Packing clothes for a weeks camping trip

Packing your families clothes for a weekend is one thing. Packing for a week or more is another, it takes planning and more lists. I'm a big fan of lists. Here's a few tips to manage your clothes when you are camping:

• Pack one good outfit per person for restaurants and nice days out and change the kids out of the 'good set' as soon as you return to camp.
• Make sure every item is suitable for washing in the same load of laundry,  so no blacks or whites or non colourfast clothes.
• If you have access to a kitchen vacuum machine, vac-pac small items like socks togther in bundles of threes or fours. Get the kids to help with this step it's fun!
• Put a strip of masking tape on the outside of any plastic bags you have packed, and write the contents on the tape, this makes a very cheap label.
• Roll don't fold clothes.
• Washing tablets are easier than packets of powder.
• Bring a large mesh wash bag for putting dirty clothes in, then wash clothes still in the bag. 
• Take old clothes, especially 'old' underwear. Wear and throw out since it's going to be thrown out anyway, saves washing.

Add your tips below in the comments section.

Overview of my camping year so far

Hello dear readers, I haven't posted in a while so I thought I'd do something about that. I have been camping three more times since that early trip in March and right now I have one more weekend camp coming up before our main family holiday away in County Kerry. So right now my thoughts are full of lists, and I have lists of lists, and I have two different notebooks, numerous back of envelopes and a document wallet with lists. 

First I want to share something. I went camping in the rain. This wasn't normal rain, it was relentless, heavy, constant and set my teeth on edge. We weren't short of space, (fairly big tent) and we weren't short of food or supplies. We were short of patience, and we (myself and two teens) were a bit damp and I had two dogs that were more than a bit damp and stuck in a crate for most of the time. It wasn't fair on the dogs or the kids. So when I came home I made a list. That's right, another list.

At the top of this list I wrote:

DON'T GO CAMPING IN THE RAIN

It should be said that of the two nights we stayed, the first evening was dry and the sunset was unbelievable, we had a camp fire lit and some Home Brew red wine courtesy of a fellow camping friend and life was good. Even the evening of our relentlessly rainy day was saved by a brilliant campers sitting room where we had a wood burning stove and the company and craic was great, and this one thing alone saved my sanity that day. Anyway this rule is not always going to be easy to achieve. Sometimes weekends are paid for and booked in advance. So then we either go and get wet or cancel and don't get a refund. Then there's the accuracy of our forecasts, it's virtually impossible to go by them. But by and large, if there's a wet weekend forecast I'm staying home from now on. 

The next thing I wrote was 

DON'T GO CAMPING WITH KIDS AND DOGS AT THE SAME TIME

I know this is not for everyone. This is my self imposed rule. It's probably going to be a flexible rule, the dogs do enhance our weekend when our time is planned around them and nice long walks - and the main off-putting thing about that weekend was the fact that it rained so heavily. At home (when it's raining heavily) the dogs would have the run of the house. When we're camping they are not allowed to be untethered or uncrated. They have to be restrained all the time even on walks unless we leave site and go somewhere safe. I'm a lone parent, I had two teenagers demanding my time and attention. I had two dogs also needing my time and attention. I felt guilty on both fronts. So it has been decided that for our main holiday the dogs are going into Kennels, they've been before and are used with the Avril who is the angel that runs the kennels and I know they'll be well taken care of. It'a another bill to pay, but on this occasion I'm putting the kids first. They are teenagers. They will probably not have that many more holidays with me. 

Next on my list I wrote:

Only take one cup and one plate and one spork per person AND THATS IT!

As you can probably tell I took far too much stuff including the kitchen sink. To add insult to injury I didn't even use it all which means it was a) a waste of time including it on my list, b) a waste of time looking and retrieving for the item, c) a waste of my time packing, transporting and unpacking this item when d) I shouldn't have bothered in the first place. 

Still learning!

