, if they are around I'll be the one to get bitten, so once was pretty good!

Take plenty of change, ten or twenty pence pieces as some sites charge for showers. A torch is always a good item to take too!

Have fun!

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 05 10:35 pm Post subject:

Hot showers, something to sit on or a tent big enough to stand up in - I don't have a bad back but there is something about struggling in a low dome. Logs, large boulders to keep food off ground, tiny campsite, no children (I wish), lots of airbeds so at least one morning in three you can spend the first half hour not locating and mending newest puncture, (oh - puncture repair kit) beloved who doesn't down most of the wine himself then snore loudly all night ... but most of all NO RAIN. Mind you I'd risk it for a view like that

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 05 7:10 am Post subject: camping

another few essentials

don't forget your hammer to bang in the tent pegs if it's stony.you might not find a suitably sized rock to do it with.............

wellies and a spare jumper so you can put 2 on if necessary and keep one in the car so it's dry when you get wet..............

wind up or battery radio

lot's of books to read

something comfortable to sit on

do you think we all speak from experience?

be aware that wildlife may very well find you so put away all your food at night

during various camping trips is the states we were joined in our campsite by raccons who stole my dad's false teeth, chipmunks, moose and worst of all a skunk that came rightin the awning and had a rummage in the waste bin

Lozzie

Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 2595

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 05 8:25 am Post subject: Re: camping

Nanny wrote:

"

in the south atlantic mr nanny and those out on a yomp used to put penguins in their sleeping bags to keep warm.

No no no! ROFLMBFAO - are you joking? Is this true? please tell me!

Andy B

Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 3920
Location: Brum

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 05 9:24 am Post subject: Re: Guide to camping

Lozzie wrote:

Bugs wrote:

I'm sure this would be a good collaborative one too and a very downsizery type of holiday, I assume?

Cab, I wondered also about doing a piece about having a self-catering holiday abroad, and trying to stick to Downsizer/Ethical principles at the same time; would this be appropriate?

L x

I know this is going to seem a bit extream green but on a site such as this should we encouraging flying / big road miles. Gets away from the think local bit.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 05 9:53 am Post subject:

I have a list for camping in word if anyone would like a copy. I agree about the sheets and sleeping bags, but not about the air bed - we've had at least three, and not one has ever stayed up all night. Even other people's, who swear they normally do (perhaps I am particularly sharp!) I now take a thermorest thingy (like a cross between an air bed and roll mat) and a couple of sheepskins. These are essential camping gear in my opinon. You put them on your chair at night (you wouldn't believe how much warmer and more comfortable that makes a camping chair) sleep on or under them (if there aren't any handy penguins - didn't they wriggle? dogs bloody do!) sit on them during the day, sit children to play on them - alsorts. Makes a camping much more comfortable.

A tent you can sit in if it rains (ie not just lie in) and with more room in the bedroom than you need to sleep in, so you can have bags and things around you. A freestanding light, so you can do things with your hands free, although a torch is useful as well. Some kind of water container (a 5l bottle will do for two, if your not doing loads of washing up and stuff) and a tin to keep matches dry (they will get wet, unless you take them to bed with you otherwise) self lighting charcoal is nice if you are only cooking on a fire, and want your morning tea before lunch (if you are cooking on a fire, you need some sort of grill or trivet, and your saucepans will go black). Camping fodder for us is generally coffee and cake or biscuits for early breakfast (and you will be up early - there is no sound insulation in tents, and they're very light, so the birds or other peoples kids will see to it) followed by a full monty brunch, maybe crisps or something in the afternoon, and burgers or kebabs and chops or steak for tea - I try and avoid saucepans, and just grill stuff, with bread and salads.

That reminds me - earplugs help a lot, and you need a wooly hat - laugh if you like, but I have spent a few very cold nights out in august, and a fleecy hat makes all the difference.

Other than that, and some very warm pyjamias and a full change of clothes (in case you get wet) and a corkscrew will see you through - happy to send my list to anyone who wants to PM me an email address.

Oh - a note about wildlife. We once had a frog in the tent, but never anything bigger. Our tent has seperate insect screens on all the doors, and this makes life more comfortable, especially in bed. we did once have a new forest pony nick a bag of marshmallows left out, which kept us awake for a while (crunching the bag!) but that's the worst we've had. We don't do proper backcountry camping though. There isn't much backcountry in the chilterns!

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 05 11:24 am Post subject: Re: camping

Nanny wrote:

in the south atlantic mr nanny and those out on a yomp used to put penguins in their sleeping bags to keep warm.

During the cold nights I often think how warm our hens can be. Ideal to keep your feet warm but, perhaps, a little messy in the morning.

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 05 11:28 am Post subject: camping

he assures me i was so..........the penguins were completely unharmed........

they used to just go to sleep and then were fine in the morning.....he still has a thing for penguins........

he says they also slept in the middle of sheep herds because the air was warmer in the middle of a herd......he doesn't have a thing about sheep i hasten to add.......

they were at war you know so couldn't pop back to the hotel for the evening........

Andy B

Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 3920
Location: Brum

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 05 11:35 am Post subject: Re: camping

Nanny wrote:

I think you might be better keeping that one quiet!

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 05 12:56 pm Post subject: camping

ok- no more about penguins as it appears to shock people

we never really did back woods.......the raccoon was in upstate new york, he also took 2 loaves of bread along with dad's teeth and we found all the loot down by the creek

the skunk was up in maine- not far from bar harbour, recompense shores i think.....great site right on the bay.....we were all playing monopoly and my dad told us all to freeze while the skunk found what he wanted in the waste bin about 3 feet from us............you do NOT frighten a skunk..........

the moose was a bit far out.........bay of fundy national park, nova scotia i think but the site still had hard standings, flush toilets and electric hookups if you wanted them

then there was the porcupine, that was upstate new york and one or our friends got bitten by a young rattle snake but that was his fault for trying to pick it up...

one site in massachusetts i think was was so rocky that instead of pitching your tent on a field, they gave you a load of 6inch nails and you pitched on a wooden platform a foot or so above ground...........the tent was 10 x 12 with a 7 ft ridge pole and i seem to recall there was plenty of space around the tent so the platform must have been huge

ah -those were the days.................

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 05 4:19 pm Post subject:

Advice about camping:
Get self inflating sleep mats, they're about thirty quid, a lot more comfortable than carrimats and a lot less puncture prone than air beds.
Get a decent quality portable barbecue. We've owned a whole range over the years and bought a Weber Charcoal Go-Anywhere this year which is brilliant. Expensive, but well worth it IMHO.
Trangias (or for most people cheap Trangia knock offs) are good.
A small gas or multifuel stove is handy for morning coffee etc.
Petzl head-torches make you look like an idiot but work really well and have long battery lives.
A lot depends on what you want to do, if you're walking or biking then lightness and compactness are everything, but cost a lot. If you're going by car then you can take more bulky/heavier kit.
France is a very good place to go camping.
Don't forget a bottle-opener/corkscrew.
We've got one of those picnic backpack things which is good because it keeps everything together and has room for a decent cooking knife/chopping board etc.

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