Waterfall Caves new campsite near Benone - opening weekend

I had the honour of being invited to open a new campsite this Bank Holiday weekend, May 2018. Paula and George Canning from Ballykelly area near Benone had already got a busy fishing lakes business when they decided to open up a campsite beside the lakes. I had been asked to give some ideas and feedback and then coming up to the big weekend I was asked to cut the ribbon and say a few words. It was combined with a fund raiser for a young relative of theirs, a little boy called Caden Jack Moore who has recently had a bone marrow transplant The Adventures of Caden Jack Moore.

Caden Jack Moore

It was to be a weekend of catching up with old friends, as friends old and new came to help celebrate this big opening.  So it was a busy weekend in blistering hot weather and we all got very sunburned even with the factor 50.

L-R, David, Karen, Stephen, John and me

The site itself is small in scale and is flat and dry with hardstandings for Motorhomes, Campervans and in the future, Caravans. At the moment there is no electricity so the site, although open, is still in development. There are a couple of fire pits sitting around and loads of picnic tables built by the local Mens Shed. There is one toilet and one shower for everyone in the rear of the main cabin with only a short one minute walk from the campsite along a pretty wooded path. 

Access to the site is along the Duncrun Road. The turn in to the site from the main road is an acute angle, and because of this it is advisable for people towing caravans to approach from the East. The Sat Nav co-ordinates are 55°07'50.3"N 6°55'55.9"W. The access road is steep enough but quite wide and there are 10mph speed restrictions signs along it's length. Roadside signage is not in place for the campsite as of May 2018 however there are signs for Duncrun Fishing Lakes at the road side. The nearest village is Ballykelly and there are two shops. One of the shops will deliver for 50p with a minimum order of £30 and you just put in your order at the campsite (there are two times a day to do this). Just past Ballykelly is the turn off to Magilligan Point with the Point Bar that does food, a beach and the ferry to Donegal. Another couple of miles along the road is Benone Strand with caravan parks, the Tourist Complex and a cafe called 'Waves' who do a 'golfers fry' for £5.95 and open on a Saturday and Sunday morning from 9am. Incidentally a Restaurant called 'Coast' does a free pick up and drop off for campers at Waterfall Caves.

short path to the cabin from the campsite

The facilities for campers are mostly based in the cabin which already serves as an office and small snack shop for the fishing business. The new campers facilities are a kitchen dining area to the rear of the building with an open to the outside porch with seating. Directly behind the cabin is a play area with climbing frame, a see saw and soft surface.

campers kitchen

campers kitchen with porch

playpark

There are fishing lakes which are very pretty and there are rod hire and tickets are available in the office. Campers can walk around them but there are no dogs allowed and they must be quiet when fishing is in progress. There is a little bit of a Canadian flavour to the lower lakes landscape, and the upper lake is a turquoise pool with a backdrop of the famous cliff face of Benevenagh Mountain. The upper lake is also overlooked by the other type of accommodation available at this site, four 'caves' which are subterranean rooms with glass frontage. 

Upper Lake

Lower Lake

There is another walk which is more dog friendly (because no dogs are allowed around the fishing areas). It is the 10 minute Viewpoint Walk which takes you on a circular route around the owners land, with a spectacular viewpoint stop off for photos and actually enough room to park about four motorhomes so it may even be a future motorhome park. Off this walk is another walking route which is the 'Game of Thrones' walk which takes a line up the hill side to the cliffs, taking in the areas that were used as filming locations for the TV series.

view from part of the Viewpoint Walk

Game of Thrones route

On Saturday the main party and fundraiser took place. There was a barbecue, a bouncy castle and loads and loads of people turned up. They were a mixture of fishing people, friends and family of the Canning Family who were supporting the new business venture, family of young Caden who the day was in aid of, neighbours and people who just called in to support the event. To date the day raised £1400 with more due. Young Cadens father, Brian, provided the a Tepee for everyone to enjoy as a communal space and explained that he had to give up a job which he loved because of the care that Caden requires. His prior job was using the big Tepee as a classroom for teaching outdoor activities to children.

