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Camping Holidays.

Boycie

By Boycie
in The Jim Smith Room

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richinspain

richinspain

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Stagtime said:

Thongs mate not flip flops. Uggies are for our 2 weeks of temp under 20 deg.

I am so trying hard to not imagine you in thongs! (I'm assuming that's not you in the photo, and obviously would never ever try to imagine another forum member's wife/female partner or female forum member in a thong either)

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Mucker1884

Mucker1884

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, FindernRam said:

What he means is he nicked it from the local greasy spoon caff in the late 60's

I refute that allegation, and tender my disgust and dismay at such an ill-thought out and potentially libellous post, and hereby demand an apology.

 

I didn't nick anything until I was 9, and that my friend, was 1972, so there!   

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Mucker1884

Mucker1884

Posted
Posted
On 16/07/2020 at 22:12, Boycie said:

Is it just living rough for a week or two?

Or am I missing something?

Here's my story.  Yes it's boring, and yes, I'll get stick for it, but hey ho!

 

I went from 1963 (birth) to 2010 (aged 47) poo-pooing everything and anything camping related. 
"Shove it".  "Over my dead body".  "I ain't that poor".  "I'd rather sleep in the dog basket in the kitchen".  "If we were meant to sleep on the ground in a field, God would have made us all cows".  All phrases I have used over those years, and stuck to.  No way was I budging on this!

By the late 2000's, our (financially) hard times (80's/90's) were now well behind us.  Kids grown up and flown the nest, and we were finally becoming accustomed to foreign holidays.  Nothing fancy.  Budget airlines, self catering Spanish villas/apartments, eating out every night. Hire cars etc.  First for one fortnight a year, then quickly got into two fortnights a year.  We were comfortable at last, financially speaking, and had disposable income for the first time.

In 2010, I somehow got roped into a VW themed weekend camping festival doodah.  Campers and petrol heads, neither of which I had the remotest interest in.  A big family gathering.  Our adult kids, grand kids, sisters, friends.  we borrowed all and every camping item we could, as no way was I spending a penny on equipment I would never use again!
Loo's/showers shitted up by 5pm on day one.  Loud music.  Beer cans strewn all over the place.  Bouncy castles and trestle tables selling VW themed wares.  BBQ smoke and the smell of incinerated meat everywhere!
I hated it.  Every bit of it.  Seriously.  Proper hated it!
... Apart from the bit where we made our own den (the borrowed tent), and escaped the hordes.  Ok, the airbed wasn't great, but we managed.
We came away suggesting we'd give it a go (just the two of us).  Buy decent gear, no scrimping.  It was then we decided against it, as Muckerette worked weekends, and we'd simply not find the time, so we put such thoughts on the back burner.  (No way were we considering camping as an alternative to our new found and much loved foreign holidays, but merely as bonus weekend breaks away.) 

Fast forward to 2012.  Muckerette now not working so many weekends, so we finally took the plunge... Fri 13th July was our first night... and it pissed it down for the whole time we spent setting up.  3 bloody Hours!  Dark by the time we'd finished, as we didn't arrive until the evening, after work.  Tinned hot dogs for supper!  Cold and wet, we were... but we showered, slept like babies, and the rest of the weekend was glorious sunshine.

Somehow... and I still don't know how... we became hooked.  Fresh air.  Walks and cycle rides in this beautiful countryside of ours (much of it on our doorstep, of course!).  Solitude, peace, and relaxation.  A set up to suit our needs, and beds that literally give us a better nights sleep than at home!

We upgraded the tent... twice in the first 6 months!... and decided as we wanted to continue through the winter, we'd better invest in electric, and a fan heater.  Our first winter left us with snow on the tent, and that particular morning we were both like kids on Christmas morning!  It remains a massive highlight!

