Mmmmm... Barbecue....

New Blog, slightly less old news...

After a small hiatus, during which some more exciting equipment was procured, the show returned to the road.

A visit to Yorkshire for the boys to see Nana and Grandad was long overdue so camping was the order of the day. (previous visits involved Premier Lodges etc @ £££££s per night)

Clare checked out lots and lots of sites in the general vicinity and we chose the nearest to Baildon. After a stop over in Wakefield with Suzanne & Rich

(where I learnt to play pool), we found the Dobrudden campsite on the top of Baildon Moor. Lots of tents, caravans and statics there, lots of kids, lots of sunshine and lots of adults with lots o

f drinks. Nirvana.

No tent envy here - everyone else had standard family sized tents which made us feel better and, curiously, meant we were more appreciative o

f the space we had.

Pitched tent ( and second, smaller tent for kit in words of warden "don't worry about it just put it close to t'main tent"), stocked up at co-op and lit Barbie ready for Clare's Mum & Dad.

Had a great barbie - sun, beer, kebabs, burgers, wine etc etc etc

Sunday morning - rain. Wet all day.

Monday better, but out and about, Tuesday, Wednesday etc all similar.

BUT! We all still loved it! Cracking campsite - cheap, friendly, convenient, clean...

Only negative was collection of peacocks, cockerels, turkeys that all woke up at 5 o'clock and told everyone else it's time to get up.

Campingaz stove paid for itself, as did coffee pot. Highlighted need for decent lantern and few other bits.

Forecast for Wednesday was grim - weather warnings, gales, monsoons etc. so determined to get up and get tent down asap before rain started (if it hadn't already). Anxious night spent iunder canvas, couldn't sleep because thought tent might blow away, get washed away.

Wed am - NOT RAINING. Cue v efficient dismantling/packing of all kit and still no rain came so relief all round.

New blog - old news

Before it's too late and/or can't be bothered, I'm going to try to keep a blog of our camping "expeditions".

It could work both ways - more camping means more blogging, more blogging (might) mean more camping! Who knows?

To start at the beginning....

Summer 2008, purchased good value, family tent pack from halfords:

• 1 family tent
• 4 sleeping bags
• 2 double airbeds
• 2 little lanterns
• 1 big lantern
• 1 pump

all in one convenient, back breakingly heavy, bag on wheels.

Took tent pack home, put it in the garage and talked about camping for nearly a year.

Spring 2009, progress!

Bart & Lou buy (big, expensive) tent and call our bluff.

Campsite in Forest of Dean booked for first bank holiday weekend in May.

Absolute novices so some kit borrowed (ground sheets, gas stove from Issi), some kit ransacked from kitchen, picnic set (bought 6 years ago and never opened) retrieved from garage.

Car packed (and I mean PACKED) and off we went.

One trial erection (hurr hurr), we thought our tent was pretty impressive. Arriving at the campsite soon disabused us of that particular notion....

Our tent was smaller than some of the porches on others' tents.

Bart and Lou's was earmarked by the Red Arrows as a possible alternative in the event of a rainy airshow.

Once tent up and beers opened everything was great, cracking weekend, boys free to run around, dads free to barbecue and drink, mums free to decide which they despaired of most, dads or boys...

Very cold in the nights - box of red wine dispensing at decidedly less than recommended temperature and fingers too cold to play Uno!

Beautiful, efficient, well run site.

Eventually though, tents packed in rain, cars loaded and families returned home.