Coleman Mini Table - Review

I have used this little table quite a lot now for over a year and feel that I could give an accurate review that reflects it's performance with actual use.

This little table won the Camping Magazine award in 2010. It is unusual because in this category there is no other brand making a table of this size and this 'folding suitcase' design. It folds up quite tiny, not much bigger than a laptop bag and so it is really handy even just to keep in the car. I have used it as a 'sitting kitchen', ie, I can relax on my camp chair and boil up the kettle and spoon in the coffee at the same time. Much better when on holiday! I also use it as a small dining table, three of us sit our camp chairs, which do tend to be quite low, and it's a better height to eat from. If you want to, you could sit on your knees on the ground. I also use it as a drinks table, plonking it right between two camp chairs it's just the perfect swing your arm from table top to mouth distance. 

Stock promotional photo

I am a big fan of this little table but it has one drawback. It is a bit wobbly on one axis. The longest dimension of the table is quite steady but along it's shortest dimension there's a bit of swing. This is fine as long as you know about it.

The pro's of this table is that it is a great height for so many functions, the adjustable legs mean it can be level on uneven ground or even gradients (although I hate pitching on a slope!) and the cargo net is utterly fantastic. Why all tables don't have this feature I don't know. Here's a scenario of why the net is so great.

Take one day, everyone sitting around and having coffee and a chat. Sometimes you reach forward to pick up a pen for that all important word finder puzzle you're working on. Sometimes you check the phone, just to see what's happening on Facebook. Once checked, you reach forward and place the phone back on the surface. Suddenly, it's lunch time. It's easy to heat up that can of Heinz Tomato Soup and it's served in big chunky bowls with a plate of roughly sliced up baguette. Oh No!!! The table is covered in pens and phones and sun cream and a pack of cards . No Problem. Just chuck it all underneath and enjoy soupy heaven and fresh french bread in a jiffy.

Coleman Mini Table 9 and a half out of 10. 

Camping at Six Mile Water Campsite, Antrim

Camping at Six Mile Water Campsite, Antrim

This is the earliest in the season I have ever camped, it being the 1st March! The strange thing is we have had a run of mild and dry weather, it hasn't rained in about three weeks and so the ground has had an opportunity to dry out. I decided that I fancied a weekend away just myself and my two dogs, when a friend and fellow forum member said that it was his Birthday and that he and his family were also planning a weekend on a particular campsite it was an opportunity to have a good catch up with this great family. I had reservations about going to this campsite, as two years ago they had made a change in policy that made it more inconvenient for tenters, which gave preferential pitches to caravanners. Anyone in a tent had to go to a dedicated tent section, that was a good few hundred yards from the toilets, showers and dishwashing facilities. To be honest I'd said I'd never darken their door as the wardens attitude at the time was 'we are actively discouraging campers as they are so disruptive'. The comments were published online by a horrified caravanner who had sympathy with tenters, indeed had been one herself for many a year. I had emailed a complaint which was never even acknowledged. 

So the site has peformed a U turn on their policy of not letting tents on the Electric Hook Up pitches, probably realising that £18 a night is still £18 in a recession regardless of what kind of unit occupies the pitch.

Yes it's the first day of March, but it's unseasonably mild and I had EHU and a fan heater and some thermals and an extra duvet on top of my sleeping bag. I didn't need the extra duvet, the heater more than enough provided heat and I had to turn the heating down. My car was on a hard standing with my tent pitched right beside it, and I had chosen to take a tent with small sleeping pods so that I could easily heat the space. I also was using a brand new 8 sided dog pen, only received minutes before driving off for the campsite. It is a 1m high and a great 'holding' pen for the two dogs, no more tangling of tethers! I also had their dog crate which they slept in at night in the tent, and I also took them for numerous walks, some mini walks, some maxi. I would still recommend a tether for one dog, but the pen is great if you have a 'bolter' like me. I have one dog who will not come back when called, he's a bit thick to be honest and often I have chased this little long haired Jack Russell all over the place much to others amusement. 

