Whilst I’m sure it’s been delightful reading about my preparations for our first family camping holiday, I also wanted to share some of the experiences of other bloggers. This week, Lauren from Scrapbook Lives Blog is sharing some of her favourites: campsites, memories and packing-must-haves.
Tell us a little bit about your family and what you like to get up to.
We’re a family of four, with two kids, Athena who just turned four and Arlo who is two. We like to spend time outdoors, going for walks, exploring the beach or at the park.
Did you used to go camping before you became a parent?
Nope! I went once in my late teens with a gang of friends but that was about it!
What’s your favourite family-friendly campsite?
Hurstview in the New Forest. It is close to the beach and being right in the heart of the New Forest means there is loads to see and do. It’s quite a large campsite but it has toilets and showers and you can have a campfire if you’d like one!
How do you go about finding a campsite to stay at? Do you have any top tips for what to look for?
Pitchup is a useful site to use, but the friends we go with introduced us to the one I mentioned above. What to look for depends on what you want, I really love a proper loo, and a campfire is great to have too!
What’s your favourite camping memory?
The morning my kids both slept past 8am, it was a miracle! Normally despite a late bedtime they get up at the crack of dawn!
What’s your must-have camping item?
Baby wipes! Everything gets grubby, kids and general belongings included- but they come in very handy! Also a portable potty is helpful if you’ve got kids who might not be able to hold it till they get to a loo!
Have you had any camping disasters?
No, thankfully! Well, actually Arlo’s air bed deflated both nights due to a puncture we had no idea about but he was happy to sleep on it anyway, weird little kid!
Why do you love camping as a family? What are the benefits?
Generally, the routine goes out of the window! The kids can stay up later, hopefully sleep later too and generally just play in the outdoors whilst we can relax a bit. It’s great to be away from the humdrum of daily life but isn’t as stressful or expensive as a proper holiday abroad.
What’s the first thing you do when you return home from a camping trip?
Get everything in the washing machine! And then fling all our gear up in the loft! We keep our sleeping bags, mats, torches etc in a large blue plastic crate so it’s easy to transport!
What’s your next camping adventure? Or if you don’t have one booked, where would you like to go?
I think we’ll be off to the New Forest again before the end of Summer!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve already book marked the Hurstview website and hopefully one day, I’ll be writing about how much Pickle, LPD and I enjoyed our stay there! A huge thank you to Lauren for sharing her camping experiences for me today. You can follow her adventures on her blog, or show her some love over on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
If you’ve got a camping story or experience and would like to contribute to this series, please feel free to drop me an email at littlepicklesmom@gmail.com and I’d be delighted to have a chat to you.