On the day of the big opening 'do' I had the honour of cutting the ribbon and a few words were appropriate. I started with a brief description of who I am and what I do, which is that I am a blogger and camping enthusiast. I then touched on the fundraising element of the fun day and then led everyone on a round of applause for the Canning Family who worked so hard on the site. There was quite a crowd and afterwards we all went through to look at the campsite and John and I hosted some tent and awning tours. In the meantime back in the cabin the barbecue and wine was in full flow.

big speech

some of the crowd going for a campsite tour

Campsite tour

On Sunday it was pack up day. We started the day the only way we knew how. Bacon and coffee.

Then it was time for John to do his Yoga moves as he struggled to get the air out of the tent. He is available for weddings, parties and bar mitzvas anywhere in Northern Ireland. All in all a fantastic weekend and a rough idea has come together for a future meet up with many of the friends I met on this camping trip.

Northern Ireland Campsite Forum June Meet 2016

Last weekend we had a Northern Ireland Campsite Forum Meet with some faces new and old. We met for the first time the lovely ladies Melanie and Mel, with their beautiful daughter Brook. John, Claire and her husband Stephen, and Stevie made up the rest of the small meet. I managed to get out of work a little early and drove the hour and a half to the campsite. We were staying at Hillfoot Campsite between Dungiven and Coleraine. The weather was great with beautiful blue skies showing Benbradagh Mountain off at it's finest. 

I brought my gorgeous Bell Tent and had it up in no time. I had a fairly stress and effort free set up as I had been careful with the amount of things I brought. I did however, go a bit heavier on the glamping this time as I wanted the tent to look nice for visitors. I went for a Native American type theme with Navajo printed fabric and bought a new duvet cover to match various throws and scarves that I already had. The cushions are from my sofa at home. 

On the Friday evening the beautiful warm day transformed in to a beautiful cold evening. Luckily the campsite has a cottage for campers to use which provides a living room space with a wood burning stove. I had devised a Table Quiz of 8 rounds with a music round provided by yours truly on the guitar. I sang and played the first two lines of 10 songs including Bob Marleys Three Little Birds, Adeles Someone like you and Leonard Cohens Hallelujah. Half a point for the name of the song and half a point for the artist, and I accepted cover artists.

The 'craic' was mighty, the quiz went down a storm and afterwards we did some singing with me playing guitar and various people having a go at singing.

On Saturday John, Stevie and myself headed up to Portstewart for a walk up the promenade and a cheeky drink in the Anchor Bar at the head of the town. Grabbing a Chinese takeaway on the way 'home', we took to the cottage again for another night of music, singing and craic.

The weather turned bad overnight between Saturday and Sunday but we were aware of the coming rain with John giving us regular updates from his phone, and so it was possible to choose a slightly drier half hour to throw the camping gear in the car even though I'm home with a wet tent.

Even with that it truly was a great weekends camping trip and I am looking forward to my next camping trip which is our annual 'big' holiday, which this year is in the Lake District.

Vango Iris, a brief history

The Vango Iris is a sub £300, 3 poled tunnel family tent that is pitched in 10 to 15 minutes. It has had a name change from Icarus to Isis, oops, and quickly to Iris - but it is basically a good value, well engineered, great value piece of camping kit with a sales performance that other tent manufacturers can only try to emulate. Year on year, the tweaks in the design are tiny. If it ain't broke and all that. 

Back to the beginning

2008 was a influential year in many ways. Global recession meant an end to expensive holidays for many, redundancies meant no holiday at all. Alternatives were sought, and camping was remembered in a golden halo kind of way. A couple of reasonably warm summers, and camping was suddenly all the rage again. The dome tent, which had dominated the market for existing campers, had grown to monster proportions and took up too much room on a camp site, and also took too long to put up. My brother in law bought a pro-action, a central dome thingy with three sticky out bits to sleep in. It took hours to put up and it put him off for life. To this day I cannot get him to try camping again. 

