Carry on camping: how we became a family who camps

Last year, we looked at different areas of our lives to see what changes we could make. One of those areas was our holidays.

Typically, we are one of the hordes of Irish families jetting off to destinations all around France, Spain, and Italy each year. While we enjoy the sunshine and the foreign destinations, we wanted to try something a bit more earthy.

We decided to give camping a go —a trip to see if the camping life was for us, and if camping could become our go-to holiday. Naturally we made mistakes, so many mistakes, but this was very much a recon mission.

First things first, we didn’t own a suitable tent or many of the essentials. However, we didn’t want to invest too much until we knew camping was for us, so we gathered up any camping gear we did have and borrowed what we didn’t.

We already had a blowup mattress, sleeping bags, as well as a camping hob and a portable barbecue. We borrowed a four-man tent, camping chairs and a table, a sleeping mat, and a plug-in fridge box.

Armed with all our gear, we mapped out our route. Rookies that we were, we decided to travel around, staying for one night in each campsite. More on this folly later.

We were full of enthusiasm when we arrived at the first campsite.

As we wrestled with our groundsheet and guidelines, our daughter pitched in to help. Putting up the tent, at least at that campsite, was a group effort. When we were finished, we stared at the tent with undiluted pride: Look what we did.

Taking down the tent the next morning was not as Earth-shattering, and don’t get me started on trying to repack the car. As we arrived at our next campsite, myself and my husband shuddered at the thought of having to unload everything and put the tent up all over again.

Tensions crept in as we tried to take shortcuts. By our third campsite, our daughter sensibly decided to stay in the car while we put up and took down the tent.

Lesson learned: The next camping trip, we would find a campsite and stay there for the week.

At every campsite we visited, we booked a pitch with electric hookup.

This was handy for pumping up those blow-up mattresses. It was also useful to keep power going to the plug-in fridge box, where we had our milk and butter and, of course, for charging our phones.

The pitches with electric hookups are between €8 and €10 extra per night (make sure to bring a plug board).

It’s not the end of the world if you don’t have that electric hookup though, most of the campsites we visited had campers’ kitchens with fridges, ovens, kettles, and plenty of sockets.

Cooking on the barbecue and eating alfresco were among our highlights. It feels more rough and ready for sure, but there’s something special about eating out in the open, huddled around a glowing fire.

Ok, not everyone buys all the way into the rustic dining — one of our neighbours had brought their air fryer with them and were happily tucking in to sausages and chips.

There’s a live and let live attitude on the campsites, and the sense of camaraderie is unmistakable.

You’ve no sooner started chatting to people and you’re inside their campervan, caravan, or fancy tent having a look around. In the evenings, we toasted marshmallows on a fire pit with our neighbours and played Dobble in the common rooms.

Our daughter was in her element. She said it was “like an adventure”.

It definitely had an adventurous element to it: From the three of us sleeping in the same little space to climbing trees with new-found friends or trekking through the dark in our PJs to brush our teeth before bedtime.

When we looked back over the experience afterwards, we kept coming back to how much we all loved it.

Sure, we had issues: The borrowed tent was too small, and the blowup mattress was not conducive to a good night’s sleep (ours deflated during the night on two occasions).

We made mistakes: Staying in a new campsite every day meant we spent far too much time putting up and taking down the tent.

However, this was a learning exercise and what we learned is that a good camping experience boils down to two things: What you sleep in, and what you sleep on.

For our camping holiday this year, we’ve invested in both.

We bought a six-man tent, one of those new ones that don’t have any poles. No poles, you say? What sorcery is this? Instead of poles you have what are called air beams; you’re essentially pumping up the tent. Which means it’s up and all in around 10-15 minutes. Gamechanger. Particularly if you’re putting the tent up in the rain.

We also invested in a serious double mattress. It’s the height of a standard double bed, and uses columns of air throughout, which means the air is evenly distributed.

In future, we’ll also be more sensible when it comes to packing clothes. It’s all about being comfy and cosy. Leave any notions of “I’ll bring a few nice tops” at home, they’re not needed. Light layers and sensible footwear are the name of the game.

Mistakes aside, our decision to become a family who camp boiled down to how much it changed our idea of what a holiday should be — the sense of togetherness and adventure, the fresh air and the fun, the people we met, and the easy conversations we had.

Of course, there was that heightened connection with nature. You can’t escape it, you’re right bang in the middle of it, and it’s wonderful. We swam in lakes, walked through the woods at night, gazed at the stars, saw eagles in their natural habitat, showered with a giant spider glancing down on us from the ceiling.

It was an immersive experience that gave us all a deeper appreciation of our environment and how we live in it. As we packed up at each campsite, our daughter made sure to remove all traces we’d ever been there.

“We need to put it back to how it was before we were here,” she’d say.

Isn’t that the truth.