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camping

What I wish I knew before my first camping trip with kids – by Kirsty from Get Kids Outside

10th August 2017 by Jax Blunt 1 Comment

It’s not often I host non book related guest posts on this blog, but I think actually it might be a nice way to introduce my readers to some of my blogging friends – and Kirsty is someone I’ve known since before I started to blog. Yes, we really do go back *that* far. We’ve done a lot together over the years, and had many shared camping holidays, so it seemed like a great topic for Kirsty to write about here. So here you go!

The first time I went camping was actually with Jax over 10 years ago now – we shared a pod in her tent as we attended a home educators festival. I was really nervous camping, I’d not even done it as a kid and I had no idea what it would be like, especially with my own kids to entertain too. Would it be awful? I’d heard stories of how bad camping would be and that it’s what you did when you had no money for a ‘proper’ holiday. I’m glad to say it was a great experience and we’ve since camped lots as a family and had fun each time. We’ve done camping in small tents, big tents and camper vans over the years and all this applies!

Here’s some things I never knew about camping before I started and wished that I did:

It gets cold

*Shiver* I can still remember that cold feeling now – maybe it was just me as I can also picture the kids being fast asleep and laying half in and out of their sleeping bags and in just some normal pyjamas. There was me with about 3 layers on, a wooly hat and blankets and I was still cold!

Even if you’re going camping in the height of summer it can get really cold at night. I always bring wooly hats and blankets nowadays. It’s especially a good idea if you think you’ll be chatting in to the evening while the kids rampage around. Cups of tea help too!

Early means early

Oh my. When someone says to be prepared when your kids get up early while camping they really mean it. I didn’t think it could be worse than them getting up at 6am like they did normally. Could it?

Yes. Yes it could be worse! When the sun begins to rise and the light gets in to your tent you’ll know about it. You might stir, hear the birds singing and think – wow I had such an amazing sleep, it must be really late. Then you see the time and it’s about 5am! Actually, if it happens like that you really are lucky – what normally happens is that the kids see the sunrise and want to be up, playing, fed, toileted all before 5.30am while you’re still dead to the world. Coffee?

You can hear everything

I’m someone who worries all the time what others think of me so when I first started camping and realised that I could hear everything that was going on in the tents around me I realised that that meant they could all hear me. They heard every line of ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ as I read it before bed, every time the kids woke up crying and every time I got myself stressed.

Of course, your camping neighbours are probably more worried about their own noise than you, so as long as it’s low noise I don’t worry about it too much now! But be aware – sound carries a long way in a field!

Bad weather means nothing

I used to worry about bad weather and bored kids but really that means nothing when camping. What is more fun than puddle jumping? Especially when you have new found friends to do it with and no wellies because your mum forgot them! Listening and watching thunder and lightning is also fun and never normally lasts that long.

You can never have too many spare clothes (or waterproofs)

And with the previous point in mind – take clothes. Lots of clothes! I’d assumed a couple of spare pairs would be good but you can go through those in a day! A week long holiday can feel like forever when you’re faced with the fact that *all* your kids clothes are dirty.

And if you run out – start being ok with kids in clothes with dried on mud. Seriously – they’ll blend in with the rest of the campsite – no-one expects immaculate kids.

Or you could buy some good waterproofs – they’ll be worth their weight in gold!

Those early mornings are something else

There’s no doubt about it, the early mornings can be stressful. But I wish I’d known how amazingly peaceful they are too. Sat with a cup of tea, the kids pottering about quietly (we can wish), the birds singing, no-one else up on the campsite and watching the world come to life. It’s just amazing.

It *really* tires them out

Being outside all day long can really tire your kids out. Now this can be great, it might mean naps when you’d given up that thought years ago or it could be slightly worse if your kids just get grouchy when tired. Or you might be lucky and they’ll just be off playing all day, come back in the evening and drop off straight away while reading the bed time story. One thing is for sure, it’s not like a normal day at home so be prepared for it.

It makes memories that last

Finally, I never knew how much camping would create amazing memories. For some it might seem like a compromise because it’s a ‘cheap’ holiday but it’s definitely not second rate. The friends, the moments and the laughter are priceless. We still talk about those trips now. If you’ve not tried it, definitely do.

***

And thank you for that! About time we organised a get together in a field, no? If you want to hear more from Kirsty, maybe check out her tips on camping with kids and toddlers? and if you are in need of a packing list, here’s the original camping with children list I put together all those years ago.

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Filed Under: guest posts, places we like Tagged With: camping, camping with children, Get outside with kids, Kirsty Bartholomew

Perfect moments

17th June 2015 by Jax Blunt 6 Comments

When the rain starts 5 minutes after you get back to your tent after a long warm day.

When your 3 year old picks up a diabolo lying on the sward and can almost work it.

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When you speak to your other half and say a friend went on a supermarket run so you asked for crisps, and it turns out he did exactly the same with his friend. (We now have 42 packets of crisps. Minus the 3 the children ate immediately. Should see the week out anyway. )

When you lose a shoe lace and mention to another friend that it’s lost, and she turns up 10 minutes later with it in her hand.

When you’re walking back to the tent (before the rain) and someone comes up behind you and offers to help carry your baskets.