Tunnel tents were the answer, and Vango just got it right. Where other companies had armadillo type tunnel tents, Vango kept it simple. Keep the size down, the capacity to 5 or 6 people, have it with three poles, all the same length so it didn't matter which pole sleeve you put it through. Put plenty of pockets in there, and make sure, for goodness sake, to put a fully sewn in groundsheet in the damn thing (deal breaker for many non-camping people). And most of all, keep it affordable. Vango claimed to have lost money on the thing, although I'm sure they have recouped the costs by now and just as importantly, their brand is now considered right 'up there'.

Outwell quickly brought out their own versions, with better and stronger materials and a bigger price for the slightly more affluent camper. The Vango 3 poled tunnel tent still remained the favourite mainly because of the price, as families were either broke or faced with being broke or worried about being broke in the future. 

The TBS System

A Vango Icarus/Isis/Iris looks a bit like a polytunnel you grow your veg in. Except the poles are in sections and to keep weight and price down, not particularly strong. In any kind of a breeze the tent was a wobbly mess. To counteract this the engineering principle of triangles being stronger than half moon shapes, a series of webbing straps were designed in. They originated in each side  and clipped in to a point on the apex. Because these straps were then in the way of users, it was left optional if you wanted to use them or not. A neat little pocket was sewn in to hold the webbing straps and if the wind picked up, the camper could then utilise the system. Since, the TBS system has remained, was tweaked and called TBSII. It is patented, so nobody else can use it. 

TBS *

Price

In 2008-10 you could pick up a three poled Vango for about £170. There was a blue version and a green version. Each year the colour changed. I have a 'Laurel/Meadow' green 2010. My friend had a 'Smoke' blue one from 2008. 

Early model circa 2009/10, offered in two colours 'Laurel Meadow' and 'Bluebell' *

By 2011/12 the price rose to about £230 (retail) and in sales reduced to the £200 mark. For the extra money the spec was significantly enhanced. The strength of the fabric was better (embossed with a 'V' for Vango) but the basic construction remained the same. The inner pod, which was white, was swapped out for a 'Lights Out' darker fabric. 

The window design changed to match some of the bigger Vango models, called the Vista front, basically it gave a better outlook and more light in. The ventilation was enhanced so that there were high and low ventilation points to aid in the circulation of air. The optional mesh panel on the door was extended to the front door as well as the side. The privacy curtains were zipped not toggled.

This year you can expect, for around £260, all that plus 'line lok' guyline runners (which are significantly better than standard ones) and velcro tidies to run the cable of the light up to the roof. These are little things, and if I bought one last year I would not be upgrading just for these things alone.  

2016 model in Moss Green * 

The canopy

What a rigmarole we have had with these canopies. Everyone but everyone who had a Vango Icarus wanted the canopy only in the early days there wasn't one. Well there was a 'universal one' which nearly but didn't quite fit (called the Premium Extension) which was actually designed for another tent (the Vango Orchy) but Vango caught themselves on and brought out dedicated 'fit on the front' canopies - first of all open fronted, then with a door on (more sensible and less 'kitey') and eventually designed one that attached with a zip. But by then the canopy rage was over as people just went out and bought a slightly bigger tent instead. The other tent manufacturers, by contrast, were a lot quicker off the mark with add ons and extensions. Gelert and Hi Gear in particular, were early adopters. 

The future

I predict that the Vango Iris will continue to be a firm family favourite this year, although I feel that the popularity of camping has peaked and is now waning. A couple of washout summers have quite literally dampened the mood and all those new campers have been put off.

The cheap alternative

The need for a really budget tent is still catered for with a Vango Lauder which has no side door and has less head height in the bedroom pods, as well as a linked in groundsheet rather than a sewn in one. If you can live with that then for about £160 you too can go camping this summer, which I predict, will not be as wet as the last one. 