The site was level and dry, it was a bit murky all weekend and so I don't think the photo really does it justice. You can see the row of boats in the background which line a river bank. There were lovely walks to be had directly from the site. 

I had a great time catching up with my friends, we had a takeaway and movie night and we also enjoyed a few glasses of red. I loved seeing our visitors coming in, other forum members who live not so far away from the site they can come and visit. Chris, one of our visitors, took three of the following photos. 

Carrick Dhu Touring PItches site plan

Carrick Dhu campsite and caravan park is on the North Coast, 1 mile or so from Portrush and very close to Portstewart and Coleraine. It makes for a great base to explore the North Coast region, and is a site run by Coleraine Borough Council. 

There are Statics on site, and it has walled Garden for tents only. The following diagram is for the hardstanding area where the caravans and motorhomes are intended to go. 

Contact Details: 

Carrick Dhu
12 BALLYREAGH ROAD
PORTRUSH
BT56 8LS

TEL:  028 7082 3712

In the map below the area indicated in the above diagram is in the centre. The Amenity block is to the east of the pitches so therefore the diagram is not orientated to north.

There's something very satisfying about making the first booking of the year

I feel that the new season is imminent now, as I have taken the step of making the first booking. It's for a weekend in May at Hillfoot which I loved staying in last year. There are a few other members from the NICF group coming along too, and one of them is a biker so my sons will be very impressed with that! 

I also have a weekend in a Yurt in April to look forward to, a proper bed with a wood burning stove nearby and it's very close to Gosford Forest Park so we can go and see is Liam Neeson at home in the 'Round Tower' he is rumoured to have bought!

So I have further prepared for the new season by starting off my camping purchases. It's a weakness of mine, I enjoy shopping for camping nearly as much as camping itself! I think that I have finally reached a point where I do not need 'much' camping equipment. My necessary items are already stored away in pockets of my house, tables for example, I do not need. I must have had a camping table fetish last year and now I have enough for me and for half an average campsite full of people.

My first purchase for this year, winging it's way in the post as I type, is a 'Sleep'in Bed' from Quechua. I do longingly gaze at that particular webpage from time to time, but keep telling myself that I have such a variety of sleeping options now that I do not need another one. But then I found it on sale, and my good intentions wavered. I will do a review in due course.

For christmas I recieved some camping items that I know I will find really useful. I got a Quechua one person cookset which is a neat wee thing that will be perfect when I go camping on my own with the two dogs as I try and do at least once each year. Then I got a pack of guy rope. Now the faces of the people around me on Christmas day thought I was a bit barmy to be so pleased apart from, that is, my little sister and the giver of the guy rope (and the cookset) who knows me so well. 

Buying a tunnel tent tips and hints

Going to a tent display, should you find one near you, is an ideal way of getting a feel for the kind of tent you'd like. I often advise a tunnel tent as they are one of the easiest designs and can come in family friendly sizes. Here's a few things to look out for:

• A tunnel tent usually has three or five flexible poles. The ones with five poles aren't much more difficult to erect that the ones with three poles. 

• A tunnel tent often has different lengths of poles. The pole will have a colour (usually in the centre of the pole so you won't see it through the pole sleeve) which corresponds to a colour sewn on to the end of the pole sleeve.

• A tunnel tent which has all the same length of poles won't need colour coding and eliminates a certain amount of faff. The Vango Icarus is an obvious example.

• Tents often have separate bedroom pods that are designed to be unhooked before striking camp. This is not necessary, bedroom pods can be left in situ when folding the tent up.

• Many tents are factory vacuum packed. This means that when you go to fold up a tent it is nigh on impossible to get it back into it's supplied bag. Look for an 'oversized bag' as a selling point. 