By 2013, We swapped one of our usual Spanish holidays for a fortnights camping in The Dordogne.  We soon discovered that, if we were hooked on UK camping, we were positively addicted to camping in France!  Junkies, even!  The camping was better.  The cycling, the walking... and the eating out, of course.  The peace, the tranquillity, and the whole ambience.  Oh... and the weather, usually!  It was all better (Although we do still take weekends camping in the UK... normally!).  We do the smaller camp sites... deliberately NOT Holiday Parks!
We've since done Vendee, The French Riviera, The cote Savage, The WW1 sites, and Belgium.... and places 'twixt them all, as we even camp overnight en route to more southern and warmer climes.

A final upgrade of the tent in late 2014, brings us to arguably the best and most expensive tent in Europe.  An obscene amount by camping standards, but still comparable to just one "proper holiday" in a half decent Spanish villa. 

By 2018, BOTH our Spanish Villa holiday fortnights had been swapped for camping in France/Belgium (Holland next... should have been this year!).  (We now take an extra week in January for a taste of Spain).

And the best bit for us, is that we have done all this out of choice.  Out of preference.  Not out of financial needs.  Not because it was the only option of a holiday, because of pandemics etc, or budgets!  It's our choice of holidays, and we remain absolutely hooked.

Our last trip was early March, but for the past few years, we have averaged around 40 to 50 nights per year.  It would be a hell of a lot more, if it wasn't for real life getting in the way!  Gutted we had to put off our planned trip in June, and we're still debating whether to get back over to the continent in September, but with one eye on the virus, of course!

My only regret is that it took me until my 49th year to be convinced just how liberating camping can be!

Yes, it's not for everyone, but it suits the two of us down to the ground... quite literally!  ??

 

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SSD

SSD

Posted
Posted

I've done one camping holiday. It was great. Music on all day, beers flowing, trying to cook when completely plastered was hilarious. Sleeping on bog roll as we forgot the pillows. A friends tent got flooded so he had the punishment of the back up barbie tent.

Oh wait, that was a festival! ?

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Day

Day

Posted
Posted
52 minutes ago, Mucker1884 said:

He's got me, I don't deny it.

But because I'm a relaxed camper, I don't actually care!  ?

He’s after me as I go camping on Monday ?
 

No air bed would ever be able to take his weight for a full night so camping is never an option for him. He’s just sulking a bit that’s all.

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Boycie

Boycie

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1 hour ago, David said:

He’s after me as I go camping on Monday ?
 

No air bed would ever be able to take his weight for a full night so camping is never an option for him. He’s just sulking a bit that’s all.

Tramp.

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richinspain

richinspain

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3 hours ago, Mucker1884 said:

Here's my story.  Yes it's boring, and yes, I'll get stick for it, but hey ho!

 

I went from 1963 (birth) to 2010 (aged 47) poo-pooing everything and anything camping related. 
"Shove it".  "Over my dead body".  "I ain't that poor".  "I'd rather sleep in the dog basket in the kitchen".  "If we were meant to sleep on the ground in a field, God would have made us all cows".  All phrases I have used over those years, and stuck to.  No way was I budging on this!

By the late 2000's, our (financially) hard times (80's/90's) were now well behind us.  Kids grown up and flown the nest, and we were finally becoming accustomed to foreign holidays.  Nothing fancy.  Budget airlines, self catering Spanish villas/apartments, eating out every night. Hire cars etc.  First for one fortnight a year, then quickly got into two fortnights a year.  We were comfortable at last, financially speaking, and had disposable income for the first time.

In 2010, I somehow got roped into a VW themed weekend camping festival doodah.  Campers and petrol heads, neither of which I had the remotest interest in.  A big family gathering.  Our adult kids, grand kids, sisters, friends.  we borrowed all and every camping item we could, as no way was I spending a penny on equipment I would never use again!
Loo's/showers shitted up by 5pm on day one.  Loud music.  Beer cans strewn all over the place.  Bouncy castles and trestle tables selling VW themed wares.  BBQ smoke and the smell of incinerated meat everywhere!
I hated it.  Every bit of it.  Seriously.  Proper hated it!
... Apart from the bit where we made our own den (the borrowed tent), and escaped the hordes.  Ok, the airbed wasn't great, but we managed.
We came away suggesting we'd give it a go (just the two of us).  Buy decent gear, no scrimping.  It was then we decided against it, as Muckerette worked weekends, and we'd simply not find the time, so we put such thoughts on the back burner.  (No way were we considering camping as an alternative to our new found and much loved foreign holidays, but merely as bonus weekend breaks away.) 