* All Images copyright Vango

Mannix Point, the Return

Details: Mannix Point Camping and Caravan Park

1. Address: Ring of Kerry, Cahersiveen, Co. Kerry, Ireland

   Phone:+353 66 947 2806

Mannix Point Website Link

It would be fair to say I am very keen on Mannix Point Campsite. The fact that this is my third visit is testament to that, but it is also a bit of an epic journey for me to get there. It's really an eight hour journey which is not something I have got used to. As per my previous post we decided to break up the journey by stopping overnight in Adare which is a five hour drive, and then we did the last three hours the next day. 

The last three hours of this journey are the worst. Gone are the good roads and along come driving through towns again. The roads are fairly good but you have traffic in every town, and there seem to be quite a few of them. The last major town before entering the 'Ring of Kerry' is Killorglin. From there on the roads are narrower but the scenery more dramatic. A final push on to Cahersiveen and Mannix Point is on the outer edge of the small town, right on the sea front. 

The weather in Adare had been gorgeous, and we set up in Mannix Point in glorious sunshine. Then the weather started to be a bit of a problem. I was completely unprepared for it as I'd assumed (hoped!) that the great weather we'd had the previous two times was how it always was in this part of South West Ireland. The following morning we woke to gale force winds and heavy rain, and for about 9 or 10 days out of our 13 days (supposed to be 14 but we went home one day early) it bucketed cats and dogs, and blew a gale. 

I had no coat, not even a brolly. I had a jumper which I promptly lost two days in because although I was using it as protection from the rain, it was really too mild for a jumper and every time I was inside anywhere I took it off. I think I may have left it in The Blind Piper (pub) or in Derrynane House (historic house) or in a coffee shop on Valentia Island. Or it could be in the Skellig Michael Visitors centre or a myriad of other places but one thing is for sure, it wasn't at Mannix Point either in the cottage or my tent or my car. 

Thank Goodness for the facilities at Mannix Point. I often say this is the best campsite in Ireland, and this is why. The campers kitchen and dining room is the best I've ever seen. The sitting room has a turf fire set every day and instruments for all to play and as a warm, dry place to escape the weather this couldn't be bettered. The staff are fantastic, they are so welcoming and like a family more than staff.

The campsite even won the Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence this year for the third year in a row which just goes to show I am not the only one with a high regard for the place. 

new, outdoor eating and sitting area under cover

Dining Room

Kitchen Area 

  

Raincoats 

We set up our Bell Tent in pitch 6 of  'High Field' which is an all tent section with no hardstandings. We had Electric Hook Up (EHU) and set up our tent so that we both had a sleeping area each with low chairs and a table to hold a light and a radio and other bits and bobs. We had a clothes bag each which were kept adjacent to our own bed area and I dressed up the outside with a bit of bunting. I initially set up a cooking area outside but due to the bad weather we packed up most of our cooking stuff and food into one plastic box and kept it in the main kitchen. There, I was able to use the campers fridge with my name written on the milk etc and many other campers took to doing the same thing. So in terms of breakfast and meals, we went to the cottage to cook and eat and we ate out a bit too. I had my own dishes and pots and kept them clean with my own dishclothes and drying cloths even though these things are provided as well. It worked great in the main but the weather being so bad meant that there was some competition for space in the kitchen at peak times. The kitchen isn't really meant to be used for so many people I suppose, but due to the bad weather everyone wanted to be in it! 

We ended up pitching a tarp low to the ground on our pitch to act as a shed, because my chairs, tables etc were getting wet and in parts starting to rust. 

photo taken on our one glorious day, showing our 'shed'. 

It dried up a little bit and on two nights we managed to barbecue and then one day we had a whole day of glorious sunshine where we went to the beach at Caherdaniel and got burnt to a cinder. On another dry(ish) day we went kayaking and then the King Scallop Festival was miraculously saved with pretty good weather as well. 