• A steel poled tunnel tent will be sturdier in a gale, but has a heavier and bulkier pack size. You can compensate by carrying poles and tent separately, but then you risk leaving the poles at home accidentally (and you won't be popular for that!)

• A polycotton fabric tent won't heat up as quickly in the mornings should it be sunny, so you'll get an extra bit of sleeping in time. Again it's heavier and bulkier pack size (and expense) , but you decide if it's worth it. 

End of summer camping

End of summer camping at Hillfoot, fast becoming my favourite site. It's only 10 miles from Coleraine and in stunning countryside, a towering mountain just behind us and a very relaxed atmostphere on the site. I have a few pics of our latest camp there, when we met up with some of the Northern Ireland Campsite Forum people and had an absolute ball. We also made some new members of the other campers, and enjoyed a lovely evening having a beer with them all in the awning of two of the forum members, Lynda and 'Swiper'. Thanks for the hospitality guys!

We used the Vango Icarus (2010 model) with the Vango Premium Extension. We brought a school friend of my sons, who had never been camping before. He didn't really know what to make of the pink tent that I gave them to sleep in, as a pup tent. The tent was a cheapie purchase one autumn, and has never been used before apart from being put up in the garden in order to check it had all it's bits. Its a Gelert Rocky 3 in Raspberry and was really bought for me as a lightweight tent to bring on a bus, plane or other form of public transport. I'm toying with the idea of taking it to France sometime, flying in and heading to the nearest Decathlon for a sleeping bag and a stove, and travelling around on a train. I missed my Gap Year, can't you tell! 

Mervyn, the campsite owner, has quite a few benches and tables built by his good self and laid out around the site. It's just a matter of getting what you need, and as there were plenty of us I used two benches, my fold up table, and a collection of chairs some mine and some belonging to others in our group. 

The weekend Homestead

My son, right, and his schoolfriend who had never camped before

This two little girls had polka dot matching dresses, and were adorable.

Baby Mia with her new rain suit

view from the top of Benbradagh

The Sunflower Festival 2012

I'm off next weekend, small festival and there's only two of us, so the list is One tepee tent, two SI mats, two sleeping bags, and basic tea making/reheating facilities. It's paper plates all the way, the coolbox will by my seat (my teenager can sit on the ground, he's young) and a couple of torches our only lighting. We'll see how that goes - things have a habit of finding their way into the car even when I intend to take it easy. Report to follow.....

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Well, I'm back in one piece, just about! It was a bit of a disaster. The car park field was water-logged and muddy due to a week of rain. It was not possible to get any more cars through the churned up entrance and so we were all redirected to Lisnagarvey Hockey Club to park our cars. This would have been fair enough, if only the promised 'Shuttle Bus' had materialised. It didn't. I paid for a taxi instead, and left my car in a car park four miles from the venue just off a main road with no cameras or security. The taxi was a bit dear.

We had two large rucksacks, a trolly with the coolbox on board and a few bulky but light items strapped to the top of the coolbox. It was difficult and heavy to lug around, but what choice did we have. The taxi could only take us so far, then we had to carry all our stuff to the top of a hill, up through a field that had been driven over and churned through with cars and tractors. Of course by the time we got up there a tractor went down to the bottom of the hill to pick some people up, too late for us then! I was angry as hell by this stage, and by the time we got to the ticket tent I was ready to bite the head off the next person who presented me with any other challenge other than to just get through. It was so frustrating and I was close to tears.

We got in and got pitched in the one area of the campsite that wasn't churned up in mud, which was behind a row of portaloos. Not a pretty view but hey ho, rather that than a mud bath. A while later heard the main car park was open again, so I got another (overpriced) taxi to retrieve my car. But by the time I got the car to the main gate it was closed again, whereupon I was re-directed to another car park a mile or so down the road. But when I got there that car park just had closed too! There was no other option but to go back to the Hockey Club and this time I could not get a taxi. Luckily the manager of 'The Bonnevilles' was going our way and so this time we got a lift through the artists entrance, which luckily was right beside our 'family' campsite. I later caught up with the same guy and bought him a pint.