When you’re going through the speeches you’ve made 10 times before on a day, and you make a point and a visiting child lights up with understanding.

Kentwell days are full of perfect moments. It’s a place that holds the potential for perfection seemingly much closer to everyday normality than most places do.

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Filed Under: places we like, Reenactment Tagged With: camping, country kids, Kentwell hall, reenactment

Keeping God's hours.

15th June 2015 by Jax Blunt Leave a Comment

Well nearly 😉

We tell visitors that we rise with the sun. I was awake at 4, but I didn’t crawl out of my lovely warm sleeping bag until 6, to do a bit of remedial work on the page’s jerkin.

Morning’s are worth it here.

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Morning skies over campsite. Up bright and early for another day's #reenactment @kentwellhall.

Today we’ll be welcoming school parties from neighbouring counties. There’s still time to book for the home educators’ event on Friday 19th, check the website and if you come, do come and find me teaching school. (I know, I know, a home educator teaching school and telling other home educators to find me there. But it’s worth it. )

We’ll also be open for general visitors next weekend, celebrating midsummer the tudor way.

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Filed Under: It's where it is Tagged With: camping, Kentwell hall, reenactment, vango

De stuffocation and a digital detox.

12th June 2015 by Jax Blunt 4 Comments

It’s Kentwell time.

I’m not ready. I’m never ready. I trudge through my days frittering time away and then suddenly panic that the deadline is upon me.

I don’t know why I do that. I think I’m getting worse at it, or maybe it’s just that there are more of us to get ready. (Where *is* that bag of children’s nether hose? )

I keep hearing about stuffocation, which describes my life admirably, I’m drowning in things. A week in a tent is quite appealing. I will have to make do and mend, probably quite literally. It will be relaxing.

I also keep hearing about digital detoxes. I have little choice in that. This phone lasts around 10 hours in use. I’ll have an external battery pack but only one. So that’s maybe an hour a day to check essential emails, wave a twitter, post a pic to instagram. (Don’t suppose anyone out there would take me a daily #4oclockphoto of the sky would they? )

It will all be good for me. And for the children, who will unfurl in a simpler and at the same time more complicated world. (There is little more complicated than spending a day being two people. The one you are, and a tudor overlay. )

So, there are no scheduled posts as I’d planned. While there may be quick picture posts, there are none of the giveaways I’d intended to arrange to keep the traffic ticking over. My klout and rankings will plummet, and do you know what? That’s OK too.

Catch you on the flipside.

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(I was up with the sun this morning, and I’m writing this in the garden listening to birdsong. It’s a good way to start the day. )

Ps there may still be posts if I get off twitter and write a couple just now! )

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Filed Under: It's where it is Tagged With: camping, De stuffocation, digital detox, Kentwell, Kentwell hall, reenactment

My camping emergency kit

9th June 2015 by Jax Blunt 3 Comments

I took up camping way back in 2004, and for the first few years, the most we needed in the way of emergency kit was a newspaper to stick in the doorway and a dustpan and brush for removing excess sand.

In more recent years though, I’ve experienced split poles, torn tents, and leaks. And gradually, I’ve put together my camping emergency kit.

camping emergency kit

It all lives in a clip lock lunch box, £1 from poundland. Bargain eh?

Seamgrip Seam Sealant is something you might expect to see in a tent repair kit. Ideal for the time your host’s kitten decides to mountain climb up your tent wall, leaving little tracks as he goes. Or for the seam that didn’t quite get sealed in the factory – it does happen. I keep the actual tent repair kit in here too, with the patch, the extra guy rope, and the strange short bits of elastic that I’ve never figured out a purpose for. (There are no tent poles that short. Seriously.)

Then I’ve got an eyelet kit. Honestly. Because once someone tripped over a guy rope and ripped the eyelet out, and I had an unstable tent for a week in the wind. It happens.

Duck Original Cloth Tape. Good for slightly larger tears in tents, and also for temporary repairs to cracked fibre glass poles. (Be careful with them, they are sharp. Very very sharp. Must add tweezers.) I’m told Tenacious Tape Fabric and Seam Repair is very good too, but I’ve not actually used it myself.

That strange hooky thing? (It came with a circle loom actually.) I’ve used it a couple of times when replacing a section of tent pole. (The spare sections don’t fit in the clip box, but I assure you I’ve got a spare section in the tent bag.) Also, when I got replacement elastic I got a special bit of wire with a hook on it that works well for threading as well, but again, it doesn’t fit in the box.

And the nappy? Yes, that lives in the box. We had a miniature flood a couple of years back during a summer storm, and in desperation I flattened out a disposable nappy in the puddle. Water gone in moments, brilliant. So yes, I pack a nappy. I have some high absorption cloths as well, but they are just standard camping equipment for mopping up after muddy wellies and so on, this is the serious stuff.

So, there you go, my tried and tested camping emergency kit. I should add it to my camping list really shouldn’t I?

Disclosure: amazon links are affiliate links. Other retailers are available, buying through my links helps support the site. Thanks.

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Filed Under: It's where it is Tagged With: camping, inventive uses for nappies, tent repairs

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