King Scallop Festival, Valentia Island, Annual Event

On a wet day we visited the Historic house at Derrynane of Daniel O'Connel, early 19th Century Irish Political force and pacifist. I found the visit much more interesting than anticipated considering we were just looking for something to do to get out of the rain. This property is run by the Office of Public Works (OPW) which is similar to the National Trust. Cheap to get in €4 for me and half that for my son with his student card. 

The grounds at Derrynane House 

We decided to come home one day early based on the weather report which saw another wave of rain and wind coming through the area. We made a straight run home this time and with no stopovers, and despite all the tribulations I am having camping withdrawals already. 

Thank you to Mortimer and Pat of Mannix Point for having me yet again and I can't wait until the next time. 

An overnighter in Adare

My son and I were taking our main holiday, 2 weeks in mid July, in Mannix Point in Co. Kerry where we as a family have been twice before. My other son was working and was staying at home with a Grandmother nearby.

To break up the long journey we decided to  stop over at Adare Camping which was on the route to Mannix Point. We took a road down the Western side of Ireland, a road that has seen vast improvements due to heavy investment by the Irish Government with the aid of European Funding. And so it was that we took a stretching legs break at Knock which is an ancient pilgrimage site for Roman Catholics from all over the world, with a huge Basilica and well kept Chapels and ornamental gardens.

The interest for me was more of interest rather than a pilgrimage and it was good to get out of the car after a two and a half hour drive. I found the buildings architecturally interesting and loved the art work in the windows. 

The campsite in Adare was another two and a half hours drive on and the roads were either motorway, dual carriageways or very good surfaced, wide roads with climbing lanes. There was no impediment and even though we apparently passed the cities of Galway and Limerick we didn't so much as see them, sailing round them whilst negotiating a few roundabouts. 

The first time we had to sit in traffic was at Adare itself, being a few miles south of Limerick. The village is very pretty, having been the village built around a large estate and the houses are mainly thatched cottages. The reason for the traffic was apparently people like to do a lot of rubbernecking whilst going through Adare and also being a busy village it's just a bottleneck for all traffic going further south. 

A mile or so past the village, turn left, turn left again and there is Adare Campsite. It is a lovely, small to medium sized campsite in tranquil countryside. The site is well tended, the grass short and the hedges trimmed. The owner, Hugh, charged me €10 each which I thought was a little on the steep side for what is in effect, a backpackers tent. I could have argued backpackers rate but it wasn't worth getting the owners back up. 

We had brought a Vango Halo tent which is a tent popular with bikers and backpackers because of it's small and lightweight pack size. It was the first time we pitched it and there was a little bit of scratching of heads as it is a geodesic tent (i.e. crossing poles) with an inner you have to attach from the inside. I have left the inner attached now and will probably not detach it again unless I really have to. The inner tent is orange and the fly is green and this tent is unique in that it has doors which are designed to be opened within one arm movement in an arc. There are one of these doors on each side so two people get their own door and this also aids cross ventilation for when the sun beats down and heats it up inside. It is also tall enough to sit up in cross legged and there is storage space for boots and bags etc outside the inner but under the protection of the fly sheet. I was seriously impressed how roomy it was inside. 

We had brought tea with us, bagels which we toasted and slathered with philidelphia cream cheese and smoked salmon. We were able to use the campers kitchen which in this case is a large tin shed, with a wood burning stove and a picnic table. Around two of the the sides are worktop and there is a kettle and somewhere to plug in your phone to recharge. There is a sink with running water. It is quite basic but more than adequate and you could feasibly take shelter in there in the rain. 

There are a couple of dishwashing sinks on the main amenity block which are under a roofed area and the loos were spotless, and the cubicles roomy enough to get changed in. I normally don't change in toilet cubicles but this time, being in such a small tent I was glad of the space and also how clean it was. 

We went in to Adare village later for a walk around and admire how pretty the village is kept. There was one burnt out cottage which Iv'e been informed since was due to an electrical fire and I'm also told it will be sorted out ASAP as it is a blot to the look of the village. 

Here's some pictures of the campsite:

Sun going down

Facilities and campers kitchen in shed. 