So as if things weren't bad enough, nothing could have prepared me for the 'electric disco shed' which was right beside the family camping area, and therefore, my tent. The disco was a tented area with open sides and from it poured out extremely loud dance music, dubstep and at one point I was informed, 8 bit. It should be pointed out that neither I or anyone else around me was given one of the leaflets, which meant that I did not see the festival map. Had I seen it, and seen the 'disco tent' bit, I would have gone as far away from it as was possible.

Who thought that putting a really really noisy thing like this beside the FAMILY camping area was nuts. A family who'd camped in two small tents close to me had two crying children, probably in and around 5 years old. The parents struggled getting two tents and gear packed up again, consoling these two upset children and off they went to the far side of the field (which was pretty much liquid brown stuff by that stage).

The year before that whole field was planted in long grass or barley, or something (not being a farmer I wouldn't know) but this time the field was in grass and it would have been much cleaner if it had of been planted as it had the year before.

So - yes I could have moved my tent, if I had any energy after the ordeal of just getting there. If i'd been able to park my car in the main car park, if the porters which transport your gear for a charitable donation had of been there and available (no sign of these guys whatsoever), if the ground in all the other parts of the field weren't mud.

We put in earplugs and persevered, and when it got too much I went to the campfire stage, went slightly up the hill to a quieter area and put down a picnic blanket. I was in a foul mood most of the weekend. It didn't help when an organiser cheerily said 'well at least you didn't have to pay for the car park'. Well, I would have happily paid the £3 for the car park, rather than the £30 or so quid I gave to the taxi drivers. It was such an insensitive thing to say I felt like pushing her down through a few layers of mud.

All the negativities out of the way (there's a few more actually - I spent full bar prices and was down £42 in beer tokens before I found out about the offie which was hidden away behind a retail tent) what can I say, the music was great. The bands were fantastic, and the cinema in the trees was hilarious, glad as I am that they screened the 'university challenge' episode of 'The Young Ones'. 

Will I go next year? I'm really not sure.

I've just remembered one really positive thing, the weather was great all weekend. 

 Using the Tepee tent this time, A Vango Juno 500

It was just myself and one of my sons who went this time, here he is!

The extremely badly sited 'Electric Disco Shed' - my tent was less than 6m away from this

The main retail section

The Campfire Stage

A Plastic Rose, on the Main Stage

Million Dollar Reload at the Barn Stage

Pocket Billiards filling the main stage area

The 'singles' camping area in the background, the campfire Stage in front

Camping at Castleward

Some of the members of the Northern Ireland Campsites Forum and I arranged to go camping this weekend past to Castleward. I just thought I'd post up some of the photos.

In the last few weeks there has been terrible weather, flash flooding, thunderstorms and even hail, so I wasn't at all sure if this was going to be the kind of weather I'd even want to go camping in. But as is often the case, the sun came out for most of the weekend and there were even bits of blue sky. It was lovely to meet John, CJ and her husband Steven and I think we all really enjoyed the company and the craic.

I brought my big canvas tent, thinking that if the weather was bad at least we had plenty of shelter. In the end I slightly regret not taking the Vango tunnel tent, it would have been much easier put up and taken down. I also brought far too much stuff, and was slightly envious that John had a) such a tidy tent and b) was fairly quickly packed up and away while I was still trying to get my head around rock peg extraction with the back of a hammer. I still don't think there was any 'stuff' I didn't use, but I can't say I got it totally right this weekend. It is still, no matter how often I go camping, a learning curve each and every time.

I still think that the weekend was a success, I made new friends who I hope to go camping with again very soon.

CJ's hubby in the background putting up the satellite dish

love my new Hago Kitchen stand

chilling out reading the paper

Toby and Coco

Johns pad for the weekend