how do you go camping?

9 comments

1. Long time camper here! These days it is pretty busy on a lot of sites so it always pays to call ahead – most places will take a booking over the phone and you pay when you get there but with increased demand more are asking for payment up front. There are tons of different sorts of sites some of which will cater for families and some are more party time sites. Some will offer setup tents while others will offer a patch of ground. Some have shops, kids play area and all sorts of activities – some will just be a farmer renting a field out.

   You can go wild camping – sort of. We have turned up and asked a farmer if we can camp in a field and it has worked out. I have also camped in woods and by rivers but this technically illegal without permission in England – Scotland is different. I tis also a bit tricky as unless you are well equipped there will be no water, showers etc…

   [This](https://www.campsites.co.uk/) is a good place to start. However I assume you have nothing in the way of equipment?

2. Since it’s your first time I’d recommend going to a campsite. You pay to put your tent up there, but they usually have facilities like showers and toilets, a washing up station, electrical electrical hook-ups, and drinking water taps.

   You *can* camp in the countryside in some places, but I wouldn’t do that just yet!

3. What part of the country are you thinking of going to?

   And are you looking for a busy site with lots of facilities or somewhere away from it all?

   People might have some good recommendations for campsites for you.

4. Buy a tent, book a suitable campsite and wing it the first time. At worst just make sure you have food. Then soon enough you’ll realise what you do and don’t need. Just go for it.

5. The best experience of camping is working it out for yourself and learning from mistakes. Just buy a tent and a sleeping bag and go for it. Only bit of advice I would give is to get a *barbecue bucket* so you can cook food and also have a contained fire for the night time.

6. [https://www.pitchup.com/](https://www.pitchup.com/) to find places to go. Every site is different so be careful to find one that does what you need eg open fires, nice toilets (in some cases they have NO toilets)

   Ebay to get the gear. Usually plenty of second hand around but it can get expensive. Stick to barebones until you are sure you’ll go again.

   Borrow a tent first if you can – but whatever practice putting it up before you go!! Finding out you have missing poles or you can’t work it out in the dark and rain is not fun.

7. They aren’t busy subs but somewhat active, you might get some good answers or info from them.

   r/campinguk

   r/wildcampingintheuk

8. The best thing to do is to book a campsite with facilities – for example, I once went to a brilliant campsite and they had an area under cover where you could cook food and do your dishes etc. This way, all you need to take is a tent (don’t go for anything too fancy to begin with), a sleeping bag (or your bedding from home, again, don’t spend too much money), a blow up bed and some plates and cooking equipment. I always book a pitch with a hook up – the hook ups are caravan ones so you will need to buy something like [this](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Caravan-mains-plugs-socket-cable/dp/B06X1GB6RC/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=caravan+plug+uk+socket&qid=1655557438&sr=8-4) to give you plugs. That’s not essential but I like to be able to plug my phone in and blow up my bed. Honestly, it’s trial and error. You’ll find a system to works and you’ll be able to start investing in bits of kit as you go along to make your life easier. Everyone has to start somewhere – happy camping!

9. We’re in Scotland, so for us, it’s always just been a case of:

   1. Find a place that seems viable. We find somewhere a good distance from civilization, where we won’t be disturbed by anyone (including dog walkers, who tend to venture relatively far), ideally in woodland, ideally near a stream, and at a place where we, and the smoke from our fire, will go undetected

   2. Pack up necessary gear. We’ll take a tent each, or to share, sleeping bags, ground mats, all that sort of stuff. A tarp sheet is good for sitting on. We’ll pack for camping in decent to slightly windy and rainy conditions, and if the weather looks like it’ll be any worse than that, we won’t go. Beer is among the most important stuff to consider, as is food and water. Pro tip: you’ll likely be walking a reasonable distance from car park to camping spot, so do consider the weight of what you carry.

   3. In the morning, pack everything up, ensure any fires are completely extinguished, and bag up and carry away all litter. As the rule goes, leave nothing but footprints.