My son having a sleep in the following morning

Taken first thing the following morning with the Owner watering the hanging baskets. 

The 'NEVER NO MORE' camping list

This is a pared down list of camping gear which represents the minimum you can get away with whilst still having relative comfort. 

'Never No More' Camping List

Shelter

Tent 

Pegs

Mallet

Sleeping

Airbed/Self Inflating Mat
Pump if using Airbed

Bedding (sleeping bag or sheets and Duvet)

Pillow

Extra Blanket

Hot Water Bottle

Relaxing

Chair

Small Table

Book

Lantern

Eating

Mini Stove

Fuel Cannister

Lighter/Matches

Small Frying Pan

Lidded Pan

Sharp Knife

Small Chopping Board

Spork

Mug

Breakfast Bowl
Bottle Opener/Corkscrew
Tin Opener

Trug or Bowl for Washing Up

scourer and washing up liquid

Tea Bags

Coffee Granules

Cool box or cool bag

Flask

Personal

 Soft Holdall/Bag

Spare Clothing

A Big Jumper

PJ's

First Aid Kit

Bug Repellent

If the camping trip is short, you can cut out most of the kitchen equipment, as long as you have the makings of a cuppa.

Share Centre Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

Weather - fair but overcast. Mood - excited to see Elan my son who was living at the Share Centre and working as a volunteer for a whole month. The Dog - also excited to see Elan but then she's excited to see anyone especially one of her own Hoomans. Tent used - Vango Icarus, 2010 model. No extension. 

The Share Centre is one of those love it but hate it places. The ethos and the atmostphere of the centre is brilliant, creative, inclusive and welcoming. Here's the thing. The Campsite isn't great. It's ok, in as far as you have a bit of grass and access to Electric Hook Ups and to a loo and shower. 

Now this next bit contains a bit of a rant about how things are at the campsite and what I think should be done about them. You are welcome to skip this bit if you want and it is all in italics so you can easily do so. 

The first big issue is that there is no access with a car. This lot (see pic) took me an hour to carry back and forth to the chosen area. I tried to go as far in to the campsite as I had the energy to do in order to get a bit of privacy as the areas around the entrance to the campsite are often densely used and if you pitch up there you could end up with someone elses guy ropes right past your front door. 

Issue two. The showers for the ladies are a row of shower heads along a wall with no dividing curtains. It's a bit like being at school only in my school at least we still had curtains. There is a wall to hide your modesty from an open door but you shower in view of other people who are also showering. There's no lock on the door which is accessed through the ladies. I suppose a lock would mean you have about 8 shower heads all to yourself which could create a queue outside. Isn't it obvious that this is appalling? There's three things you can do here, insider tips if you will. First you can take a shower and just be really quick and hope nobody comes in (this causes a certain amount of stress) or you can take a shower in the disabled shower which is a separate room.Lastly (and my preferred option but you have to pay extra) is you can go for a swim at the pool which is a five minute dander away. 

Issue three (minor I suppose) is that there's no soap in the ladies. You go to the loo. You only have plain water to wash your hands with. You could bring your own soap, but I find I nip to the loo when I'm passing the amenity block and I won't always have a bottle of Carex in my jeans pocket. Even if I intentionally go to the loo, the natural assumption is that there will be soap there, either a dispenser or a bottle of handwash. In the whole weekend I was there, I forgot about there being no soap on every single occasion I was in the bathroom. In every campsite, in every shopping centre, in every public place in the land - there is soap. It's a convention. It shouldn't be a big thing, but it could have a serious impact if someone suffers from food poisoning because they've been barbecuing and preparing food. 

Under utilized - The dishwashing area. 

