We've been camping!

camping happy campers 2.jpg gf.jpg

 

We've just had our first ever camping experience and it was really good fun.  We stayed in a campsite in Dorset near Weymouth called Sea Barn Farm.  The view from the campsite of Chesil Beach below, was pretty spectacular as were the sunsets and sunrises.  Being unused to sleeping in a tent I was up at 5 am waiting for the sun to come up. 

We travelled with two other families and thanks to them, a lot of advanced planning took place about meals and what to bring along.  In terms of what to bring along, basically, bring everything!  And I do mean everything.  In my mind camping was all about minimal living in the outdoors.  In practice this is wrong.  Camping is about bringing stuff to cover every possible eventuality, sun, rain, cloud, cold and of course, variable.  Also, you need things to keep kids entertained like kites, skipping ropes, cards, buckets and spades. Just so you get a picture of how my kids think, they packed a large bag full of nail varnish and stuff for doing a manicure.  As they say, the nut doesn't fall far from the tree.  I've since discovered that manicures and camping really don't go together.

On the food front, we sort of agreed to try and keep as much gluten free as possible.  This was a sensible idea although I think next time I would say, lets do everything gluten free.  It's a hassle having to figure out how to cook things apart and then trying to make sure everything is washed up correctly.  The campsite had great washing up facilities which were kept immaculate and also plenty of hot running water so this was not really an issue in the end.  I have to confess to impure thoughts watching my friend balance a pot of soup on a single camping burner.  I had toyed with bringing my Thermomix, but thought that would look a bit wimpyish.  Next time, I'm definately bringing it.  I could see the value of being able to do everything from boling water for a cup of tea in the morning, scrambling eggs, to making a pot of roast pepper soup from one bit of kit.  All I would need is an electrical hook up and a sturdy table and hey presto, you're in business. 

The highlight of course was toasting marshmallows over the small pathetic little disposable bbq.  Our friend Anne suggested putting fresh strawberries on the skewers and this was really yummy.  Grilled strawberries and marshmallows are a great combination.  Oh and also Coco...she was our friend's dog.  Isn't she gorgeous?camping gorgeous cocoa.jpg gf.jpg

Unfortunately our two night stay turned into a one night stay, due to incoming bad weather.  We packed up late in the evening almost in pitch black.  Thanks to a few other seasoned campers, we managed to get the car loaded up and none of the children were left behind.  It turned out to be a good call as the next morning, from our comfy beds, we could hear the rain pelting it down.   

And a few more pictures to share....

camping ruthie thurmbs up.jpg gf.jpg        camping hello daddy message 2.jpg gf.jpg  camping view of chesil beach.jpg gf.jpg

camping amazing sunset.jpg gf.jpg

 

 

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