Fast forward to 2012.  Muckerette now not working so many weekends, so we finally took the plunge... Fri 13th July was our first night... and it pissed it down for the whole time we spent setting up.  3 bloody Hours!  Dark by the time we'd finished, as we didn't arrive until the evening, after work.  Tinned hot dogs for supper!  Cold and wet, we were... but we showered, slept like babies, and the rest of the weekend was glorious sunshine.

Somehow... and I still don't know how... we became hooked.  Fresh air.  Walks and cycle rides in this beautiful countryside of ours (much of it on our doorstep, of course!).  Solitude, peace, and relaxation.  A set up to suit our needs, and beds that literally give us a better nights sleep than at home!

We upgraded the tent... twice in the first 6 months!... and decided as we wanted to continue through the winter, we'd better invest in electric, and a fan heater.  Our first winter left us with snow on the tent, and that particular morning we were both like kids on Christmas morning!  It remains a massive highlight!

By 2013, We swapped one of our usual Spanish holidays for a fortnights camping in The Dordogne.  We soon discovered that, if we were hooked on UK camping, we were positively addicted to camping in France!  Junkies, even!  The camping was better.  The cycling, the walking... and the eating out, of course.  The peace, the tranquillity, and the whole ambience.  Oh... and the weather, usually!  It was all better (Although we do still take weekends camping in the UK... normally!).  We do the smaller camp sites... deliberately NOT Holiday Parks!
We've since done Vendee, The French Riviera, The cote Savage, The WW1 sites, and Belgium.... and places 'twixt them all, as we even camp overnight en route to more southern and warmer climes.

A final upgrade of the tent in late 2014, brings us to arguably the best and most expensive tent in Europe.  An obscene amount by camping standards, but still comparable to just one "proper holiday" in a half decent Spanish villa. 

By 2018, BOTH our Spanish Villa holiday fortnights had been swapped for camping in France/Belgium (Holland next... should have been this year!).  (We now take an extra week in January for a taste of Spain).

And the best bit for us, is that we have done all this out of choice.  Out of preference.  Not out of financial needs.  Not because it was the only option of a holiday, because of pandemics etc, or budgets!  It's our choice of holidays, and we remain absolutely hooked.

Our last trip was early March, but for the past few years, we have averaged around 40 to 50 nights per year.  It would be a hell of a lot more, if it wasn't for real life getting in the way!  Gutted we had to put off our planned trip in June, and we're still debating whether to get back over to the continent in September, but with one eye on the virus, of course!

My only regret is that it took me until my 49th year to be convinced just how liberating camping can be!

Yes, it's not for everyone, but it suits the two of us down to the ground... quite literally!  ??

 

Great post, especially the second paragraph ?

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FindernRam

FindernRam

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Mucker1884 said:

I refute that allegation, and tender my disgust and dismay at such an ill-thought out and potentially libellous post, and hereby demand an apology.

 

I didn't nick anything until I was 9, and that my friend, was 1972, so there!   

My umble apologies dear sir! (although as you would have been under the age of criminal responsibility, it would not be classed as nicking!)

By coincidence earlier today I walked by a cafe in Matlock Bath that was using your state of the art, easy clean, waterproof, table covering! Didn't know you could get them still, although being Matlock maybe it was a 60s cloth.

PS Kudos for having a tent and not a ( spit) caravan.

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Brammie Steve

Brammie Steve

Posted
Posted
On 16/07/2020 at 22:12, Boycie said:

Is it just living rough for a week or two?

Or am I missing something?

No, it's loitering within tent!

 

No, but seriously, camping holiday invoves two weeks of bell- ringing.

Hence the expression 'it makes you deaf!'

 

You'll meet a lot of camp folk and enjoy yourself!

Just watch you don't peg out!

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