Now I've seen the glory of a really well appointed kitchen area at a campsite, which is the mainstay of many a campsite in this beautiful land, I think we should be making more of these dishwashing facilities. Unfortunately in the case of the Share Centre, it's distinctly scruffy. There's missing surface on the edge of the worktop, which begs a hygiene question. The sinks were clean enough and the place does get washed down, floors and surfaces. I tend to bring my own dishwashing container anyway. There's a bin, that's good. New (to me anyway) was a fridge, sitting up unnaturally high on a worktop. This is clearly a cast off fridge from somewhere else, and someone has thought 'I know, why don't we let the campers use it' which is fine and great. The fridge is pretty grotty though. It did have an icebox which was useful to put my ice packs in, and they didn't get stolen which is even better. I noticed as the weekend wore on that someone plugged in a mini fridge and kept a few beers in the main fridge. Then someone else was charging their phone up, and I realised that opposite the dishwashing sinks (2 of)  there is a couple of double sockets and actually there's enough room to put a stove and prepare food (if you've remembered your handwash) and store food (if you risk using the fridge) and you could store your items there too if you placed a bit of blind faith in the other campers. 

What a world away from Mannix Point in Kerry, The Apple in Tipperary, even Hillfoot in Dungiven, where there's a busy inviting kitchen that people walk through, rest a while in, chat in. Things don't go walkies so much when people develop a relationship with their fellow campers. When there's a place to sit, potter and prepare food. When everyone chips in and even, dare I say it, share a bit! 

Here's a campsite with so much potential. There has been no investment. The complaints I had about this place four years ago have not changed one tiny bit. The Share Centre is a charity and I understand it's a daily struggle to keep the doors open. I sympathize with that. I would be up for supporting the place. But people do not want to struggle when they go on their well earned break. They do not want to work really hard huffing and puffing carrying heavy camping equipment to a pitch. They do not want a frankly grotty amenity block. They want to wash their hands hygienically, have a shower in privacy, basic stuff here! 

My suggestion, and I don't expect to be listened to here (as I highlighted my concerns four years ago, and nothing has changed), is that a road needs to be installed through the centre of the campsite. There is a curve of land that is already in a hollow, prone to churning up mud, hence the reason why cars are not allowed on site. It starts at the car park and heads diagonally towards the rear of the site, towards the main road and the ropes activity area. It does not need to be a tarmac surface. Many campsites have a rough rubble road, what planners call a metallised surface. 

Is Planning the issue here? I don't think so, the site already would have Planning Permission to operate as a campsite. I don't know if there's any extra permission needed to install a roadway that would also improve drainage if pipes were installed too, may as well have those too if you're going to dig a hole in the ground to fill with rubble and stones! 

Righto, if you've skipped to this bit, this is the camping bit.

Below is my trusty Vango Icarus, I have had this for four years but it is getting on a bit. Still functional and no tears or pole breaks or leaks and although I fancy the new colour of green on the current ones, plus the redesigned and much bigger 'panoramic' windows on the same, I'll use this one until it is much more done than it is at the moment. I brought what I thought was fairly basic camping gear, whilst still being enough to be comfortable. I had a tea/coffee making station, a decent camping bed to sleep in and I brought the electric hook up cable in case I got cold so therefore I had a small fan heater. It proved to be unnecessary as I wasn't one bit cold. Doggins was accommodated in a 'pet pen' which is simply an alternative to a tether arrangement but I wish I'd just stuck to the tether as this is quite a heavy object to carry. She also had her own crate for night time use inside the tent. It made a handy coffee table too. 

So how did my weekend go? Well it was great to see my son, who is 17 and who I'd never been separated from for a whole two weeks before. We went in to the shops for some supplies, we went for a swim together on his day off on Saturday, and we shared a barbecue together, sitting up late with my son and his friend Damien til' all hours around the campfire. On the Sunday the tent got wet and so I had a wet pack up, which was sorted out later at home. Good weekend all in all.

Bed and Bedding is the make or break of a good camping trip. Here I used an Argos steel framed campbed. An old sleeping bag to use as a bit of padding. 5cm Decathlon 'Sleep In' bed which is a Self Inflating Mat and sleeping bag integrated. Pillows from home. I used the 'level' function on my phone to find the more level bit of the sleeping area to put my bed. I am very fussy in this regard!